The Lonesome Guild

When I wrote that The Lonesome Guild has nothing to envy about The Legend of Zelda (at least, the classics and the modern instalments co-developed by Grezzo) or Tunic, I meant it with all the weight and all the consequences you can imagine. There's lots and lots of charm and personality in this story, and there's also a level of design of setting, characters, and narrative that, honestly, very few titles (even in AAA) can match today.

The Lonesome Guild is, as you can tell from the comparisons I just made, a puzzle adventure with a fair amount of action and a lot of emphasis on narrative. It's a choral story in a world of animal characters where six misfits and a ghost discover that they are the only hope for their world, and to reveal to their people the truth of it.

When a small comet streaks across the universe, a small wraith appears over the land of Etere, having completely lost his memory, on his journey to discover who he is and what his purpose here is. He soon joins Mr. Vulpo, Da Vinci, Ran, and a plethora of unique individuals, each representative of their own species (similar to rabbits, wolves, foxes, and porcupines, but with certain differences) forming a group (The Lonesome Guild), like a 'party' in a role-playing game. As they progress, the characters will strengthen their bonds, improving their skills and synergies in combat, and forming a small family.

It's curious that in such a small game so much effort has been put into developing such a large group of protagonists, but they are also the driving force behind the story. Everyone has their own associated quest line, which is slowly unravelled, and as we progress, it's revealed what it is that led them to be (and feel) so alone in the world. When I got my first taste of the game at Gamescom in the summer, it was no surprise when the developers there confessed to me that some of their inner demons (e.g. a father-son conflict) had transcended into the personality of one of the party members. And that makes you move forward, you get involved in the story because you see that these characters, beyond being unwitting heroes chosen for a "divine" mission, are lost souls looking for their place in the world. And despite there being so many of them, it works, although in my case I admit that I was especially involved with the initial members of the group.

In The Lonesome Guild the weight of progression, in addition to the relationships between the group, is placed on the exploration of large sections or regions. These large areas are further subdivided into smaller, more manageable levels, where you traverse certain "rooms" looking for equipment, collectibles, helping locals on side quests. There are few maps, and these are physically laid out in each area, so if you want to plot a specific path to something (for example, an area where you need to collect an item for a side mission) you'll have to find an area with a map and consult it. Although it's not difficult to find your way around, it's good to visit them, because they are usually next to the group's resting places, the bonfires, where the characters recover their health after the battles and interact with each other.

There is an unusual beauty in the artwork, both in the scenes and conversations, where character sketches appear, and in the backgrounds and sets. The world of Etere feels alive and rich in detail, and the setting is complemented by a soundtrack that, while not particularly memorable, perfectly matches the tone of the adventure.

Each of the six members of The Lonesome Guild is not only an individual who faces strong moral or emotional dilemmas, but also possesses a distinct set of combat skills. So much so, that there is an extensive progression tree associated with each, which will open up as relationships with the members of the group strengthen. And this occurs with the "central" character of the adventure and seventh member of the party, the ghost. He alone cannot interact with the physical environment, but has some insight into the spirit world (as well as other possibilities that will be added as the adventure progresses and the complexity of the puzzles increases) as well as momentarily merging with the party members to help them fight.

Combat takes place as a group with the ghost and three Guild members, and has a unique mechanic where you control each of them while the ghost is (momentarily) possessing them, this activates not only special abilities both melee and ranged, but also charges up unique skill meters and ultimately a powerful ultimate attack that can be decisive, especially against bosses. There is no excessive complexity in combat, but sometimes you miss a little more lightness in character movement or dodging. It's also not easy to read the attacks of certain enemies with so much chaos on screen that you can't always dodge them. If one of your characters reaches 0 health, you can always try to approach with another character and pick them up with a small amount of health. At first, you'll think you won't need it at any point, but a few hours later you'll feel like you're always one bad dodge away from losing a fight and going back to the last save point. It's not difficult per se, you just have to be precise with your dodging and skill use, and it's not as brilliant as other sections such as the art or the puzzles. There's a bit of Tunic in it, but it's not that complicated. With a bit more range in the dodge movement, it would have been perfect.

And while we're on the subject of puzzles, sometimes the brilliance is not in the complexity, but in how well integrated they are with the scenery and setting. Most of the puzzles consist of activating levers or blocks in a specific order, with the intermediate steps increasing the further you progress. There will also be a point where you have to follow clues in the scenery, such as looking at pictures, talking to NPCs, or using ghostly powers. Without being simplistic, it's nice to spend time on each one and not feel stupid for not finding the solution, which will usually be quite clear.

Even with some of the aforementioned rough edges, the overall package is almost outstanding, for a team as small as Tiny Bull. You can tell they've given it their all in The Lonesome Guild, and it almost feels like so much lore, so much history, and effort put into each set, even if you only pass through that area a couple of times, is "wasted", when in other titles it would have been replicated. So the sum of its already remarkable parts make this adventure one of the hidden gems of 2025. For me, a candidate for indie of the year. At the very least, you owe it a chance.