Stonefly's battling bug mechs are out now
The most gorgeous game
Stonefly has offered an ideal experience so far. The action game about piloting bug-sized mechs was announced via an exciting and stylish trailer and now, three months later, it's out. That's it. I wish all videogames were as instantly captivating and swiftly released.
Developers Flight School Interactive describe Stonefly as "Rogue One shrunk down to Fern Gully size". You play Annika Stonefly, a young mechanic and mech pilot searching for her father's lost mech. That search takes the form of exploration and combat in a mech of your own, interspersed with conversations with the members of Acorn Corp.
It looks fabulous. I love its art style, particularly its use of texture. Some surfaces are almost flat colours, others have visible line work, and the mixture makes every scene so rich to look at. It's helped by its miniature setting, where fights are often taking place on a tree branch with a forest seemingly stretching away beneath you.
The combat iself looks fun, too. You'll unlock new abilities for your mech as you go, but tactically defeating your bug enemies seems to involve flipping them on their backs and then punting them off the aforementioned branches. It looks physical.
I hope, basically, that Stonefly turns out to be as good as it looks. We'll have a review of it in due course.
If you can't wait, you can pick it up now from Steam and the Epic Games Store for £15.49/$20/€16.79.