While game developers and publishers always hope that every title they make will end up being a huge success, that is unfortunately not always the case. Many games end up being liked by certain gamers but disliked by others. That seems to be the case with The Casting of Frank Stone.
Welcome once again to Player.One's review roundup, where we focus on what gamers on Steam and Google Reviews have to say about new releases.
Gamers certainly have a lot to say about The Casting of Frank Stone, which was released on September 4, 2024. While many comments about the game have been positive, there are also those are not so positive as well.
In fact, the game now has "Mixed" reviews on Steam as of press time. On Google Reviews, the game has a 3.5-star rating.
Here's what gamers have to say about The Casting of Frank Stone.
The Casting of Frank Stone
For those who are not familiar with the game, The Casting of Frank Stone is an interactive horror drama game developed by Supermassive Games and published by Behaviour Interactive. The game is available for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.
Set in Cedar Hills, Oregon, in the summer of 1980, the story of the game focuses on a group of aspiring filmmakers who are hoping to make a horror movie in a steel mill. This steel mill has a horrific past as it is where gruesome crimes have occurred in the past.
Just who exactly is Frank Stone and how he's involved in this whole story is up for you to find out as a player.
'Mixed' Reviews on Steam
The Casting of Frank Stone has, as of press time, has more than 2,200 user reviews on Steam. These reviews are described by Steam as "Mixed."
"After a questionable prologue, both from a technical and gameplay-narrative perspective, the game starts to pick up speed and gradually gains momentum, reaching a solid pace by the middle and maintaining it all the way to the end," Steam user Wooohoo said in a review.
"In my opinion, it's a solid and confident second place in the interactive movie survival horror genre, right after Until Dawn, slightly ahead of the simplistic but beloved The Quarry in terms of plot depth and script development," Wooohooo added.
"Though I was enjoying the characters and their introduction to the mystery confronting them through the first three hours of the game, the crashing at screen transitions, stuttering & lagging and optimisation issues make it a struggle to play," rosie.tabu lamented in a separate review. "I tried various 'fixes' noted in the community post, but nothing improved the quality or performance."
"To add to this, I hit a game breaking bug that meant I'd have to restart from the beginning (because the load function is locked at the start) and reloading and continuing didn't fix the issue of being stuck in a room with an NPC blocking the only exit doorway," rosie.tabu added.
3.5 Stars on Google Reviews
The Casting of Frank Stone is also receiving mixed reviews on Google Reviews, where it has a rating of 3.5 stars as of writing.
"It's Supermassive's best entry since Until Dawn," Google user Arthur Döhler says in his review. "Of course, interactive films are niche games, but this one is a delight for fans of the genre."
"Supermassive has enhanced gameplay by adding features missing in previous titles, such as an indicator of area transition," Arthur Döhler explained. "Horror, action, and investigation are perfectly balanced, with stunning graphics, smooth facial expressions, and competent acting."
User James Obrien, on the other hand, gave the game a three-star review, saying "This game fails to meet expectations, especially for its high price tag."
"While the graphics are stunning, the focus on visuals seems to come at the cost of meaningful gameplay," James Obrien said. "The characters are bland, with unexciting backstories that make it hard to connect with them."
"The lack of impactful choices is disappointing, as the story forces you into a single ending, offering little replay value," he added.
Gameplay Trailer
You can watch the official gameplay trailer for The Casting of Frank Stone below.
