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Lil'
Guardsman

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Play OverviewPlay Overview

Lil' Guardsman (2024) is a puzzle adventure where you play a 12-year-old covering her dad's shift at the guardhouse. Play involves questioning each person who wants to pass to determine who to admit or deny. It combines Papers Please border-control decisions with competing interests in an unfolding fantasy story.

You question the stream of different humans, elves, goblins and cyclopes to carefully decide who you should let in. To do this you use a range of tools to inform your choices. Your cypher helps translate foreign languages to spot suspicious documents. Your X-ray gun lets you look into bags. Or there's a truth serum you can use. Often, the best tool is simply asking why they need to get in.

Each choice is important as it affects the story and you only get three actions to uncover nefarious actors. Depending on how you do you get rated and rewarded with money accordingly. You then shift back into point-and-click exploration of the city which helps frame your decisions on the next shift.

The result is a game about trust and evidence. Do you trust yourself, your various advisors with their own aspirations or the apparently innocent people trying to access the castle?

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Lil' Guardsman 15 months ago. It was re-examined by Thom Robertson and updated 6 weeks ago.
Kids not old enough for this yet? There are lots of games similar to Lil' Guardsman. Here are some similar younger-rated games:

Play StylePlay Style

This is a Communication, Narrative and Puzzle game with Brain Game, Point-and-Click and Simulation elements. This is a single-player game.

 
You can play this game in the following styles:

DurationDuration

Play Time: This game will take between 9 hours and 15 hours to complete.

Age RatingsAge Ratings

Content Rating

Rated PEGI 12 for Mild Swearing and Sexual Innuendo. This game features use of bad language including ‘b*!%$@d’, ‘b*!%$y’ and ‘p@*!%d’. The game also contains sexual innuendo, for example the line, "Although I have never known the caress of a lover, the thought of it fills my loins to bursting”. Each day, after their gatekeeping shift, the player is able to explore the town and often frequents a tavern. Alcohol is pictured in bottles on shelves and in glasses on the bar, but the player is never able to interact with alcohol. The game also features non-realistic violence towards both human and fantasy characters, which does not result in any obvious injury or harm. The player has the option to use a whip in order to get information out of characters. There is very little animation in these scenes, with static images simply flashing and growing in size for a brief second before returning to normal. There are no realistic reactions or responses from characters when this happens, nor is there any injury detail. There is also some implied violence, for example when characters are heard screaming and shouting when a building catches fire, although no harm to them is shown. Throughout the game, the player often encounters characters who are trying to smuggle drugs into the town. The two drugs are given fantasy names: 'Pixie Dust' and 'Peaceblossom'. Characters who are supposed to have been consuming drugs have red eyes. There are also references to gambling, with the player able to bet on which team they think will win in a game of the fictional game, 'Goblin Ball', receiving gold as a reward if they win.

Rated for younger players in Australia. Rated Parental Guidance (PG) for Mild Violence, Mild Themes, Mild Drug Reference, Mild Gambling Themes.

Skill Level

10+ year-olds usually have the required skill to enjoy this game. Still, it's important for parents and guardians to consider the maturity required to process the game content. You need to have good skills of observation and be able to make connections between what you've learned and the decisions you must make.

CostsCosts

Lil' Guardsman usually costs £15.99 to £17.99. 

Lil' Guardsman

XBox Store Xbox X|S £16.74
XBox Store Xbox One £16.74
XBox Store PC £16.74
Switch Store Switch £17.99
Steam Store PC £16.75
Steam Store Mac £16.75
PlayStation StoreSALE PS5 £15.99 £7.99 until 19/02/2025
PlayStation StoreSALE PS4 £15.99 £7.99 until 19/02/2025
There are no additional in-game purchases, loot boxes, adverts or subscription costs.

DetailsGame Details

Release Date: 23/01/2024

Price: 50% Off

Out Now: Mac, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox X|S

Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds

Players: 1

Genres: Communication, Narrative, Puzzle (Brain Game, Point-and-Click and Simulation)

Accessibility: 36 features

Components: 2D Side-On and Cartoon

Developer: Play Hilltop (@PlayHilltop)


Taming Gaming Book Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships.

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