Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest

 PC
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Ragequit.gr
    Jun 12, 2019
    91
    Druidstone draws inspiration from a variety of genres (even tabletop boardgames) and combines all those elements elegantly. Its whimsical writing and beautiful (Trine-sque) art should not fool you. This is a game which will put your tactical planning skills to the test and demand forward thinking in the development of your characters. Another spectacular result from the makers of the Legend of Grimrock series.
  2. RPG Fan
    Jul 11, 2019
    85
    Although the story and characters are nothing new to RPGs, the strategy gameplay systems truly stand out in their seemingly simple execution.
  3. 4P.de
    Jun 4, 2019
    80
    A competent as well as challenging tactical RPG from former Legend of Grimrock developers.
  5. RPG Site
    May 28, 2019
    80
    Druidstone is a perfect entry point for RPG fans that are interested in this style of tactical game without having to invest several dozens of hours in a longer experience that they may not enjoy. It doesn't offer a lot in terms of unique themes or robust storytelling, but it's balanced out by an impressive variety of encounter designs and flexibility for different playstyles. On top of these strengths, it also offers some surprisingly good musical scores and environmental art. It's a strong overall package that, while brief, was a joy to play through.
  6. Softpedia
    May 22, 2019
    80
    Druidstone is pretty great but not without flaws. Fortunately, the unforgiving strategic combat, charming art style and light puzzles sprinkled in between the fights, far exceed the balancing issues. You just need to keep playing it beyond the first 5-6 missions, you'll find that Druidstone is a hidden gem.
  7. The Indie Game Website
    May 15, 2019
    80
    Ultimately, Druidstone is a challenging and rewarding tactical-RPG with plenty of charm to keep it engaging in-between brutally tough encounters. It can border on unfair at times, but the steady stream of progression and versatile combat ensures it remains satisfying. Ctrl Alt Ninja clearly demonstrates their development expertise with this finely tuned and tightly crafted adventure that’ll have you brainstorming turns for hours.
  8. Multiplayer.it
    Jun 5, 2019
    70
    Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest is not a bad game, but it has nothing really new to thrill you.
  9. GameOver.gr
    May 31, 2019
    70
    Druidstone plays it quite safe when it comes to the usual complexity of skills and battle tactics that we see in games of the genre. Nevertheless, this might as well be considered its strong point for those players that would like to approach turn-based fantasy games, but would like a more simplified entry point in terms of rules, status effects etc.
  10. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Aug 2, 2019
    69
    Combat is rather simplistic, but effective: situations and objectives vary greatly, and each fight requires its own tactics and equipment. Unfortunately, it’s also the best part of the game – although writers managed to draft an intriguing world, they failed to populate it with memorable characters and stories. [Issue#239, p.66]
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  1. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    Jun 5, 2019
    As it is, this is a perfectly reasonable portion of carefully planned fantasy stabbing, which was enough fun (once I started playing properly, at least) to make me reevaluate my whole position on puzzle elements in tactical games. Hell, it might even be time to postpone my next marathon slog with XCOM, and revisit Into the Breach.

Awards & Rankings

98
#98 Best PC Game of 2019

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 30
  3. Negative: 4 out of 30
  1. strav
    May 19, 2019
    9
    At its core, Druidstone is a tense, merciless turn-based RPG who's tight strategic situations can only be compared to Into the Breach. Do notAt its core, Druidstone is a tense, merciless turn-based RPG who's tight strategic situations can only be compared to Into the Breach. Do not go in expecting another Grimrock, this is a different beast entirely where, again, the emphasis is all about very tight strategic combat along with some light puzzle solving. While a lot of the game design is strongly reminiscent of Into the Breach, Druidstone's handcrafted levels and story leaves you with a far more organic, immersive and pleasing experience where each mission seems to have a peculiar twist of it's own.

    For full disclosure, I usually am not a big fan of turn-based RPGs for it seems that most of them can be won by a simple rinse-and-wash procedure where you just mechanically select the most effective action at your disposal without thinking any more than one move ahead. Notable exceptions: Invisible inc., Into the Breach, XCom and now Druidstone.

    In terms of production quality, the game runs smoothly (steady FPS) on my limited machine without any major bug to be seen. The UI is well done and intuitive. The backdrop story is kind of generic and light but the dialogues are usually fun to read. Overall, this is a very well done game.

    If you think this is just another shovelware turn-based RPG, do yourself and the dev a favor: just go ahead and try to beat it. My bet is you'll fail a lot and have a lot of fun while doing so.    … Full Review »
  2. chnanthemoca
    Jul 8, 2019
    8
    if you like Turn-based RPG strategy games I think you'll have quite a good time with this game.
    the only weak side is the story. But it's    if you like Turn-based RPG strategy games I think you'll have quite a good time with this game.
    the only weak side is the story. But it's something about your expectations I guess. They didn't go with a very deep story. Conversations are quite fun. Game playing is very good.    … Full Review »
  3. Bertram_Kerwin
    May 26, 2019
    3
    I heard some of the staff in Legend of Grimrock join this game.
    That's why I'm so excited to try it out. But a few hours in it I'm already    I heard some of the staff in Legend of Grimrock join this game.
    That's why I'm so excited to try it out. But a few hours in it I'm already fed up.
    Many mechanisms are dump and poor design.
    For example, things you get from chest override your slot.
    In the early mission whistle a useless npc waste valuable action point.
    The list goes on and on. Clearly a turn-based RPG has no strategy at all I'm afraid.    … Full Review »
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