Recent reviews by Bread Sandwich

About 3 years ago I gave this game a pretty negative review -- I saw the bugs and the jank and I simply assumed this was another abandoned indie project. However, what I had not realized was how little control the original developers at Radiant had over the fate of this game. Knowing this, I want to reexamine Stonehearth objectively and with the full story in mind.

In short, Stonehearth is a wonderful time-sink kind of game for players who enjoy a good mix between hands-on and hands-off settlement building mechanics. While you let your Hearthlings do all the real work, you still have incredible control with the ability to design the buildings in your settlement (though this isn't a perfect system, more on that later).
The game has enough charm to make my eyes water. It's not the prettiest or the best-performing game, but what it lacks in polish it makes up for in character, and I absolutely love seeing my settlements grow.
Overall, Stonehearth is a game I'd love to recommend, but I have a difficult time doing so without throwing in a fair bit of warning.

Is Stonehearth a good game? Easily, it's a wonderful game. Is it a perfect game? Oh, my sweet summer child, it is most certainly not. The original developers, Radiant, were drafted to serve in the great League of Legends Developer Meat Grinder, so in 2018 this game got it's last official update. However, an incredibly dedicated community has been updating the game with new features ever since, and the latest official community update came out only last month!
While the game's visuals and design feels pretty solidly fleshed out, there are occasional bugs and less-than-optimal mechanics that can make you want to drive your head through a wall if you're not prepared to deal with them while playing -- and since this is a game that you might sink a lot of time into, that can be really frustrating. Perhaps the most recurring issue has to do with path-finding; your Hearthlings will get stuck a LOT (the game even gives them a title if it happens more than once, so points for self-awareness). Buildings will also sometimes halt progress for no real reason, and this happens far more frequently with custom builds.
All that being said, I recommend this game to fans of the colony sim genre if you're willing to save often and aren't opposed to working with a game engine that will occasionally drive you just a slight step closer to madness.

Have fun!

-Made a new character, but 3 hours in didn't like the weapon I started with. Wanted to switch weapons.
-You need to grind for a while to get rare points to unlock 1 weapon at a time. Game doesn't tell you this when you start.
-Deleted my character to start over.
-Put in my name.
-"Nickname already exists."
-I just deleted that character what do you mean it already exists.jpg

I quit at this point because this game made me waste 3 hours of my life, since it doesn't explain ANYTHING in terms of your character and the permanent penalties for choices. This game plays like a cross between an MMORPG and an RTS, but severely limits your ability to actually change your strategy (which is essential for an RTS) because it locks you in the weapon class you start with.
Also, if you delete a character, kiss that name goodbye forever I guess. This is a minor thing, but it's unbelievably frustrating when you liked the name you chose. There should be a separate profile name from your character names, and character names shouldn't only ever be allowed to exist once in the entire game. It feels like the developers can't decide if this is an MMO or an RTS, and it's barely either as a result.
I'd be less salty if I actually enjoyed the 3 hours I put in, but I spent 2.5 of those hours doing the world's most tedious tutorial. No tutorial should take 2.5 hours.
Fix.
Your.
Game.

NOTE- If you're going to write a review for this game, or any game, please, for everyone's sake, play the game for MORE THAN AN HOUR.

I personally feel that a lot of negative reviews towards this game are incredibly unfair. People forget that this is not Metal Gear, it's not Ghost Recon, it's not Assassin's Creed, and it CERTAINLY is not a copy/paste of other survival genre games. Allow me to rebuke some negative comments I've heard about this game.

-Yes, the game plays slow. Sometimes, it plays slow as hell. Obviously this is not a style of gameplay for everyone. This DOES NOT, however, mean the gameplay is faulty. Sir is a game about survival at it's core, and you are intentionally given few options to fight back. Sneaking is your alternative to fighting, and if staying slow and steady isn't your cup of tea, don't ruin this game's credibility by calling it broken gameplay. And for the love of mercy, yes, standing up in an open field WILL get you seen and that is NOT unfair gameplay!

-I've read complaints about guns being useless due to their noise attracting enemies... um, duh. That's what guns do. Unprofessionalism aside, I actually really enjoyed this feature. It adds a tense cost/effect relationship to defending yourself that very few survival horror games honestly have. You can't just shoot an enemy, walk two feet, hide, and not get spotted; besides, I've used guns in this game a number of times and I've NEVER been spotted but once or twice after using them. Shoot a robot to avoid being seen, loot his scrawny metal-ass corpse, and run like hell before his buddies show up. Seriously, if you're having trouble because you haven't played the game before, it takes PRACTICE and TIME to learn how to survive using what you're given.

-The axe... okay you guys win, the axe needs to be fixed. It's realistic! The problem is, eh, it's too realistic, and because the enemies are as aware as they are in this game, it's damn near impossible to use the axe for its intended purpose: sneaking up and attacking enemies from behind. That being said, perhaps some tweaks could be made. Make the axe do more damage so robots can't just run away when you hit them, even if they've spotted you. Use the axe to cut lumber and build a campfire. This item really does need to be made more useful.

-The save mechanic also needs to be addressed. Because of the game's slow nature, players are unable to return to a boat or the standing stones before being surrounded by hunters. Perhaps a feature could be implemented allowing players to find books that they can "use" to save their progress on the move, but maybe like ink ribbons in Resident Evil they're a one-use item. Also, can we please get more standing stones than just the one at the central island? I can't stress enough how much longer this game honestly gets having to make trips one piece at a time between islands.

In short, there are a few flaring issues with this game, and they should be addressed. However, a lot of people who write down on this game seem to share something in common: they've barely played it for an hour or two, and they've already decided they know exactly how the game works. This is not a game you can just pick up and play; it's trial and error. Sure, it can be tedious, but that doesn't make it a bad game. If anything it makes it a dynamic game. The lesson of Sir is that survival is hard, and should not be taken lightly. Speeding through it, wantonly fighting robots, and getting impatient WILL GET YOU KILLED. So please do keep in mind, sir, that you are being hunted (nailed it).

I personally recommend this game to anyone looking for a new experience when it comes to survival horror. While Sir isn't necessarily horrifying, it's pretty damn chilling the first time you're dropped in, and it takes a lot of getting used to. SO: if you get this game, be patient. If you don't like it, oh well, it's not your thing. Now go out there and... don't die. I guess. Good luck.