Being a guard at the gates of a kingdom may seem simple, but it can dictate the entire fate of a story.
THE GAME
Lil' Guardsman is a point and click puzzle game developed by Hilltop Studios and distributed by Versus Evil and tinyBuild. When her father asks her to cover his shift at the kingdom's gates, Lil, a little girl of just 12 years old, learns the job of guard, questioning all the beings who wish to enter her kingdom, using all the resources that are within her reach. It seems simple, but her choices can change the course of the story. Let her be very careful when deciding and at the same time, don't get Lil fired from her job.
MY IMPRESSIONS
Lil' Guardsman presents the story in several chapters, which are equivalent to each level of the game. Therefore, the game will be the same every time you play, changing only according to the different choices that impact the direction of the story. As for the main gameplay, I was a little disappointed. Every time you release or block a passerby, you receive an evaluation. But, initially, as you only have two options (bar or release), you can simply do this without having to justify anything. And that's where I was disappointed. If it is not mandatory to justify, why am I punished for doing either of the two options? For example, at one point, a character appears covered in blood, as if she had killed someone. I looked at the figure and immediately blocked it, because that's what anyone would do. And then, the game evaluated me: it said I did the right thing, but without any kind of proof. This is a crucial point that the game fails and that makes everything less interesting. If there were a justification system, it would be much better and less subjective. Or there is no such evaluation system. Anyway, this took me out of the game completely, not caring so much about the resources I have to use.
Prepare for a lot of text. The entire plot revolves around a big story based on your choices. Some characters reveal things in their lines that can be used later, so you need to pay close attention. Unfortunately, the game is not in Portuguese-Brazil, which makes it very difficult for this audience to be interested in Lil' Guardsman. I hope they add subtitles in that language soon. Furthermore, the characters have original voices, which makes everything more alive. The art is very beautiful and fun, it even feels like you're playing a cartoon. The comedy side is very exacerbated, with dialogues and comical situations always occurring.
The mechanics and resources used to question those who want to enter the kingdom are very creative, however, they have uses limited to recharges, which means that you take very little advantage of them, even though they could be used more. I feel like the game doesn't know if it wants to be a puzzle game or if it allows you to be creative, because even though it has all these resources, I always have the feeling that you will only be able to solve it the way it was predicted, except for the moments that change something in the game. history. Still, it's a very interesting and fun game.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Achievements are linked to the game's levels and the different decisions you make during the story. As for the levels, there are achievements for simply completing them and ones where you have to complete the level with perfect ratings. The story's decisions are diverse, which will make you play again a few times to get 100% of the achievements.
CONCLUSION
If, like me, you heard that this game was like Papers, Please, you can get that idea out of your head. It may even have served as inspiration and been about a similar profession, but the comparisons stop there. Lil' Guardsman is more of a puzzle game. Here you don't need to evaluate many things, because often the game already gives you what you should do on a plate. I really think the game was halfway between being a linear story or being a game that requires the player to think.
Maybe I was just disappointed, because I was excited, but when a game gives you so many tools, but forces you to do it the way it wants, I get a little upset. Still, Lil' Guardsman is worth playing, it's a fun and well-animated experience. It's a shame that it's not yet in Portuguese-Brazil, but I believe that over time, we will get a translation. Rest assured that a lot of people will be much more interested in the game.
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