Stoneroot Survival: a close look, tips and whether it is worth your time

If you enjoy short sessions that are hard to walk away from, give this one a look. Below is everything you need before the first launch: the gist, the controls and some working techniques.

What this game is

Stoneroot is a first-person voxel survival action for the browser, built on the Three.js engine. Light is a resource here, and the dark keeps count. You wake on the surface of a procedurally generated world and dig ever deeper: the lower you go, the gloomier, more dangerous and more rewarding it gets. There are no image assets — the dungeon geometry, lighting, blocks and creatures are all generated in the browser from a seed, and every sound is synthesized with the Web Audio API. One "Descend" button, and the roots stir beneath you.

How to play, in short

1. Stoneroot is a first-person voxel survival action for the browser, built on the Three.js engine.

2. Light is a resource here, and the dark keeps count.

3. You wake on the surface of a procedurally generated world and dig ever deeper: the lower you go, the gloomier, more dangerous and more rewarding it gets.

4. There are no image assets — the dungeon geometry, lighting, blocks and creatures are all generated in the browser from a seed, and every sound is synthesized with the Web Audio API.

5. One "Descend" button, and the roots stir beneath you.

Controls

Controls: WASD to move, mouse (drag across the screen) to look, left click to dig or strike, right click to place or eat, Space to jump, Shift to sprint, Ctrl/C to crouch, 1-9 for hotbar slots, scroll to cycle the hotbar, E for the pack, Esc to pause, F3 for debug. On a phone there is an analog stick on the left, swipe-to-look on the right, and large buttons for dig, place, jump and pack.

A few final tips

• Check out the demo mode on the game page — the AI shows how it is played, and repeating it yourself gets much easier.
• Play in short sessions: the best results come with a warmed-up head.

A perfect way to kill ten minutes — and suddenly an hour is gone. Ready to try? "Stoneroot Survival"