Sometimes, I end up covering a game that I’d never expect to like as much as I do. Lil Guardsman absolutely surprised me with its detail, depth, humor, and heart. It embraces the absurdity of a child thrust into a dangerous, high-stakes job, while also emphasizing how certain choices influence the city and its people.
Things in Lil Guardsman start out fairly innocently. Lil is the daughter of Hamish, a guardsman who mans the gate at a kingdom called The Sprawl. He wants to bet on a Goblinball game, so he drafts his daughter to fill his position. As the days go by and the situation in the city changes, Lil ends up with increasingly strict restrictions from major authorities in the kingdom, handling greater responsibilities and night shifts, and basically becomes a test subject for a Chronometer 3000 device that can let her rewind time.
Much of the comedy in Lil Guardsman comes from the obvious and blatant silliness. That part of it is great and reminiscent of LucasArts classic titles. But I also appreciated when said humor also involved critiques of modern society and issues that stem from corruption and intolerance. The state of the working class and nature of politicians, for example, are handled well and in genuinely funny ways.
Speaking of those deeper issues, while Lil Guardsman is a humorous game, it also addresses them and allows players to make decisions to stand up to authority and for equality. For example, racism runs rampant. Species like Goblins are discriminated against, with certain “rules” on some days threatening punishments for Lil letting non-humans in or telling her she should treat them differently than human visitors. We also firsthand see how power struggles work and have moments during which we could be part of the problem, rather than the solution.
Those complexities also can be quite wholesome. There is way more heart to Lil Guardsman than I expected. The relationship between Lil and her father Hamish is absolutely exceptional. It pairs typical goofy dad humor with more serious moments between the two. Hamish jokes with his daughter constantly, but then we also get asides that reveal exactly how much he’s doing for her sake as a single parent. At another point, a choice that shapes the Sprawl involves Lil debating if she stays positive for him or is honest about how hard the situation is for her, and I really hesitated because both sides could be the “right” answer or have “negative” consequences.
As for the gameplay, it is a mix of Papers Please and classic point-and-click adventures. When Lil is at her post, there are certain restrictions and goals for the day. She can talk to the person trying to get into The Sprawl, teasing, trusting, or doubting them to get additional insight. Three advisors can be called to get insight or because it’s part of the edicts for that shift. You can use a Bullwhip, Decoder Ring, Metal Detector, Truth Spray, or X-ray to further analyze people and handle the situation. It is also possible to confiscate items, then either use them later or sell them for money for the crystals needed to power and upgrade the tools you use each day. Of course, there’s also the Chronometer 3000, a major plot device, which allows you to rewind at will or if you get a bad ending. After taking three “turns” investigating, you admit someone to the city, deny them entry, or even in some cases jail them.
The only downside to this is that the array of tools don’t all carry the same weight. The Decoder Ring, Truth Spray, and X-ray all proved absolutely vital to me throughout the course of the game, but I pretty much never needed the Bullwhip or Metal Detector. The Metal Detector was essentially a backup item in case I’d spent my X-ray uses for the shift. However, I appreciate that the developers even realized this about certain tools, as it has the potential to come up in a clever way depending on your approach in one encounter. However, since you do choose how you invest Lil’s paychecks into upgrades, you can just… prioritize the equipment you see as being important to you and focus on that throughout your run.
I also appreciated that while the focus is on the guardsman shifts, there are occasional adventure elements that involve logical reasoning or finding specific items. When these segments come up, they never wear out their welcome and tend to be well-integrated. There’s a reason for Lil to be called upon to help make an important decision (adults are corrupt and/or incompetent) and
Lil Guardsman is one of those games that I basically took a chance on because the trailers made me smile, and I don’t regret it. It’s really entertaining, sometimes touching, and it even shocked me at certain points because of immediate results of decisions I’d made. Speaking of which, this is also a game during which you do face the consequences of your actions, and I’m curious to go back and replay to see how different choices will affect the city on another run.
Lil Guardsman is available for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.
Imagine you're a 12 year old, suddenly in charge of the guard shed at the castle gate, where you decide if elves, goblins and 100+ other characters should be admitted. It's a combination of deduction, narrative and puzzle games. Switch version reviewed.
Lil Guardsman absolutely surprised me with its detail, depth, humor, and heart.
- When it comes upgrading tools, I recommend going with the Truth Spray first, then the X-ray and Decoder Ring. I never upgraded my Metal Detector or Bullwhip.
- I appreciated that after you finish a shift, you get to see a follow-up letting you know what happened to all the people you did or didn’t let into The Sprawl.
- I found I was able to get through the game with only the cash earned from selling the photos of the potential partners for the princess and keeping the other items, though I did bet on Goblinball twice.
- Sometimes take a minute to listen to the full radio announcement when Lil is waking up. It can sometimes foreshadow things you’ll deal with throughout that shift.
