A Stellar Quest for Friendship and Adventure
A lone shooting star sails through the heavens of Etere, a world full of wondrous marvels, yet home to mysterious dangers. This was no ordinary shooting star, this one had a mind, a soul, and a body… it was sentient, and it was searching. Vast dark mountains, stone giants and a city filled with rain and shadows were flown over by this star, leading to stirrings of despair in this light knowing nothing can fill the voids. Loneliness flooded this entity, tormented in the knowledge so many emotions could never be felt by itself. Beyond anything, it wanted a companion… a friend.
Thankfully, that’s precisely where you come in!
Taking control of this entity now named Ghost, and Davinci the rabbit – well technically a Bumblebun but you get the idea – your goal is to provide this, along with far more, in one of the more intriguing titles of the year, The Lonesome Guild.
Companions and Chained Abilities
Named after the alliance you form during your playthrough, The Lonesome Guild at heart is a game about friendship and camaraderie, and nowhere is this better shown that through the heart of gameplay, combat.
Combat excels for a top-down action-RPG, striking the perfect balance between a complex turn-based title, and the more up-close and personal involvement of a typical RPG. Your base kit of actions is quite simple and goes as follows: attack, dodge, and special ability. These special abilities are usually a simple large AOE attack to deal large amounts of damage at once.
Companions play a huge role in the combat system too, mirroring the story I spoke of earlier; mechanics such as Emblaze (a move that lets you empower non-controlled allies through Ghost and boost their stats temporarily) are consistently introduced, scaling in power the further you progress, and all the while creating a varied kit of abilities you don’t realise you have mastered until you’re chaining large combos together.
Weak Foes, Strong Fundamentals
Sadly, encounters restrict what would otherwise be a brilliant system due to enemy variety itself rarely evolving, forbidding it from flourishing; more often than not, a few hits and foes will be dead, give or take a few implementations of armour or magic attacks needed, and battles vary rarely differ from when they began in The Lonesome Guild.
One redeeming factor of these, however, is boss battles in which giant foes, who strategic planning must be implemented against, challenge you and your companions, whilst introducing you to the plethora of abilities Ghost has to offer. Combat shows so much promise as a system, and in some aspects reaches this potential, yet regarding the foes you fight, you’ll often be left thinking “What went wrong?”.
Deepening Bonds
On a brighter side of gameplay, we have the implementation of a skill tree, taking the idea of friendship further, and allowing for everything from stat bonuses to new skills, all merged with the relationship system; deepening your bond with companions through dialogue and relationship points, unlocks previously inaccessible skills, providing real incentive to engage in this optional side content.
The relationship system revolves around the colourful, compelling cast of characters and companions, bringing various species, creatures, or even ghouls into your team. You have Mr Fox, a cynical… you guessed it, fox, who loves to be dark, or Davinci, an optimistic rabbit creature that lightens your path. Whether sitting around a campfire to have philosophical talks, or uncovering secret items to gift to one another, relationships are truly the heart of The Lonesome Guild, and I think we could learn a lot from that.
Equipment and Environmental Puzzles
There are a couple of other minor gameplay systems we need to talk about, both thankfully for the better. First on the list is equipment; this can be armour, accessories and the like, all of which open a gateway into in-depth build customisation, and stat enhancements to fit your gameplay style. You can also find flowers to permanently enhance one companion’s respective stat, taking your personal team structure to new heights. Whether you want to focus on magic, or simply an abundance of physical damage, anything is possible granted you pair the correct equipment and flowers.
This first system often corresponds with the second, puzzles, something which doesn’t feel forced, but rather an appropriate addition for a secondary genre, providing a relieving break; they come in the form of levers and moveable boxes, with which you must combine all companions’ abilities and solve a certain order, thus linking in to the former system. These challenges also come in the form of lore-based switch puzzles, relying on you uncovering the correct order that fire, wind, ice and earth elements be placed in.
Neither systems is particularly needed, and I’m certain The Lonesome Guild could flourish without them, yet still they contribute such a distinct personality to the title making it unforgettable.
A Labyrinth of Lore
Everything mentioned so far is found in the world of Etere, in what feels like scaled down labyrinths, at least that best describes the level design. Made up from zigzagging paths which must all be taken to find secrets, puzzles are in abundance, and combat consistently appears to make for maze-like magic. Your goal is often to find a key to the next area or something akin to this, which, whilst of course basic, leaves room for the real joy and journey found by working your way through these alternating areas. Whether it be autumn forests or large castles, this labyrinth-like feel is always present as you push blocks or pull levers.
Every environment excels in diversity and design, allowing for distinct areas that all equally get stuck in your head, along with intense, interesting, and involved worldbuilding, which, through a stellar soundtrack and cartoon style visuals, will transport you to a world any fantasy lover such as myself feels at home in.
Driven by Character and Camaraderie
The Lonesome Guild has a few flaws, the most blatant being the underutilised combat system. However, this can’t detract from the passion, interweaving gameplay systems, and introspective story about friendship, that combines to perhaps take this to the top of many best indie games lists. In-depth skill trees, personalised builds, and deep in-universe lore, provide a strong foundation that any future title could thrive from, allowing for an enjoyably strong first outing.
Important Links
DON’T NOD and Tiny Bull Studios Announce Heartwarming Action RPG The Lonesome Guild – https://www.thexboxhub.com/dont-nod-and-tiny-bull-studios-announce-heartwarming-action-rpg-the-lonesome-guild/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/the-lonesome-guild/9mvw0kf7s32b
