I’ve had my eye on Flowstone Saga since it came to Kickstarter a few years ago. The developers of Tangledeep (Impact Gameworks) showcased a vision of an RPG with puzzle elements that I couldn’t help but latch onto. Now, after all this time, Flowstone Saga is here. The question is, was it worth the wait? I’d say so.

In Flowstone Saga, you play as a young girl named Mirai, who discovers an item known as the Flowstone. The Flowstone allows her to harness the magic of Flow, and as she begins to use it to help her town, a grand story unfolds. Along with Mirai, you’ll face pirates, fearsome creatures, and a powerful empire.

There are a lot of interwoven mechanics in Flowstone Saga, but Accessibility is built into the very fabric of the game. In addition to three difficulty levels, there are also two main styles of gameplay. You can play in normal mode, where battles take place like standard Tetris, where blocks have gravity and fall steadily.

Alternatively, you can play in Hold Mode, which turns the game effectively into a turn-based game. Enemies only attack after you have placed a block, and there is no gravity, so you have the freedom to move and rotate blocks until you’re satisfied with their placement. This level of accessibility grants players with slower reflexes the freedom to take their time and play at their own pace.

All the standard RPG trappings are here too, elemental damage, equipment, upgrades and perks, you name it, even job classes are here. I won’t go too deep into details on the later-game elements because that’s part of the fun. However, I can say that Flowstone Saga has deep gameplay and it is a lot of fun. I lost myself in hours of gameplay, from the engaging storyline, all the way to the fun puzzle-based combat. The combat differs from Tetris in many ways too, from board size, to skills and mechanics that allow you to manipulate the blocks and the board.

Exploring the world is also fun because Flowstone Saga isn’t just one “Falling Block fight” after another. You gather resources to improve the town of New Riverstone, solve block puzzles hidden away in dungeon areas, and there is even a fishing Minigame! Though let’s discuss that minigame for a minute.

The fishing in Flowstone Saga is unique, in that it starts in the typical “wait for a bite, hit the button” vibe, but moves to a second part of the minigame afterward. Once you get a bite, you’ll have to perform a few timed button presses, then you’ll get another part of the minigame that wants you to press a series of buttons before time runs out. The problem I ran into, is that every time one of those button strings required the B button, it would instantly fail.

I’m not sure if this is a bug, or if I have messed something up somewhere. Either way, please be aware that the fishing minigame might have a bug in it. Regardless, there is a lot of content and a lot to love with Flowstone Saga.

Getting to know the cast of characters, exploring the world, enjoying the puzzles, and engaging in combat really showcases the quality of Flowstone Saga. It is a world-class RPG, especially as an indie. It also takes a gameplay type that a lot of us are familiar with, the “Falling block” genre, and makes it more complex and engaging than just a simple time-waster puzzle game.

If you like Tetris, or you’re looking for a unique RPG experience, Flowstone Saga is a great option for you. With the holiday season on the horizon, this would be a great gift for any RPG fan in your life or someone who wants a puzzle game with a little more meat to it. Either way, Flowstone Saga is an absolute blast, and I couldn’t recommend it more.

A PC Review copy of Flowstone Saga was provided by Impact Gameworks for the purposes of this review.

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Flowstone Saga

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Great Accessible Gameplay
• Engaging Mechanics
• Fun Storyline
• Interesting Characters
• Beautiful Soundtrack

Cons

• Fishing might be bugged?