RoguedexPart 2 (May 2024) · #7 of 7 in that tierWatch the moment (0:32:08)
Below the Stone
- Developed by
- Strollart
- Published by
- Apogee Entertainment
$14.99
Below the Stone is an extraction roguelike about dwarves on the quest for the deepest depths. A place where each and every descent will lead to new adventures -- and where only the most determined dwarves with many lost lives will be rewarded by the hidden world lying below the stone.
Consensus
D63.7/100
Steam players84.3% positiveVery Positive440 reviews
VG Insights estimate ↗≈13.2K copies · ≈$197K gross
What creators say
What players say
A pixel-art mining/extraction action roguelike by Strollart (published by Apogee) in which dwarves dive into procedurally generated caverns, loot and craft, and risk losing carried gear if they die before extracting.
Below the Stone is a modestly successful Early Access title (Steam, Nov 2023) with a Very Positive Steam rating of roughly 84% across about 440 reviews. Players like the cozy dwarven presentation, pixel art and ambient music, and the risk/reward loop, but many describe it as thin, repetitive and unfinished, with progression that stalls once you pass the early layers. It has no Metacritic or OpenCritic scores and almost no outlet coverage beyond news and roadmap posts, so reception is driven by Steam reviews. It is still in Early Access: sources say the developer is working toward a final update (Layer 3 plus bosses on Layers 2 and 3) in summer 2026, and the Steam page lists a planned exit around Nov 2026 that depends on feedback.
Players love
- Charming dwarven fantasy setting and pixel art that reviewers call cute, chill and easy on the eyes
- Ambient soundtrack (over an hour of music) praised for atmosphere, though one critical reviewer calls it generic
- Core loop of mine, loot, craft, extract, with a risk/reward tension around what to carry down and what to leave safe at home
- Gear progression through ore tiers (tin, copper, iron...) gives clear power increases, and gem socketing and potions add prep depth
- Hub-building and unlocking vendors, NPCs and quests keeps some players going despite the lack of a big goal
- Responsive, community-driven developer with Discord engagement, playtests and regular content updates (combat update, new biomes, Kingdom o' Quests)
- Relaxed, cozy feel for short afternoon sessions; some reviewers compare it to Core Keeper but on a harder setting
Common complaints
- Too little content and no ultimate goal; several reviewers say it feels like an early alpha despite five years of development
- Weak progression: no levels or real meta-progression, only ore-tier crafting and a simple 'resistance' armor stat, so dying mostly just sets you back
- UI described as a nightmare and frustrating, plus reported freezes when buying or selling and unfixed bugs
- Combat is called clunky, with weapon animations not matching enemy hitboxes; one critic says there are few real threats or challenges
- Harsh death penalty: carried items are lost unless you pay to keep them, which some find punishing for a game with limited depth
- Seen as too expensive for the current content at about $15-20 in Early Access
- Economy and quest balance problems, e.g. bar-repair missions costing more in materials than they pay in gold, and many items with no use
- Bugs and unanswered bug reports: reviewers report freezes when buying or selling and community-reported game-breaking bugs left unfixed for months
Can feel tedious
- Slow, repetitive loop of mining ore to craft the next tier, with little variety once the early layers are learned
- Early-game grind: the first missions demand large amounts of materials (for example glowweed) and the start is described as a challenge
- Fiddly item pickup and inventory clutter, including aiming at plants and picking up junk you cannot filter out
- Losing everything carried on death unless you pay, which makes failed runs feel like a setback rather than progress
What's unique
- Extraction-style structure applied to a dwarf mining roguelike: choose what you keep safe at home versus what you wear and carry into the dive
- Gem socketing for magical buffs and pre-dive potion brewing/crafting as part of preparation
- Dwarven kingdom hub used for crafting, storage, trading and recruiting NPCs (10-12 planned)
- Dark caves where you must hold a torch, which shapes exploration
- Combat update added secondary melee attacks and armor set bonuses with biome-specific armor recipes
Players want
- Add a long-term goal, more biomes, enemies, bosses and equipment (Layer 3 and boss fights are the announced final update)
- Build real meta-progression and chase items so runs feel cumulative instead of just repeating ore tiers
- Quality-of-life fixes: item pickup filters (auto-ignore tin, for example), better UI, less fiddly picking up of plants and mushrooms
- Fix combat hitboxes and balance difficulty, and squash reported crashes and freezes
- Rebalance crafting ingredient availability and quest rewards (for example missing ingredients on layer 2, gold rewards lower than crafting cost)
- Add localization (Japanese, Chinese, French requested) and more reasons to use the many currently useless items
Summarised from Steam reviews and community discussion.
Steam tags
Early AccessDwarfExplorationMiningRogue-likePixel GraphicsAction RoguelikeDungeon CrawlerRogue-liteUnderground
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Tier list Part 2 (2024)
Below the Stone is an Early Access Terraria-style digging roguelite: you descend underground, mine gems and minerals, return to the surface for upgrades, and repeat. He was excited to see a real roguelike built on this traditional formula but came away very disappointed. He found the content shallow, repetitive and quickly exhausted, with little reason to keep exploring. He sees potential if the developers add much more content and mobility, and will revisit after updates. He never states a tier letter here.
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