Developer: Yellow Worm Studios
Publisher: Black Shell Media
Platforms: PC
Tested on: PC
Stone Tales – Review
When a developer promises an ‘authentic’ element to any part of their game, one sometimes feels suspicious that they’re just pulling your leg. No need to worry here- Yellow Worm Studios have really delivered on the artistic side of the title. Not only that, but they’ve made a challenging but mostly fun game that we couldn’t wait to try.
Story
In a prehistoric world, brothers Uga and Buga are sick of simply hunting rabbits for the Ukelele tribe. They desperately want to prove instead that they are warriors worthy of greater deeds- in fact, more than worthy: they want to be the best warriors that the tribe has ever seen! Starting off against small fry like foxes and birds, Uga and Buga gradually climb the ranks and get the chance to slay bulls and bears, but they soon find that their quest takes them to mystical lands far away from their home. Little do they know, the skills that they learnt in their early days will prove to be vital in the weird, wonderful (and sometimes scary) world out there.
The story in Stone Tales, although simple, is a nice element that allows progression to what otherwise would just be a prehistoric platformer with levels later on that would be quite alien without narration. It does tend to stick with stereotypical prehistoric human speech however, which might be a bit more difficult to understand for those who aren’t native English speakers, or can’t speak Spanish (which are the only two language options).
Graphics
If there is anything that works very well in Stone Tales, it is the graphics. All on a 2D plane, the environments and characters are all based upon real cave paintings, which makes for a unique gaming experience. This does mean that the colours are quite muted as if they were a painting made from natural materials, which made it sometimes hard to see where your characters were at all times, but it is certainly a novel idea and nicely employed.
As for dialogue, before each level there is a screen telling you the story of our protagonists, as well as making sure the player knows of the objectives of the level. Following the prehistoric theme, these are presented upon a rock in a font that one might associate with thousands of years ago, and is a nice touch- although potentially difficult to read. This is a minor issue however, and does not take away from the successful graphics.
Sound
The sound in Stone Tales is kept as minimalistic as its design, which is by no means a bad thing at all. The music appears to change according to what’s happening on screen, so for example the first level employs the use of calmer panpipe music that implies gentle traversing through the environment. Once you are being chased by foxes or bears, you can expect to hear much more tense percussion and panpipe melodies to simulate being chased by a foe, and the desire to escape. Of course, it is no great orchestral symphony, but quite frankly that would ruin the great atmosphere that has been created by the developers.
Sound effects, although not used heavily in the game, consist mostly of the sound of your weapon hitting the animal and killing it. These really help to immerse you in the world of the brothers, reminding you of the historical setting in which you have been placed. One nice addition could have been the use of voice to read the instructions, although how this could have been implemented when the written narration is in a stereotypical prehistoric English is difficult.
Gameplay
Stone Tales is a 2D action-adventure platformer where you control the brothers Uga and Buga simultaneously across each level. Controls are simple enough, and are explained on the first tutorial level, although those who are using only a laptop mousepad may find that making the characters attack and defend at the same time difficult as they require both the left and right mouse button- so make sure you definitely have a mouse for this one.
Although an ingenious idea for making the gameplay interesting, keeping Uga and Buga together can sometimes prove to be frustrating. Since the player has two different buttons to make the brothers jump but only one to make them move forwards and backwards, jumping and getting them to stay in the same positions can be fairly irritating at times. Perhaps the reason this is the case is because the jumps can be quite hard to time since the characters seem to float rather than having a more natural jump. However, it is still workable enough to be entertaining.
Across the levels, you will come across a number of animals and other foes that you must defeat. When attacking these creatures, the best thing to do is to keep Buga at the front as he can defend against larger creatures that attempt to charge and push you. This leaves Uga at the back to throw his spear to kill the attackers, which can also prove to be quite bothersome since you can’t always count on where the spear might land regardless of whether you are holding down the left mouse button to throw it further or not. Because of this slight lack of polish, certain levels can be maddeningly difficult to complete, but if you have enough patience and determination, you can go very far indeed.
Conclusion
Stone Tales is an enjoyable title, with thanks to the lovely graphics and a story that makes this platformer something a bit different to what players might be used to. Although it sometimes falls a little short with regard to its gameplay awkwardness and difficulty, it is still something that can be continually appreciated for its uniqueness, and number of levels to crack.
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