Because environmental storytelling is such a key aspect of the Soulslike genre, many games fall to the wayside when their overall aesthetic is just generic dark fantasy, which is just one of many reasons why Bloodborne stands uncontested to this day. Games like Lies of P come close, certainly, and there are many great, unique Soulslike games, but a strong, specific vibe is key. And the general vibe to Stonemachia is easily one of the most unique Soulslike games to date because of its aesthetic + gameplay combo.
Stonemachia releases on Steam on May 26, 2026, so now’s as good a time as any to throw it on your Steam wish list or check out the demo. Hopefully, this PC game will eventually come to consoles. Described as a Dantean journey, Stonemachia sees players travel through a world with strong Bloodborne vibes, fight against Angels, and comes with a unique centerpiece to its worldbuilding and class system: Chess.
9 Best Soulslike Games If You Don’t Have Much Time To Play
These Soulslikes offer bite-sized play sessions to help you manage your gaming time while still facing down a tough but rewarding challenge.
In Stonemachia, players take on the role of Zefiro—a Pawn piece from Chess. Players then travel into the lands of Medhelan to face the Plague of Angels, as these Angels have been transformed into statues and haunt the land, to reach Heaven. As players explore Medhelan, they’ll encounter various statues and objects inspired by Italian art, architecture, and folklore. What’s important to note here is that creation and structure, too, are centerpieces to the world of Stonemachia. The levels of Stonemachia have very strong, very sharp, and very physical representations of stone and the act of creation, ranging from grandiose cathedrals and sprawling towers to enemies akin to Elden Ring‘s Mausoleums.
Click or tap on the games that match the category
Developer and publisher Crossfall Games describe Stonemachia as Dantean, meaning the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. In it, Dante travels through Hell (Inferno, the best known) and Purgatory to ultimately reach Paradise, with the entire Divine Comedy being about achieving spiritual purification, rejecting sin, and recognizing the savior to come closer to God. How that relates to Stonemachia‘s journey remains to be seen, but it is an interesting inspiration.
It’s worth noting that Stonemachia is not the only Italian Soulslike game, as Enotria: The Last Song was released in 2024. However, Enotria is blatantly Italian in its worldbuilding, whereas Stonemachia is more subtle.
Combine this with strong symbolism in its worldbuilding, combine this with strong Bloodborne-esque presentation and Soulslike gameplay, and combine this with its addition of Chess, and what comes out the other side is a very interesting game.
Stonemachia’s Worldbuilding Translates to Gameplay
If that’s not enough to convince you this Soulslike game is worth your time, then its class system should. Woven into its Dantean Journey is an emphasis on structures, as stated, and Zefiro is a Pawn. However, Zefiro can also transform into other pieces of Chess—a Knight, a Rook, a Bishop, and so forth. Each Chess form has its own strengths and weaknesses, as well as its own abilities, contributing to how players face its bosses. Combined with everything you’d imagine of the genre—tough bosses, strong level structure, pushes from point to point—and Stonemachia is shaping up nicely.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)
The “secrets of the Chess pieces” are involved in the narrative, the Dantean journey.
Stonemachia is one of those Soulslike games with a strong emphasis on parrying, but while it will no doubt be familiar to fans of the genre, there is so much promise here. It’s criminal that it has flown under the radar for this long, but for those curious if it’ll be worth picking up when it releases on May 26, there is a Steam demo.
