Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim is an Action- Adventure developed by Overflow.


The story is told in a nutshell: All the men in his home village have disappeared and Tyrim has set himself the goal of finding them again. Rumor has it that they appear to be stuck on an island in the north. To get there, he needs a boat and a few tools that are scattered on other islets. But how is it supposed to get through the shark-contaminated waters to the other land masses, e.g. to free the boat builder? Of course, with a small paddle wheel raft, the blueprint of which has to be found first.

You learn the basics of combat and, above all, how to use the tool kit, with which Tyrim can produce over 20 items from four raw materials (wool, wood, stone and a fire element) - sometimes with different upgrade levels. This includes some aids such as the raft, a kind of paraglider, bandages and a standard box that can be used to reach higher areas for which a normal jump is not enough. But the majority of the objects are of a martial nature, i.e. they are weapons, armor or shields. Accordingly, the "crafting" is usually left out of the already very weak puzzles.


+ Story about Vikings
+ pleasant background music
+ simple combat system
+ minimalist backdrop
+ An interesting crafting system in its approach
+ Achievements and Trading cards


- Puzzles with no depth
- no voice output


Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim is a game with potential, but which lacks highlights. I would buy it on sale.



Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim ist ein Action-Abenteuer welches von Overflow entwickelt wurde.


Die Geschichte kurz erzählt: Alle Männer seines Heimatdorfes sind verschwunden und Tyrim hat es sich zum Ziel gesetzt, sie wiederzufinden. Gerüchten zufolge scheinen sie auf einer Insel im Norden festzusitzen. Um dorthin zu kommen, braucht er ein Boot sowie ein paar Hilfsmittel, die auf weiteren Eilanden verstreut sind. Doch wie soll er durch die von Haien verseuchten Gewässer zu den anderen Landmassen gelangen, um z.B. den Bootsbauer zu befreien? Na klar, mit einem kleinen Schaufelradfloß, dessen Bauplan jedoch erst einmal gefunden werden muss.

Man lernt Kampfgrundlagen und vor allem wie man den Werkzeugkasten bedient, mit dem Tyrim aus vier Rohstoffen (Wolle, Holz, Stein und ein Feuerelement) über 20 Gegenstände herstellen kann - mitunter in verschiedenen Aufrüstungsstufen. Darunter befinden sich zwar auch einige Hilfsmittel wie das Floß, eine Art Gleitschirm, Verbandsmaterial sowie eine Standardkiste, mit der man höher gelegene Areale erreichen kann, für die der normale Sprung nicht reicht. Doch ein Großteil der Gegenstände ist martialischer Natur, sprich: es handelt sich um Waffen, Rüstung oder Schilde. Dementsprechend bleibt das „Crafting“ bei den ohnehin sehr schwachen Rätseleinlagen meist außen vor.


+ Geschichte über Vikinger
+ angenehme Musikuntermalung
+ simples Kampfsystem
+ minimalistische Kulisse
+ im Ansatz interessantes Crafting-System
+ Errungenschaften und Trading Cards


- Rätsel ohne Tiefgang
- keinerlei Sprachausgabe


Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim ist ein Spiel mit Potenzial, welches aber Höhepunkte vermissen lässt. Ich würde es zu einem Sale kaufen.

So far, I'm really enjoying Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim. I pre-ordered it through Humble Bundle weeks before it actually came out, so it's fair to say that I was really anticipating this game. It's similar to games like The Last Tinker: City of Colors, and I enjoyed that one on PC before adding the steam version to my collection.

The graphics are excellent, and the detail in the characters, including facial expressions, is really a showcase of the developer's talent. Parents can also be assured that the content is suitable for a younger audience. If you or your child enjoyed Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas, The Last Tinker: City of Colors, or any of the 3-D Mario or Sonic games, this is definitely one to pick up.

There are multiple areas to explore, well-developed characters and a storyline that includes questing and interacting with members of the viking community. So far, it's evident that the developer put a lot of time and effort into giving these characters unique characteristics and personalities.

There is also a crafting component and a variety of items and weapons that can be crafted. I can see myself spending many hours with this game and definitely intend to do so.

Full controller support, responsive controls, and attainable achievements are always a plus for me, and this game has them all.

There's only one thing I want to point out that detracted from my experience, and that's motion sickness that I've experienced with some 3-D games that have a reduced FOV. I had to take a break once I realized that this was going to be one of those games for me, and the fix, for me, is a cooler, brighter room, sitting further away from the screen, and increasing FOV while reducing screensize. My rig is an ASUS gaming laptop with GTX 970 and G-Sync, so FPS, resolution, and stuttering are not factors for me, though they may be for others who experience motion sickness while gaming.

Overall, I'm intrigued with the game, and I feel that it's worth the price I paid for it. I intend to finish the game and explore to my heart's content. Definitely recommended for younger and experienced gamers looking for a new adventure RPG.

Four hours in so far and I'm really anjoying my time with Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim. As advertised, it has a similar artstyle to Zelda The Wind Waker, which I find quite charming. I don't really think there is much resemblance to Darksouls to be found here frankly: There is a checkpoint-system, which one might argue is similar to the Darksouls-bonfires, and you drop your weapons when you die but that is really about it.

Generally, I don't enjoy the combat very much. It is very basic and feels a little clunky, but it's working and so far isn't too big of a focus of the game. What the game does really well is the exploration. Especially on the first island I had a lot of fun running across the island, searching for things to do, hidden upgrades for the inventory-capacity or new blueprints.

Most interesting I found the crafting-system though: Whereas in most games, the crafting is more a thing you do every now and then outside of combat and inbetween quests, here it is very much the main mechanic. You could start crafting a cannon-turret mid fight if you wanted!

The writing is fine and has a few humourous lines here and there (Sometimes intentionally breaking the fourth wall in a humourous way, but in my opinion the writer didn't overuse it at this point and I did chuckle a few times). I noticed a few spelling-mistakes though, but nothing unfixable. I've seen much worse.

I can't say much about the length of the game yet, since I have yet to complete it. But I'm assuming, in the very least it will be 10 to 15 hours.

I do recommend it if you like the art-direction. It's not a combat-heavy game though and when it comes to puzzles, I haven't found anything very challenging so far. But it has a very nice, bright atmosphere, an interesting world and a story of which I'm curious how it'll continue. I would call it an explorationgame, and a good one too. But you shouldn't expect Darksouls and not even Wind Waker in a sense. It looks like Wind Waker, but it doesn't really play like it. I don't think that's a bad thing though. It's not a Wind-Waker-copy, it's something new, even though the art and the music (The music is very well made actually. It does a great job at enhancing the atmosphere further. Quite like it!) are reminiscent of it. :)

Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim is an adventure game with a similar art style and environment as The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. You play as a young Viking boy going from island to island searching for the men of his village. I really enjoyed playing this game despite its bugs and the very basic combat.

I loved the Wind Waker art style, so to me this game was pure eye candy. The performance is very impressive. I do not have great gaming equipment (I'm looking at you Intel HD Graphics) but still I was able to play this game with high settings and even anti-aliasing without any slowdown in gameplay. Unfortunately, the book-style cutscenes went to a crawl no matter the settings I chose, but I noticed that a single core was used at full capacity during those, while all of my cores were put to work during gameplay. The music was also delightful and helped build the overall experience.

In my opinion, the developers have captured the spirit of what is an adventure game to begin with. The locales are diverse and I always felt excitement when going to or exploring a new place. New game mecanics are introduced throughout the entire game. The combat is very basic though. You wait for an opening, which for most enemies can be done by standing still with your shield raised, land a few blows and repeat. However, it does not in any way prevent it from feeling as if on an adventure. There are also some platforming elements. Unlike in many Zelda titles, you can jump whenever you want. Puzzle solving is also involved and often mixed with platforming. I found it to be well executed.

The items you use, such as the weapons, can be picked up or crafted using ressources you acquire. Ennemies do not respawn when killed, but ressources, spiders and noncritical items such as boxes do. The state of puzzles and the items linked to them are saved.

There are some physics bugs. I sometimes "double-jump" when near edges. I also went a few times through a surface and got stuck when I was going too fast and/or arrived from the wrong angle. I suggest duplicating your save file just in case something goes wrong. The dialogs, while not animated, are fairly well written. They are consistent in showing the personality of the protagonist as a kid with a sarcastic sense of humour determined to achieve his goals.

I recommend this game despite its bugs. The art style, the exploration and the general feeling of adventure kept me playing. It is not without flaws, but then again they do not go against the spirit of the game. I want to thank the developers for supporting Linux, you are awesome! I finished the game in about 15 hours. I tried to find every recipe and upgrade, but it looks like I still missed a few. As a veteran Zelda player who aims to find everything when playing, this is actually a good sign. I will come back to it shortly to find every secret. ;)

Hello friends,

Today i will be reviewing the game called "Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrin". This game is a 3d platformer where you do quests, help the people of the islands you explore, and build things. There is also a ok story, but don't expect a super long game. The time i played above is how long it took me to beat it, even while searching for stuff around the islands. The crafting system is clever. You can build stuff and repair things. Sometimes i build crates to jump up to places. Ive used it several times when playing the game. This make the game a bit versatile on what you can explore and such.

PROS:

- There is controller support. It works for the most part pretty good.
- The game is a platformer/exploration game.
- It is quite fun to find new islands to explore and find the mysteries on each of them.
- The crafting system is quite fun to use. Be aware you need enough supplies to build things though.

CONS:

- It seems the developer has abadoned the game and is no longer working on it at this point. A dlc was supposed to come out, but i doubt it now.
- There are minor glitches. For example, sometimes my weapon and shield floated next to my character.
- The game is not long..making a perfect game for younger people who are starting out gaming or just young children.

Recommended for fun and young children. For some reason, Tyron building stuff reminds me of Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon. He is handy with tools, just like Hiccup. The achievements are somewhat easy to get also, so if your a achievement hunter, you could get a perfect game in not too long a time for this game.

Oh its that kind game no manual save, checkpoint system doesn't make alotta sense (or works properly) its fun until you start to wander and then die then get sent way back to a checkpoint that you dont even remember. Pity really a quick save mode would make the game fun but as it is, meh not for me i guess.

Cornerstone is quite fun to play. However, it is one of those stupid games that only feature one save. If you have only one save available, the developers have to ensure the game works perfectly and your save isn't corrupted in any way. And this game features a gamebreaking bug that means game over no matter how far in game you get. This bug is that you can get stuck in various places throughout the game (inside walls or other objects). If you get stuck, this is permadeath (you have start the game anew), since when you leave the game, it will save your stuck position and you can only appear at the same spot (being stuck again). I read earlier discussions and this was a problem way back in 2016 when this game was released. Now, 5 years later in 2021, the developers did nothing to repair this bug (more solutions come to mind - either more save slots, or appearing at nearest checkpoint when leaving game or devising a self-destruct/suicide button to die in case you get in such situation). As such, the game is unplayable, since it is centered on exploration and you will simply get stuck while doing so.

5 hours in and I'm really enjoying the game. Feels much like Zelda the Windwaker in some aspects, such as the cel-shaded graphics and the boat travel. One thing to keep in mind...its not Zelda. For one it does not have near the large scale world Zelda has. Its open world that is for sure, but once you get to playing it you will realize quickly that it is sort of on rails with a story.

I see how people are over and over saying how bad the combat is. I don't find it too bad now that I'm used to it. It is a bit clunky that is for sure, but I perfer using steath attacks which seems to be more effective than head to head combat. Combat isn't really the biggest part of the game. Its more about the puzzle solving and level design, both of which are the key features of the game that really shine. The crafting system plays a large role in puzzle solving. The only problem with this is that items degrade over time which is kind of annoying.....like when your sword explodes in the middle of battle and you have to run away and craft a new one. The physics system actually is really cool, but its not with out its Garry's modish bugs. Its not perfect but its for sure worth trying! There aren't too many games like this for PC.

I am giving this a tentative thumbs up after my initial impressions.

I came in this not from a Kickstarter, but as a purchaser on a half-off discount. I imagine if I backed this, I'd be kinda disappointed.

It's so hard to put it into words.. it's good, but it lacks polish. It also could use more refined controls. Really, if you didn't move so slow, the game might be twice as good. I find myself rolling all the time, and feeling like that's still slow.. it feels like it takes longer than it should to get anywhere, and the jumps even feel like you're kinda floating a bit.

I think all the elements for a good game are here, but the controls could use some tightening, and it could use some more polish in general.

1. Combat feels unfinished with lock-on not facing you towards the enemy, making it annoying to block and do the sort of movements of walking forward and back as you strike that this style of combat system was designed for.
2. Even facing them, it's easy to get hit while blocking, or standing too close for blocking to help.
3. More nitpicky, but the lock-on is unclear; all it does is face the camera, with no clear retina over the enemy; nothing but a cursor change. But if there's any message to my review that I want to get across, it's that small tweaks like these would do worlds of good for this game.
4. Movement feels slow. While that's not a bad thing on its own, once again, the game is based on established mechanics where the player wants to get across spaces fairly quickly. You shouldn't have time to look around your room getting distracted because it takes two minutes to cross the island.
5. Some villagers you can talk to don't have the button prompt, while some who don't talk once you've exhausted their options do. Another nitpicky point, but again, just a small bit of sloppiness..
6. Normally you expect both an in-game pause menu and a main menu.. that being said it was over halfway into my playtime before I figured out that you can switch from the main menu into quest prompts and so on. Just feels unclear, and is out of the norm for most games so I just thought there was ONLY a main menu. In fact, I still don't know what those other menus are, because as a player, I was done once I found the quest prompts. I was planning on critiquing the lack of a minimap or even a regular map until it occoured to me that the map may be in there.
7. I had trouble picking items up. As a player, and as the game is designed very much like Windwaker, I expect to hit the button near an item to pick it up. But you have to have the cursor over the item you want to pick up.. and since equipable items tend to be smaller and blend in with clutter, this means you have to stop and spend a few moments aiming to pick up your sword you dropped because you needed a torch. The crafting system and abundance of supplies make this negligible since you can easily just craft more, but as a player it is incredibly frustrating to have the game be that particular about picking things up, when such precision is completely unnecessary and you just need the character to pick up the closest thing.

I will likely have more to say after I played it some more, but as clunky as it feels, I just can't sit down and give it that time in one go. I want to like it more, but it took me an hour to complete side-quests and open up the other half of the island. While I didn't at first, I figured out the island layout fairly quickly, and where I was going most of the time; that's just how long it took to run from one place to the next and doing what was needed for about four things.

The map size feels good, while unpolished the platforming and level design is fine, you just move.. so slow..

That's why the thumbs-up is tentative. I like it, I want to enjoy it more, but there's more things than I probably noticed in one play session dragging it down. I am glad to have it, but this game needs more work, and I would probably respect it a lot less if I didn't know a few things about game development. But as it stands, exploration and combat are 80% of this game, and both have flaws keeping them from feeling solid. It's close, the systems they need are all there, but it just needs more work to feel right.

So.. I tentatively say that it's good, but should be treated as "early access" level quality, and probably not worth the full price as it is now.

Target Audience: Those who like getting lost....and have a high frustration tolerance.

Summary:

The kickstarter described a game that was Wind Waker Meets Dark Souls. And here's where you realize that having a small indie game compared to 2 big franchises is a bad idea, because the game is neither of those games, and has a bunch of problems out of the gate that it never recovers from. The writing is very hit and miss, and the misses whiff hard, as breaks in the story progression and the dead nature of the world is always dragging the good aspects of it down. The exploration can be fun at times, but there's not a lot TO explore, and the game doesn't really like you going off the beaten path. The “puzzles” and trap avoiding in dungeons can be fun at times, but they are so few and far between. And the combat has MAJOR issues, in particular with it just being.....boring. Oh, and don't get me started on the bugs. Look, the game needed more time in the oven, that much is clear. But for no, I can't recommend Song of Tyrim.


Gameplay Footage and Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZC29VEd_Z4

Lists:
Positives:

• The Viking backstory is interesting at its core, and I wanted to see more of the villages and its back story.
  
• Puzzle solving elements are simple, but can do the job in terms of progression, and feeling like you're an “adventurer”.
  
• Tyrim's smartass nature is fun for a bit.
  
• Controls reasonable work for both the controller and keyboard/mouse. Either one will work.
  
• Stealth mechanics actually work at the basic level. It's not the focus, but I was impressed at how well it was implemented.
  
• I like the weapon degradation, only because it causes massive chaos. And I like the chaos in this game. It really needed it.

Negatives:

• The combat is not Dark Souls. It's repetitive, it's predictable, and it's boring. No seriously, Combat is boring. Have I mentioned how bad the combat is?
  
• The combat is bad. Yes, I'm repeating this. I just want to make it perfectly clear.
  
• It's buggy as hell. Just watch the video, and you'll see what I'm talking about. Broken Progress, weird physics bugs.
  
• Why make utility items degrade. The crafting system can really be annoying at times, especially when you can't easily find a resource.
  
• You'll get lost. And you'll get frustrated at times. The map doesn't do a good job of providing any real useful information.
  
• Some performance/load issues.
  
• Collision detection feels a hair off at times, as you'll notice it in particular with platforming. You'll need to hit platforms with “all” of your body, if that makes sense.
  
• Some things just don't make sense in terms of the natural “detective” gameplay of figure out what you need to do next. The game isn't going to help you at all with hints either, at least most of the time.
  
• Side stories don't get a good conclusion to them, and that sucks, because several of them were interesting. You're left wondering why. And that's when it doesn't break it's own continuity. In fact, it's almost like those side stories don't matter, other then giving you what you need.
  
• The world feels so lifeless. There's not a lot there, and those who are there won't react naturally at times.

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