1 player
Available on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS5
In the previous article, I presented Keeper, a game inspired by the loneliness felt during the health lockdown. Now another recently released game also tackles this theme, but from a different angle. Just goes to show that this period has left its mark even on cultural and video game creations.
Very pretty scenery
Don’t worry, it won’t be about illness, vaccines or face masks, but about adorable little animals who team up to rid their kingdom of a mysterious evil called “Loneliness”. In The Lonesome Guild, you find all the conventions of a great group adventure. Each character has a goal to achieve and it is by travelling together that they can all succeed.
This punk capybara totally won me over
Our six companions are not traditional animals, since they combine characteristics of several species, like Davinci, the winged rabbit passionate about invention and mechanics. His meeting with the ghost Ghost will push the two of them into a great quest to escape the red mist invading the forest. Their team gradually grows, offering us the chance to switch from one character to another to use their skills according to the situation. They all share an adorable design.
I like the design of these characters and the world of this kingdom.
The Lonesome Guild is an action/adventure role-playing game. As is the way with this kind of game, you move from exploration phases that take you through very pretty scenery (castle, village, coastal town, etc.), enlivened by dialogue with the kingdom’s inhabitants, to combat passages. It is in these moments that each hero can offer physical or magical attacks, or even merge with Ghost to multiply their power tenfold.
Care has been taken over the different environments you visit
While The Lonesome Guild‘s message about the need to belong is very telling, what I like about the game is above all its atmosphere and design, truly adorable without denying a slightly epic side. It is a game I particularly recommend for children, from age 10 on their own, because the texts are sometimes a little long and probably need some explanation from parents. Besides, this writing struck me as very close to that of a children’s book. Understand that as an adult, if you play it, you will have to look past a slightly naive side. But that makes it a perfect story for children! It is typically the kind of game I loved making my way through as a child myself and it seems to me this is a lovely opportunity to set off on an adventure as a family.
The fireside, the best place to confide in each other
As in any role-playing game, you earn progression points that you can distribute in a skill tree.
The game is not particularly difficult, but you do still need to have understood the dodge system and not just try to keep hitting continuously during fights. Likewise, managing items and their effects might need a little help from someone older. Finally, with the idea of using the game to open a dialogue on other, broader subjects, The Lonesome Guild also lets you talk with your children about what belonging to a group brings, about the resources to lean on so as not to feel excluded, or about how to make sure a relationship is solid. The Spanish studio Tiny Bull has been very good at drawing inspiration from a worldwide event to offer a fantasy reading of it, and I salute the quality of their work here.
During fights, you can switch from one character to another depending on the blows you want to deal.
A big plus for younger players: when quitting, we are told when the last automatic save was made
Watch the replay of our Checkpoint show, devoted to The Lonesome Guild.
