In an 18th-century monastery nestled within the Pyrenees mountains, five prisoners of the oppressive Spanish Inquisition are trapped and falling deep into despair. As seen during the Future Games Show at Gamescom Presented by Sid Meier’s Civilization® VII, it's your job to combine their abilities and find a way to escape this inquisitorial gulag and reach freedom.
This is easier said than done, however, as each of the five characters you can control have their own list of fears and phobias that can be set off by their surroundings. This means you'll need to carefully manage where they go and what they see, as triggering their traumas will deteriorate their sanity and can lead to lasting negative effects that will hamper your further progress.
While keeping your prisoners' fears in check, you'll need to explore the monastery to discover clues, find tools, and make contacts to aid your breakout. There are two separate escape plans you can follow, which will lead you through different stories with their own objectives and special characters to meet.
You'll need to pay attention to the passage of time, as gameplay is split into day and night phases. During the day you can complete chores to receive benefits and scout the monastery for clues, while at night there's time to heal, rest, or sneak out to explore restricted areas of the prison – just don't get caught in the act, as the punishment for breaking the rules will be severe.
The Stone of Madness is currently set to escape in 2025 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series, and Nintendo Switch, but you can wishlist it on Steam now and follow @TSOMgame to keep up to date with the latest developments.
If you’re looking for more excellent games from today's Future Games Show, have a look at our official Steam page.
