The Stone of Madness Introduces Its Strongest Character…

Summary

Tactical stealth game The Stone of Madness shared new gameplay footage and details about Eduardo de Rojas, one of its five playable characters.
Eduardo is the strongest member of the game's roster who can move obstacles, open blocked pathways, and create bridges. His main weakness is his fear of darkness, which can drive him insane.
The Stone of Madness releases for PC and console on January 28, 2025.

The Best War Games can share exclusive new footage from tactical stealth game The Stone of Madness, which introduces one of its five playable characters, Eduardo de Rojas. Described as "the giant," Eduardo looks like by far the strongest member of The Stone of Madness's roster.

The Stone of Madness is the latest title from The Game Kitchen, the Spanish studio known for its Blasphemous metroidvania series. It's presently targeting a January 2025 launch on consoles and PC. A playable demo of The Stone of Madness has been available on Steam since mid-October 2024. The game itself is set in an 18th-century Jesuit monastery, with players taking control of a party of five prisoners adamant to escape it.

Split image of gameplay in Mark of the Ninja and a cutscene in Metal Gear Solid 5

7 Games That Reward Stealth Over Combat

For players looking to take a route of almost exclusively stealth with combat avoided, here are some of the best games that reward discretion.

Posts 4

By Christina Roffe

The Best War Games can exclusively reveal some new The Stone of Madness footage that provides an overview of Eduardo de Rojas, one of the members of the player's party. Eduardo is a shirtless giant who can use his immense strength to either open up paths by pushing through things like a cave-in, or create new ones where none exist—by, e.g., making bridges with lumber. While not as violent as The Stone of Madness's Leonora Guzman, Eduardo is still willing to use his strength in combat. This is underlined by a scene from the new video where he swings a chain to instantly knock out three guards that have him surrounded.

Eduardo May Struggle to Stay Hidden in The Stone of Madness

While The Stone of Madness is primarily a stealth game, sneaking around with Eduardo won't be easy. His size alone limits him from accessing areas that more agile characters can reach. Compounding this, Eduardo's fear of darkness causes him to lose Sanity whenever he finds himself bereft of light. Sanity is a vital resource in the game, and letting it drop too low can lead to party members having mental breakdowns, which can easily turn violent. Given Eduardo's phobia, even the old lady Agnes may have an easier time sneaking around in The Stone of Madness than he will.

Fortunately for Eduardo, Agnes possesses a unique ability to ignite light sources such as torches, making areas more easily traversable for him. During nighttime sections of the game, which are largely dedicated to prep work, Eduardo will be able to make a variety of tools that the party can use for exploration.

The Stone of Madness: Eduardo de Rojas Overview

Exploration Skills	Can move heavy objects, pry open blocked paths, make bridges with lumber.
Prep Skills	Can make tools for the party.
Weakness	Fear of darkness: loses Sanity in the dark.

Constantly switching between characters and cleverly coordinating their actions will be the key to overcoming The Stone of Madness's stealth gameplay. The upcoming game is scheduled to debut on January 28, 2025. Aside from PC, The Stone of Madness will also be a day-one release for the PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and the Xbox Series X/S.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image

Display card tags widget

Strategy

Real-Time Strategy

Display card system widget

Systems

Display card community and brand rating widget Display card open critics widget Display card main info widget

Released: January 28, 2025
ESRB: Mature 17+ // Violence, Blood, Sexual Content, Nudity
Developer(s): The Game Kitchen
Publisher(s): Tripwire Interactive
Engine: Unity
Steam Deck Compatibility: Yes

Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end

Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

From the studio that brought you the Blasphemous series comes The Stone of Madness: a real-time tactical stealth game set in an 18th-century Spanish Monastery. Located in the Pyrenees, this time-worn Jesuit monastery is home to a madhouse and an inquisitorial prison. Five prisoners - plagued by cruel punishment, madness, and despair - pool their skills and resources to face their phobias, stave off insanity, uncover the mysteries of the Monastery, and find a way to escape.

Escaping such a well-guarded monastery is no easy task, but Agnes, Leonora, Eduardo, Amelia, and Alfredo are determined to see it through. Alternate control of all five characters and use their unique upgradable skills to cast spells, assassinate targets, distract enemies, stun evil spirits, explore hard-to-reach areas, and more.