DarkStone Restoration — Is It Worth Playing?

About DarkStone Restoration

The cult 1999 action RPG returns, restored by its own creator. DarkStone Restoration brings Delphine Software's beloved 1999 action RPG back to modern PCs, rebuilt by Paul Cuisset, creator of the original. This isn't a remake. It's a restoration: the same merciless combat and hand-crafted gothic atmosphere, made to feel right on today's hardware without losing what made it special. A landmark, against the odds Built by a core team of four, Darkstone arrived in 1999 as one of the first action RPGs to bring the genre fully into 3D. A quarter of a century later, its creator returns to rebuild it single-handedly, and give Darkstone the version it always deserved. The kingdom of Uma Long ago, the corrupt monk Draak turned against Kaliba, goddess of life and nature, and reshaped himself into a dragon to drown the world in darkness. The only thing that can stop him is the Time Orb, forged from Kaliba's tears and shattered into seven crystals scattered across the four lands of Uma. Recover the crystals, rebuild the Orb, and descend into Draak's lair to end his reign. Eight heroes. One legend to write. Build your champion from eight characters across four classes : warrior, mage, thief and priest , each with its own strengths, combat style and feel. Grow your arsenal and spellbook as you adventure: dozens of weapons, spells and talents to discover. Dungeons, quests, monsters and loot are randomly generated, and five difficulty levels keep the challenge alive . No two descents are ever the same. New in the Restoration Buddy mode . Darkstone always let you raise two heroes and switch between them. Now hold a single button to take direct control of your companion mid-fight, reposition them, aim their spells, chain a combo, then release to hand them straight back to the AI. Coordinate both heroes in the very same fight, something the original never allowed. Shared-world couch co-op. The original only offered networked play, with two separate worlds and two inventories. The Restoration adds brand-new couch co-op: one world, one save, two players on the same adventure. A second player drops in to control your companion whenever they like, and drops out just as easily. Playing remotely? Steam Remote Play Together has you covered. Legacy mode. A dedicated mode that restores the authentic 1999 look and feel for purists. Restored and modernized for today Native 64-bit modern-Windows build with improved stability, modern displays and resolutions, borderless windowed mode and a configurable frame-rate cap. First-class controller support across every screen: auto-targeting, target cycling and lock, DualSense. Reworked spell system with a quick-access spell bar, plus deep inventory quality of life: automatic gold pickup, optional auto-sort, quick-equip, item gifting and more. Clearer fonts and HUD, readable quest journal and map, and modern lighting and effects: dynamic shadows, SSAO, bloom, procedural grass and tunable volumetric fog. Early Access: what's playable now DarkStone Restoration launches in Early Access with its restored solo campaign, fully playable from start to finish. Here is what's waiting for you today: The complete solo campaign: recover the seven crystals, rebuild the Orb and face Draak. Eight heroes, four classes, randomized dungeons and quests, loot and five difficulty levels. Buddy mode, shared-world couch co-op and Steam Remote Play Together. Legacy mode. The modern 64-bit build, full controller support, modernized rendering and interface comfort described above. Steam Achievements, leaderboards and stats. Roadmap Early Access continues with you. Here is the direction of the project, guided by your feedback. This is a plan, not a fixed schedule: priorities and pace may change. Phase 1 : gameplay and gamepad bug fixes, co-op improvements, performance optimization. Phase 2 : up to 4-player online multiplayer. Phase 3 : a new Quest Editor, built in the spirit of the original tool. Phase 4 : balancing. Phase 5 : new content based on your feedback, including new restoration quests, and localization into more languages. A legend worth saving Wishlist DarkStone Restoration to be notified the moment it launches and follow the restoration as it grows. Sharpen your blade. Light a torch. The dungeons are waiting.

Description via Steam.