Sacred Stones

Cave Story + Titan Souls + Cuphead = Sacred Stones One of the best indie games I've ever played.

I'm actually sort of on the fence here, but I'm leaning towards not recommend. Sacred Stones is a boss rush game, like Furi or Titan Souls. It's very pretty, but the bosses aren't well designed IMO. It's hard to explain exactly what's wrong with it, but basically it's a bunch of small issues that compound on each other and suck the fun out of it. Some examples: * Bosses often don't telegraph their attacks. Some do, but a lot of others will just suddenly attack with no wind-up animation, making it impossible to react in time. Sure, there's an argument to be made for memorizing timings and patterns, but there's also a counterargument for keeping it fair and balanced such that an attentive player could realistically dodge it the first time they see it, instead of getting a surprise cheap shot. The player should be rewarded for skillful execution, not get blindsided by something they couldn't have possibly seen coming and have to rely on dumb luck. Plus, the timing-based attacks are often weirdly synchronized and feel completely off. The penguin boss is a great example of that, when it shoots penguins and rocks at you, and you're expected to juggle them when their rhythm is complete…

Sacred Stones is a stylish throwback to the golden era of 8-bit and 16-bit action platformers, and it wears its inspirations proudly while still carving out its own identity. Developed and published by CFK Co., Ltd., the game immediately evokes the structure and pacing of classics like Mega Man, Contra, and early arcade-inspired shooters, offering tight side-scrolling stages, fast combat, and boss encounters built around pattern recognition and precision movement. From the opening moments, Sacred Stones communicates exactly what kind of experience it intends to deliver—no filler dialogue, no cinematic padding, just pure gameplay-driven progression built for players who enjoy old-school challenge, responsive controls, and immediate feedback. That clarity of purpose makes it an appealing entry for retro fans longing for something authentic rather than modernized imitation. Gameplay lies at the heart of Sacred Stones’ appeal. Levels are short but carefully constructed obstacle courses filled with enemies, platforming hazards, and environmental traps that demand patience, observation, and timing. Movement feels fluid yet deliberate, and the protagonist’s abilities—shooting, jumping, d…

Short but fun, worth a try!

Sacred Stones is a really basic boss rush game. The game is pretty easy I defeated most bosses on my first or second attempt. The quality of the boss design varies greatly, some are clever and involved whereas others you just shoot until the boss is dead with minimal dodging. I'd say about half of the bosses are interesting. I bought this for under 1€ and at that price it is okay.

People compare this to Cuphead / Titan Souls but in reality it is not even remotely close to the greatness of those indie titles. Only buy this for cheap, but if you like a bosh rush 2D platformer / shouter, do buy it. It is good for 1.5-2 hours entertainment. Beware though - there is no replay value and it is really really really barebones simple. Some bosses feel like Super Mario Bros 2 mid-world castle bosses... :)