Title. Stoneshard is a gross example of devs taking for granted the money and doing whatever they like with it. Character creation has been a "top priority" for years now, easily being the most requested feature. They regularly tout the war between Russia and Ukraine as an excuse for their slowed development despite this being an issue WELL before the declaration of war. It comes off as a very gross and slimy way to justify laziness. I even press doubt on the war being a factor, given that they were still able to work on said updates and make a dev log for near-every week and month leading up to RtR. It's a rather strange and safe consistency in an otherwise verifiable war zone, don't you think? It may sound a bit out of pocket, especially here, but Stoneshard is yet another example why European digital products should be avoided until total completion. A lot of them put the same rules and customs towards kickstarters and donors that are meant to protect employees from predatory investors. We are not investors. We paid for a product and it has been nearly 6 years with nothing done. With games far grander than it in every way coming to completion. This same thing can be reflected in Cyberpunk 2077, Tarkhov, Helldivers 2, etc. A game from Europe or Russia that is not fully released will be bound to have a long and painful cycle. As mentioned with HD2, some games that ARE fully released STILL release with gamebreaking problems and a bevy of issues that, despite how much we joke about how they're common in the industry, are OVERWHELMING in the European market. As much as I love Outward, the design choices were made by chimps. Is it culture? Work flow? Laws? Incentives? It's not my place to say, even moreso without the knowledge. But that's irrelevant. TLDR: This product is unfit for sale and has been for over half a decade with nothing but excuses for full years from the devs. I recommend waiting or getting this game elsewhere.
