OK, I recently bought this game to give the genre a go, but I really have a hard time enjoying it. What is it that makes this game great? Combat is just 'click fast enough to not die', exploration is.. well there isn't really much worth seeing. Do the levels get more complex/interesting later on? Am I missing something in general? I kinda dislike giving up on a game, but I'm having a hard time here..

Well, it's an old game and worse, it's even a few years behind its peers so you're really playing something with an early '90s vintage. It does require some higher-order thinking in a few spots but honestly it's the same basic gameplay that you'd get from, say, The Bard's Tale or any other mid-'80s 3D dungeon crawl with fancier graphics and real-time combat. I think it holds up OK (not great, just OK) when compared to other games in that category. Part of the problem is that, while using captured video in-game like that was innovative at the time, it's kind of old hat these days so there's no "wow factor" like there must have been 14 years ago.
I enjoyed playing it, and certainly feel I got my $6 worth, but I happen to like that kind of game. It's quite understandable that many folks don't.

QFT.
It's just not for everyone.
I thoroughly enjoyed the simplicity of the plot and really being pushed to figure out stuff for myself.

For me it was simply an enjoyable game that offered basic game play with a lot of heart.
Compared to newer games they is a lot to be desired in Stonekeep, and yet I would list it as one of my top games I bought here (I own 30).
At times I am not looking for the most complex game where I have to keep about 6-14 different things in mind each and every moment I am playing.
I find it has a charm; that while, is from a day gone by, is still worth the effort to take time with.
Plus, where else are you going to find a character in a game called "The Great Wahooka"! :o)

it was a killer game 14 years ago and since i'm a gamer for a long time its nice to replay those old kickass games.

I have this as part of the interplay RPG compilation (best value compilation ever!! worth tracking down if you can) and I like it because I am a HUGE Bards Tale fan and loved Dungeon Master. I would not say this game is amazing or anything, I would say its a reasonable RPG that can be very frustrating at times. It has a certain charm though.

I'd completely forgotten about this post, sorry guys =)
I gather the charm is mostly in the pure, simple gameplay and the nostalgia factor (for most).
I guess it just isn't for me then. Thanks for the replies!

I just bought the game with yesterday's promo and have invested a couple of hours.
So far I enjoy the simplicity of the gameplay and the big exploration factor the game has. Unless you explore you won't even find a journal to keep track of your information.
It's at the heart a late 80s / early 90s dungeon crawler with improved visuals.

I also bought it during the Interplay-promo. It has been kind of fun so far, but I do get the feeling I'd be better off just playing Nethack at times. The combat isn't very interesting and the levels look and feel very boring. Still, it has it's moments, and the simplicity also means that it's a lot easier to approach than most older RPGs.

Ok, ok, I'll give it a try again someday. I've been playing MM lately, and by drawing me in with more complex game mechanics it has at least allowed me to get used to the visual presentation (which also bothered me somehow).
For me the simplicity actually made it less approachable. I've been trained to evaluate stats and calculate optimal courses of action based on that. That's why I really was (am) at a loss about how to enjoy Stonekeep.

Heh Stonekeep may not have a lot of numbers, but boy is it fun. Just think of it as...something different. It's still tea, but it's not English tea anymore, it's um...Chinese tea. Ok bad analogy, sorry, but you get the point :D

I played it back then and now It's this nostalgic thing that makes me a Stonekeep fan.
Being mean, I would shout about that deadly arrow, thrown BY HAND, or that moving pattern (90 degrees here, 90 there) or the raster in which my avatar can throw things (9 positions to hit all enemies etc.)
But I am not mean, and that's why I am looking forward to meet my dwarves again and Wahhoka... Besides: "I hate Tthrogs too!" - back then I liked the humor of the game mixed with an exploration type, I knew from Bard's tale and astonishing things like "WHERE IS MY SKILL CHART OR MAP?" ... "Oh I gotta find a magic book thing first - now THAT'S tricky!".
Yeah - I was an easy prey for programmers back then: easy to suprise.

Thanks for mentioning the magic book thing. Been wondering why there's not a map : ).

Check out the Hints and Tips post as people have given some good ideas on playing the game there.