About This Demo

The cult 1999 action RPG returns  - restored by its own creator.

In a distant age, the corrupt monk Draak turned against Kaliba, goddess of life and nature, and reshaped himself into a dragon to drown the world in darkness. The only thing that can stop him is the Time Orb — forged from Kaliba's tears, then shattered into seven crystals and hidden across the four lands of Uma. You are the adventurer who must recover the seven crystals, rebuild the Orb, and descend into Draak's lair to end his reign.

The DarkStone Restoration Demo is your free invitation back into the kingdom of Uma — Delphine's beloved 1999 action-RPG, brought back by Paul Cuisset, creator of the original, and forged anew for modern hardware. This isn't a remake. It's a restoration: the same merciless combat, the same hand-crafted gothic atmosphere — rebuilt to feel right on today's PCs without losing what made it special.

Eight heroes. One legend to write.

Build your champion from eight characters across four classes — warrior, mage, thief and priest — each with its own strengths, combat style and feel. As you adventure, grow its arsenal and spellbook — dozens of weapons, spells and talents to discover — and carve your path through the ever-changing lands of Uma.

Two heroes, one mind — the new Buddy mode.

Darkstone always let you raise two heroes and switch between them at will. The Restoration goes further with Buddy mode: hold a single button to take direct control of your companion — reposition them, aim their spells, chain a combo — then release to hand them straight back to the AI. Coordinate both characters in the very same fight, something the original game never allowed.

A new world every time you play.

Dungeons, quests, monsters and loot are randomly generated, and five difficulty levels keep the challenge alive — no two descents are ever the same. Plunder treasure, upgrade your skills, and grow strong enough to face what waits in the dark.

Couch co-op, finally for real.

The original Darkstone only offered networked play — two separate worlds, two inventories. The Restoration adds brand-new shared-world couch co-op: one world, one save, two players on the very same adventure. A second player drops in to take control of your companion whenever they like, and drops out just as easily — the hero slips back under AI control. Playing remotely? Steam Remote Play Together has you covered.

Full 3D, real-time action.

A landmark of its era — one of the first action RPGs to bring the genre fully into 3D. DarkStone Restoration preserves that spirit while making it feel right to play on modern PCs.

What's in the demo

• Forge up to 4 heroes from 8 classic character classes — name them, send them to glory or to their doom

• Solo or two-player couch co-op — plus Companion mode, so your second hero fights smart while you focus

• Plunder the first dungeons — procedurally-arranged rooms, traps, and loot you have to earn

• 3 full-length quests, drawn at random every time you start a new game — replay and watch Uma reshuffle around you

• Six languages — English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish

Restored and modernized for today

This is the original Darkstone, rebuilt to run beautifully on modern machines — without losing what made it special.

Runs great on modern PCs

• Native 64-bit modern-Windows build with improved stability

• Modern displays and resolutions, borderless windowed mode and a configurable frame-rate cap

Comfort and quality of life

• First-class controller support across every screen — auto-targeting, target cycling and lock, DualSense

• Reworked spell system with a quick-access spell bar and independent fast-spell slots

• Inventory upgrades: automatic gold pickup, optional auto-sort, quick-equip, item gifting, gold splitting, level-up point distribution

• Clearer fonts and HUD, quest journal and map readability (exploration %), persistent minimap transparency

Looks the way you want

• Modern lighting and effects — dynamic shadows, SSAO, bloom, procedural grass, tunable volumetric fog

• A dedicated Legacy mode that restores the authentic 1999 look and feel for purists

Beyond the demo — in the full release

• Dungeons 9 and beyond — and the deeper crystals

• The outer lands of Uma

• The final battle with Draak

• Steam Achievements, four leaderboards (deepest dungeon, character level, time to slay Draak, biggest single hit) and stats

The demo is a doorway. The kingdom is much, much larger.

On the road to full release

DarkStone Restoration launches in Early Access with its restored single-player core. As development continues — and guided by community feedback — the project aims to bring back more of Darkstone's legacy, including modernized network multiplayer and a new Quest Editor built in the spirit of the original tool.

Enjoyed your return to Uma?

Wishlist DarkStone Restoration to be notified the moment the full kingdom opens — and follow the restoration as it grows.

Sharpen your blade. Light a torch. The dungeons are waiting.

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AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

This game uses generative AI during development only, to upscale selected videos and artwork. No AI-generated content is produced in real time during gameplay.