Lil’ Guardsman is a Papers, Please inspired narrative deduction game, coming this year
Indie dev Hilltop Studios has teamed up with publisher Versus Evil (Pillars of Eternity, The Banner Saga), to announce Lil’ Guardsman, a stunning looking narrative-driven adventure game that’s coming to PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles this year.
The developer says it’s a narrative deduction game, and is inspired by the classic point and click genre, but also by Papers, Please. Now, obviously, given the quality of that title, your ears have probably pricked up, right? Let’s check out the announcement trailer below, and the official word from the dev on what the game is about.
Set in a high-fantasy world with the comedic sensibility of Monkey Island and other 90s Lucasarts adventure classics, Lil regularly finds herself covering for her dad, the head castle guardsman, as she interrogates an array of fun and weird characters trying to gain entry to their city walls.
Guarding the castle gates, Lil will encounter all manner of fantasy characters going about their daily business. From cryptic elven mages to orc single mothers, Lil is tasked with discovering each visitor’s true intentions with the help of dialogue and a toolbox of items to keep the castle safe. Consequences can be severe in this narrative-driven experience, and clever use of your abilities can help you uncover mass conspiracies and protect your castle and family from devious interlopers.
“Lil’ Guardsmen is an exciting new addition to our roster and we have high hopes that its unique gameplay and grounded fantasy setting will really appeal to our core audience,” said Steve Escalante, General Manager of Versus Evil. “We really love the game’s inspirations and art style and there is so much potential in the concept of being the final line of defence for a fantasy kingdom. Spend some time in the guardsman post and you’ll soon see how deep this rabbit hole can go!”
With the fun voice acting and the Sunday-morning cartoon look, this one has jumped straight onto the radar for us.
Lil’ Guardsman is coming to PC and Consoles, this year.
