Below the Stone, a dwarf-themed extraction roguelike by developer Strollart and publisher Apogee Entertainment, digs up an Early Access release in Q4 2023 and a new demo available now on Steam for PC and GOG ahead of its arrival on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X|S in 2024.
After earning a top-three “favorite indie” at OTK Games Expo 2022, and voted top-two favorite indie games at TooManyGames of 2022 and 2023, the highly-anticipated roguelike unveils what lurks beneath the surface of the Dwarven Kingdom, home to a long lineage of valorous and bearded miners ready to sacrifice it all to acquire the endless riches that lie below the surface. Grab a pickaxe and hack a path of endless adventure through procedurally generated caverns, caves and ancient ruins across more than 50 biomes.
Start out with the essentials of any fine dwarven explorer, a pickaxe and hardhat, and journey through five increasingly challenging underground layers. Complete missions from your dwarven allies to amass wealth and raw materials, and smelt dozens of unique metals and alloys to craft tools, weapons and gear for plundering the earth. Unearth rare metals such as Arcanium, Mithril, and Adamantine as well as mythical gems to spiff up and strengthen armor, or merge gems for powerful runes!
Invest in your descents by crafting stronger armor and weapons, bettering the odds of your survival. Face hordes of beasts who lie in the darkness, using a variety of magic, melee, and ranged weapons to fit any playstyle, and come to the aid of helpful allies along the way. Prepare for dungeons with a variety of boss encounters. Every boss conquered opens a path to deeper layers of the caves, where even more valuable loot and cunning creatures await.
But be warned! – as your death will lead to any items brought along for the journey will forever remain below the stone. Safely store gear and precious resources in The Dwarven Kingdom to render death less costly, and adorn brave dwarves with previously-plundered loot from past journeys.
Cave-dive in style with customizable appearance options, and spelunk to the tunes of an hour-long original soundtrack by Karam Bharj.
“We’ve always loved bringing retro titles to new audiences and Below the Stone is no different,” said Scott Miller, founder of Apogee Entertainment. “The quirky Dwarven Kingdom combined with punishing roguelike gameplay makes for a memorable experience for players to dig into.”
Check out gameplay footage of Below the Stone here. For more information on Strollart’s underground tale of dwarven expedition, check out the official website, and follow their Twitter, and Discord.
For more on Apogee Entertainment, please visit the Apogee website and follow @Apogee_Ent on Twitter.
