With environmental storytelling being such a key aspect of the Soulslike genre, many games fall by the wayside when their overall aesthetic is just generic dark fantasy, which is just one of the many reasons why Bloodborne remains undisputed to this day. Games like Lies P get closer, sure, and there are many great, unique Soulslike games, but the key is a strong and specific atmosphere. And the overall atmosphere Stonemachia is easily one of the most unique Soulslike games to date due to its combination of aesthetics and gameplay.
Stonemachia it releases on Steam on May 26th, 2026, so now is as good a time as any to add it to your Steam wishlist or check out the demo. Hopefully this PC game will eventually come to consoles as well. Described as Dante's journey, Stonemachia sees players travel the world with powerful Bloody vibrations, fight against angels, and comes with a unique centerpiece to its world-building and class system: chess.
9 Best Soulslike Games If You Don't Have Much Time To Play
These Soulslike games offer short play sessions to help you manage your play time while facing a tough but rewarding challenge.
IN Stonemachiaplayers take on the role of Zephyr – a chess pawn. Players then travel to the lands of Medhelan to face a plague of angels as these angels have been turned into statues and haunt the earth to reach heaven. As players explore Medhelan, they will encounter various statues and objects inspired by Italian art, architecture, and folklore. It is important to note here that creation and structure are also the center of the world Stonemachia. Levels Stonemachia have a very strong, very sharp and very physical representation of stone and the act of creation, from grandiose cathedrals and sprawling towers to enemies like Elden Ringmausoleum.
Click or tap the games that match the category
Start
Described by developer and publisher Crossfall Games Stonemachia as Dantean, meaning Divine comedy by Dante Alighieri. In it Dante travels through Hell (Inferno, the most famous) and Purgatory to finally reach Paradise with the whole Divine comedy it is about attaining spiritual purification, rejecting sin, and acknowledging the savior to draw near to God. How is it related? Stonemachia's journey remains to be seen, but it's an interesting inspiration.
It's worth noting that Stonemachia isn't the only Italian Soulslike game, as Enotria: The Last Song was released in 2024. However, Enotria is unashamedly Italian in its world-building, while Stonemachia is more subtle.
Couple that with the strong symbolism in his world building, couple it with the strong Bloody-esque presentation and Soulslike gameplay and combine that with the addition of chess, and what comes out the other side is a very interesting game.
Stonemachia's Worldbuilding translates into gameplay
If that's not enough to convince you that this Soulslike game is worth your time, then its class system should. Woven into his Dantean Journey is an emphasis on structures, as said, and Zefiro is a pawn. However, Zefiro can also transform into other chess pieces – knights, rooks, bishops and so on. Each chess form has its own strengths and weaknesses, as well as its own abilities that contribute to how players face its bosses. Combined with everything you can imagine from the genre – tough bosses, strong level structure, point-to-point pressures – and Stonemachia it's shaping up nicely.
Guess the emoji games.
Start
Guess the emoji games.
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 heavy emphasis on bouncing, but while it will no doubt be familiar to fans of the genre, there's so much promise here. It's criminal that it's flown under the radar for so long, but for those wondering if it'll be worth it when it comes out on May 26th, there's a demo on Steam.
