I was sent Lil’ Guardsman for free to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will not let it sway my opinions of the game. This will be my honest review of the game. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends.
What is Lil’ Guardsman
Lil Guardsman Lil’ Guardsman is a narrative deduction game out now on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch.
Lil’ must cover her dad’s shift at the city gate. It is up to her to decide who gets let into the city, and who gets turned away. Equipped with magic tools and mostly intuition, she must make the choices that will determine the city’s future. Not everyone trying to enter the city has good intentions. Can she keep the city safe, or will she let it crumble into chaos as is foretold in the prophecy?
Gameplay
Lil’ Guardsman is a visual novel, which means a lot of the gameplay involves sitting through a story clicking choices in between. The choices matter, so choose carefully.
DuDuring each shift, Lil will encounter unique characters, listen to their story, and decide whether or not to grant them passage. Players have a limited amount of actions they can use to ask questions or use tools to determine a person’s intention. This means there is a lot of sitting around and listening to narrative, but the game is fun and quirky so it shouldn’t matter.
Thoughts
I had a lot of fun with Lil’ Guardsman. The game has adorable art, a quirky story, and a relaxing gameplay loop. If you enjoy visual novels or just want a comforting change of pace, you need to check out this game. I loved the game’s silly tone and story. This game is fun, and even though I found myself obsessed with getting a perfect score on each encounter, it was a relaxing experience I didn’t know I needed.
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I got to try out SteamWorld Buildat GDC before the title was made public. I am extremely excited about this cute entry into the SteamWorld universe. I love city builders, and with my limited exposure to the title, I already know Build is taking all of my free time. If you are a fan of the genre, go wishlist SteamWorld Build.
Build takes place after the events of Dig 2. The planet is dying, and you must make a final push to escape it. With the help of your citizens, you must gather resources, build your town, and fight off the wildlife that endangers our town. Can you escape before it is too late?
At first glance, Build can seem overwhelming with how much there is to manage. You have to build a city, keep your workers happy, mine resources, and defend your base all at once. The game does a fantastic job at easing the player into its mechanics, and once you get used to them, the management isn’t bad The pacing of this game can be stressful if you aren’t actively planning your moves, but the pacing of the game was rather relaxing. You will have plenty of time to maneuver between your tasks, and the game does a great job of alerting the players about what needs to be done.
1 / 10
There is a story to this game, but it acts more as a tutorial as it guides you through the different mechanics. Each section of the story will have you unlock and repair buildings that will open up more of the game. The main draw of this game will be its sandbox mode, where you will have the freedom to build and establish your base without restrictions. I recommend going through the story to at least get a basic understanding of its fundamentals.
The game is all about managing your base. Your base is split into different levels. At the top, you have a town of your design where you will recruit your workers. Below the town, you will mine for resources and defend against monsters. You will spend most of your time moving between levels to make sure all your worker’s needs are met while advancing your base.
My favorite thing about this game is the art. The steampunk western aesthetic is adorable. I love the art in the SteamWorld games, and the translation from 2D to 3D art was done beautifully. The art for this game was done by the same people that did the costumes for Little Big Planet, and they did a fantastic job. I spent most of my session admiring all the little details that went into the design. The world reminds me a lot of the Ork aesthetic in 40k where everything is made from recycled metal, except here it’s cute. I loved watching the little robots complete their chores or interact with buildings. The small details make me see the passion there is for this game and have me excited to see a finished product.
I didn’t get to play SteamWorld Build enough to have a fleshed-out opinion, but I am very excited by what I experienced. If you like city builders or are looking to get into one, Build is worth looking into. The game will be available on all consoles and PC. Go try out the demo on Steam or Epic Games. There is no release date yet, but you can wishlist it on Steam, Epic Games, GOG, and Playstation.
Shoutout to the devs that took the time to show me the game and answer all my questions. Keep up the good work!
Make sure you join the official SteamWorld Build Discord server to stay up-to-date on all the news. It is a very active server that occasionally has giveaways. You can also follow them on Twitter
I’ve been avoiding this movie for a while now. I loved this movie as a kid, I have very fond memories about it, but I was afraid that time might have been too kind to one of my favorite movies. There are a lot of movies from my childhood that I can’t bring myself to rewatch because I don’t want to ruin my memories of them. I know they were always bad movies, but I cherish the experience. I am happy to write that The Sandlot still holds up.
The Sandlot is told by an adult reflecting on events of his childhood. He is unreliable. Details might be misremembered, others might be embellished for the story, but it works perfectly for this narrative. Some of us look back on our childhood with a fondness that distorts our retelling. What might and might not have happened ultimately doesn’t matter because it is the emotions that exist within those memories that cherish. The games we played, the friends we made, and the adventures we had are all pieced together into an epic we carry with us. The actual events might not have been anything special, but the memories are. That is what this movie captures very well.
The Sandlot does a great job of showing the grandeur of childhood. Before the big reveal at the end, the beast is portrayed as a giant blood-thirsty monster. A lot of the interactions between the kids and the best are these epic missions to retrieve the ball. It is only at the end, when they get the full story that the beast is no longer a monster but a sweet giant dog. This is what childhood is. A period full of wonder, urban legends, and adventures with your friends. I remember playing with my friends until the street lamps came on. I remember sharing a cigarette behind my middle school because we all wanted to look cool. This is why this movie still holds up.
