Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim

Although obviously going for a Windwaker-vibe, the game does not in fact deliver anything close to it. Crafting is a necessary and boring part of the game (you have to scroll through a list and hold a button to build something). Combat is also boring and lacks any feeling, like the rest of the game it feels a bit 'floaty'. The physics engine the game uses shares the same feeling/issue which makes everything including moving around just feel slightly dull and annoying. The world is extremely minimalistic and small. There aren't many different enemies and not many enemies in general. And the boss battles are unimaginative and occasionally consist of very slowly chipping away at a huge lifebar. This is made even more fun by the fact that your weapons break and you have to craft replacements. Controlling the game with a controller is possible, but you do need to move a cursor over objects to interact with them so M+KB might be an easier way to play. Having to move the camera around to pick up a small sword in the middle of a battle is not a lot of fun. Like WindWaker you'll have to travel between islands, which in this game is once again not a lot of fun. The distances between the islands have been filled with debris which slows you down and poison mines that slowly kill you. That combined with the fact that your boat doesn't stay on course means you can't just point your boat in the right direction and let go. They probably realised this themselves which is why you can fast travel to an island after having visited it once. There is also a loading freeze when the game moves you from the world map to the island instance (on SSD). All in all it's not a terrible game.. but it is pretty empty, dull and not particularly well-made. It's almost like a demo for an engine.

Ok, so you decided to try Cornerstone? Welcome onboard, you land rat. First you will encounter very clunky controls, awful "manual" camera and dull, ugly and shallow characters. if you dare to continue you will find that resources and crafting EVERYTHING in this game. You craft ALL your stuff, weapon, shields, armor and items. Everything is breaks and need to be replaced, so dont skip on looting each time possible - it will cost you life. Next is glitches and bugs - you can stuck in objects (try to craft to unstuck) and ofc 3D jumping will often kill you since camera is awful. Once you get to sail you will find that sea is...boring and empty. Its just artificial barrier to control your progress, there is no loot and wonders here. Well, i guess real-life sailing is not amusement park either, so its OK. And you, if you dont dropped game things start to get better. A LOT. Once you get to Big Islands especially you will find quite interesting adventures. For example lurking around shady eastern Japan-themed island was fun and i appreciate its design. Fighting your way in extra challenging Mayan-like western island was a good test for skills and sanity. And there is more... So, lets sum it up - Cornerstone is not THAT BAD game. Its feels very rough and unpolished, 3D models is cheap and everything feels like a prototype which never finished. But at same time some level and puzzles design is quite nice and well made. Maybe a little more developement would turn this game ideas in real gem, but its not happened. Is it worth it? Well, on good sale, if you not set extreme high expectations its worth to try, but if you seeking masterwork and real Zelda successor its absolutely wrong place to do. By the way, graphically this game looks like Zelda: Ocarina of Time on Nintendo64.

I recommend watching a lets play. I wouldnt call this game buggy so much as unpolished. I really enjoy it, but there are a few things that are somewhat clunky, but i give it an A for effort. The music is beautiful, the art style is a cute imitation, and i think it has much potential. + zelda clone, few of those + combat more kin to dark souls + sandbox elements + fun crafting + interesting puzzles + cute art and music - could use a bit of work in the animation department - response is a bit slow but you get used to it - the journal and map could be much better, quests need a bit more guidance than what we have Ultimately i think people will love this game. there is something special here if you can see through its flaws. Good outweighs the bad, and we need to support our hard working indi's, this has huge potential :)

You play as a young viking named Tyrim who has to find out why all the men in the village are gone. So you're one a quest to find them. You'll wake up on viking's home island, work through a few tutorials and find the crafting recipe for a boat. That's when you'll enter the seas. Each island functions as a level with puzzles to solve and an end boss. Each island also has it's own style. One is a giant desert where you'll surf across it. Have fun defeating the local chief in a time trial. Another one is very windy and that will blow you off the cliffs. You'll have to fight and puzzle your way through mazes, bad guys, rock lovers and navigate the seas. The quests are interconnected and will have you visit the islands multiple times. Once you've been to an island, the quick travel unlocks. Saving you time. Every island is open world and there will be multiple ways to approach it. I ended up trying to explore everything. The game features some physical puzzles, push this, remove that, burn a cobweb. Your opponents will drop their weapons are they are defeated and they are recoverable. Weapons and armor will also deteriorate over time. You'll find recipes for more durable weapons though. Over time fighting can be a bit repetitive. There are roughly three types of enemies. There were a few glitches and bugs, nothing ground breaking. I did have to reload a save once. Selecting in crafting system is tedious and should have been better. For example you'll get beaten up trying to select a sword to craft during a fight. The game will show you how a basic puzzle mechanic works and leaves it up to you to solve the harder ones. There were however some puzzles in which the game didn't show the mechanic first. It's missing polish. No spoken sounds or zelda like mimicry and all rocks will start to look the same. All in all fun little gem with a couple hours of game play.