Lil Guardsman release date finally confirmed, and it’s this month
After what seems like a long time coming, developer Hilltop Studios has finally revealed the release date for Lil Guardsman, and it’s soon, this month in fact, on January 23rd.
The “comedic, fantasy Papers, Please-like adventure game” has had multiple trailers, and behind-the-scenes videos in the lead up, and we had a feeling it’d be sooner rather than later that the release date was announced, but now we know. On January 23rd it’s coming to PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.
A new trailer has been released to announce this, and can be seen below:
To commemorate this reveal, Hilltop Studios has released an all new trailer introducing players to 12-year-old substitute guardsman Lil, as she breaks down what it takes to cover for her wayward father on the job. Get a glimpse at some of the colorful characters, difficult decisions, and all manner of security-related shenanigans you’ll get up to ahead of Lil’ Guardsman’s launch.
Lil’ Guardsman is a narrative deduction game inspired by the classic point-and-click genre and the mechanics of Papers, Please. Set in a high-fantasy world with the comedic sensibility of Monkey Island and other 90s Lucasarts adventure classics, Lil’ Guardsman puts players in the role of a young girl who finds herself tasked with covering for her dad as a castle gte guardsman. What could go wrong?
As you interrogate an array of eccentric characters trying to gain entry to the city walls, you must discover each visitor’s true intentions through cunning dialogue and a clever use of your toolbox of investigative items. Use your cypher-cracking Decoder Ring, douse travelers in Truth Spray, or threaten them with your trusty Bullwhip! You’ll have to make tough decisions as Lil, deciding who to allow into her castle home. Consequences can be severe, so you must make clever use of your abilities to uncover mass conspiracies and protect Lil’s castle and family from devious interlopers.
“With Lil’ Guardsman we wanted to mix the deductive puzzle-solving and branching storyline of Papers, Please with the warmth and humor of Monkey Island and Grim Fandango,” said Hilltop Co-Founder and Co-Game Director Artiom Komarov. “We’ve been cracking each other up for two years coming up with scenarios, dialogue, visual gags, and picturing the voice cast that make up Lil’ Guardsman’s world, we’re so excited to finally share it with everyone on January 23rd”.
Check out our preview from June 2023 here.
Lil’ Guardsman is coming to PC, PS4, PlayStation 5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch on January 23rd.
