Lil' Guardsman Is a Papers, Please Vibe Shift | Bytesized
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- Will Cruz loved Lil' Guardsman, a game that's quite similar to Papers, Please but with a whole other vibe.
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Love all the Second Wind content and what Im saying right now is purely out of love, but this review was pretty weak. I dont feel like I learned anything new about the game after the first 1-2 minutes, I just kept hearing the reviewer repeat again and again that the game has "a great vibe". I can totally understand when a reviewer doesnt have much words to say, but once again - sometimes less is more. If the reviewer doesnt feel like he really has enough words he has to share about the game, i'd much rather prefer the legally distinct variation of the 3-minutes reviews where I can just get a quick glimpse at the game that might've slipped under my radar.
Seems neat. I struggled with Paper's Please but think it is a great game. Lil' Guardsman might be more my speed.
Not gonna lie, I feel like I just listened to an ad instead of a review. I mean come on, "Jaw-dropping comedic writing?" Who wrote that?
Paid review because the game didn’t sell at all.
I wish the review had provided more aspects of the actual gameplay because the style and vibe was very apparent from the demo. For example, does the game layer on complexity in the interrogation loop? How is replayability (I'm actually a bit worried since it sounds like all the days are fully scripted if they can just be replayed). I was also hoping to learn if the weird game show was a one-off event or if there are multiple acts with each seperated by some similar type of non-booth gameplay.
For each person you have a total of 11 possibilities (5 tools + 3 phone calls + 3 direct conversations), but you only have 3 action points.
To achieve the maximum stars, you need to understand the situation with the person in front of you. This often involves finding an item they are carrying or catching them in a lie. Following the standard procedures grants you 3 stars, but obtaining the 4th star requires additional effort or specific actions.
Yeah... this was a rather subpar review. I did not learn what I wanted to learn.
@@ahmh8411 , Ah, i like the 4th star 'hidden objective' type of thing. Thanks for the additional detail. TBH, I will probably buy this game as it seems like a fun chill time though I am worried about its actual length/content and target demo.
Replayability as a positive is a wild concept to me, if it's a single player story based game, why would It need to be repayable? Most people only read books once.
@@MagicCardboardBox I've been wanting to make a video about how relatability is a bastardized term. It SHOULD mean a game so full of either depth or complexity that playing a second time may return new experiences; instead, it's most often used to pump up the image of a game that is so broad is breadth and yet so shallow that to get your time's worth out of the game, you MUST play multiple times... or a game so devoid of satisfying gameplay loops that playing the entire game is the tightest gameplay loop available.
This is obviously most evident in the difference between a good roguelike and a bad roguelike, but skinnerbox gear-games like Gotham Knights also exemplify fake replayability hiding shallowness, while something like Baldur's Gate 3 (overused example but a good one), is genuinely so full of DEPTH that a new playthrough still yields new experiences.
I feel like the anxiety is a big part of what made Papers Please great. There wasnt much info in this about if there is a time limit or not or what you even check for. Wish there was more info
Figuring out what to check for is a core gameplay mechanic. Explaining that would be spoiling the game for many.
@@bramvanduijn8086 Then give a spoiler warning, or give a comparable example without detailing specifics. That's quite literally the purpose of a review video going into detail, and many others find ways to do it just fine.
Indeed. This seemed to be more a review on Papers Please, instead of a review of Lil' Guardian
but somehow still felt kind of mean spirited toward papers please at the same time lol@@camwyn256
Papers please is already sprinting.
I didnt get a grasp at all of what makes this game twist the genre. Other than in its tone. And tone by itself isnt a genre twist. Imma get Lil Guardsman cause its more of what i already like but this review didnt really tell me anything about the game.
And the video title has already changed to make this comment confusing af.
one comment made it sound like 'Tunic' or 'The Outer Wilds' where learning literally anything could be a spoiler
but even in that I'd feel safe telling people about the booklet as a surface level tutorial, and will try to hide the latter's core mechanic unless I think it's what'll interest them
I'm tempted to try this game out but the best way for me to know is to see a small section of gameplay
The game could be good, but quite honestly, the video did very little to convince me of that. It merely presented the fact that the game existed. A review should give me a good idea of what the game would be like to play, and quite honestly, I'm left with many questions about the game itself; instead, the video repeatedly makes comparison to Papers Please without discussing the mechanics in isolation. If a viewer hasn't played that game by comparison, they'd be lost. Even if they have, I would say there's maybe 90 seconds of material here, re-iterated upon itself over and over, adding no more clarity or detail. Even more frustrating than that, I have no idea what Will is like; the shows on this channel categorically appeal because they are genuine, earnest, and driven by individual personalities with individual tastes. This guy... he doesn't seem like a real person who cares about what he's saying.
This review does inform sufficiently, or entertain even slightly. This would be at home at IGN, but I expect more from Second Wind.
Gonna be real honest, I was a bit taken aback by this Bytesized. It felt a bit artificial and overly-sanitized. I honestly got the same vibe as the narrator for a Nintendo Direct ad, which is fine for Nintendo and its brand, but feels a bit out of place here.
I would have liked to see differences besides "the vibe" between Lil' Guardsman and Papers, Please. I agree with the notion that sometimes I don't feel like playing Papers, Please because I'm not in the mood to deal with something heavy, but the review seems to tarry a bit too much on this point. In fact, it seems to smother everything else about the video, and I don't think I've heard any criticisms about it. (As either Firelink or another SW video pointed out, even your favorite game or the best game is rarely a "perfect" game.)
I'll probably still check it out just because I think a lighter-toned Papers, Please has its place, but I hope you take this criticism of the review to heart.
Though, holy heck, if SW ever thinks about making a parody Nintendo Direct video, this is perfect.
Game looks nice. But i gotta admit, it sounds like you're overhyping it for the middle part of that video and it triggers my inner sceptic.
When this video started I genuinely thought it was an ad read. Then as I got further in I thought it was an IGN review. I had to go back into UA-cam to make sure i had clicked on the video I thought I had from SW. Maybe it was just hearing a new voice but overall this review didn't really fit with the other video's on here.
You don't really need to tear down the legacy of other games to prop up new ones, I really feel like this could've been written better.
No tearing down legacies detected on my end.
As others are saying this video did little to sell the game, only was able to reiterate over and over how the reviewer loved the game for the "vibe". Already wasnt great, and the line of PP walking so this game could run is a stinker!
There is a reason this is the only second wind video with such negative feedback, and its not because we are all grumpy/trying to be harsh.
Confused, is this an IGN ad-review accidentally published on Second Wind?
Definitely could trim a couple minutes off this review, got repetitive fast. If you need it to be six minutes you might want to go in-depth into the plot and ending like a FR review, that way you don't have to keep repeating that the game is cute and fun and light-hearted etc.
Imma be real yall, this was probably the weakest Bytesized yet. I feel like I just listened to someone say the same thing over and over for 6 minutes without delving much into specifics. If you're going to invite comparison to an Indie darling, I might recommend delving a little deeper into the similarities and differences. I appreciate the enthusiasm, but there are only so many ways you can say "this game cute and funny" before you're repeating yourself.
Agreed. I'm not one to be hyper critical, but this is below the quality I expect from Second Wind.
The writers must walk so that they may run.
This review came off as an AI ad read, TBH.
@@tbdaemon Genuinely. Real disappointment, coming from the channel I respect most in terms of quality.
Yeah, this. I love papers please, yet this video didn't even start to give me an idea as to if I'd enjoy this game.
I am sorry but this sounds more like an advertisement and less than an review.
It lacks substance!
The narrator only talks about of how the game afffected him emotionally instead of doing a review.
Also there's a limit of how much you can say without sounding repetitive.
Lucas Pope pulled off something incredible with Papers, Please, (and Return of the Obra Dinn), he's great at creating unique gameplay loops and has been rightly recognized for it. Saying he walked so this game could run is a little denigrating, but PP is a tough game, not necessarily accessible to more casual players, so maybe Lil' Guardsman could fill that spot. Will it win awards, create a cult following and be remembered in years to come? I don't think so, but willing to be proven wrong!
Not to mention that Papers, Please unsettles for a reason. Why would you genre-fy state oppression and make it kid friendly? Dark. (Maybe the game itself isn't framed this way, but the presenter here is definitely taking that disturbing angle.)
@@bran_donk I think they have tried to somewhat Disney-fy the border control gameplay loop, and I agree with what you’re saying about that being quite dark. However possibly important context, I found out the game has a PEGI 16 rating, with notes for strong violence, drug reference, gambling, monsters and blood so maybe there is more to this one than meets the eye. Probably not something you’d give an 8 year old kid without playing through first
I have an unfortunate feeling that this game is going to be another Not Tonight with a few extra gimmicks that distract from the core loop instead of add to it.
I knew we weren't going to see eye to eye as soon as you started praising fighting games and fortnight. . . I think I'll pass on this one.
The idea of a light and upbeat version of Papers, Please honestly doesn't interest me at all. Its gameplay is uncomfortable for a reason, and I think to undo that is to look past the implications of the player's role in these games. I'd be willing to give this game the benefit of the doubt, but the way it's put in this video does the opposite of selling it for me, lol.
Edit: and like other commenters, I also think there's a lot of missing detail and repetitive writing in the review.
I'm... uncomfortable taking essentially the same role as Papers, Please (borderguard), stripping out all nuance, sanding off the political critique, splashing it with colorful paint and then presenting it to impressionable kids, like going "See how much fun being a borderguard can be!" This sounds less like a vibe shift and more the outright moral antithesis of the original. This really seems like a review from the absolute shallows. Worst video I've seen out of Second Wind so far.
@@lexnight Yeah, exactly. I checked the steam listing and the game shows signs of nuance, but it does still have this sort of cartoony take on interrogating and jailing people (e.g. using a cartoonish bullwhip), which would be a boatload of cognitive dissonance for me. If the writer liked the game so much and it does have nuance, I wish they explained that without having a "trust me it's good" attitude about it.
I feel like just taking the mechanics of Papers, Please is missing its point. Not that it's a bad idea or this is a bad game, but it does make the comparison somewhat pointless.
Comparing Papers, Please and Contraband Police makes more sense imo.
This is all well and good, but can you send people into the small room to meet the nice men with guns?
The level of enthusiasm in this review seems very odd to me and, for some reason, not quite heartfelt. Something about the tone of voice making the script sound too akin to advertising copy. Looking like a Disney product is not what I'd call a plus point and Papers Please didn't seem anything like doom and gloom experience to me, I am now less interested in this game than before I watched the video - from only slightly to not at all.
This video highlights the problem of Bytesized VS a more traditional dry review format as existed previously in that other place. Bytsized is built up around signing the praises of some hook a game has, which is a cool thing, but it's not all that informative as it doesn't allow for talking about all aspects of a game like a more traditional dry review does. If the hook doesn't appeal or someone wanted to find out what the game offers besides that hook then the format falls flat and the video becomes uninteresting or even virtually useless.
I don't mind if Bytesized sticks around, but I really would like something more frequent and more informative like the review format that existed at that other place.
Nah… Paper’s Please was already running. It’s pretty close to a masterpiece, a near perfect execution of what it set out to do.
Which is basically what Will said in the video, he loves both games, for anyone reading this comment and thinking otherwise.
4:26 the relevant section, with a little context.
Yeah, I mean my interpretation of this video is : this guy prefers this light hearted tone version of a game like papers please. Which I think is fair; like he says, depends on what you're in the mood for.
But I also agree that his tone towards papers please is a little more negative and dismissive than the way I feel about papers please (it's a masterpiece).
But, all that aside, this is the first I've ever heard about this game, and I'm interested in a papers please like game, and the gimmick of it being light and comedic in tone appeals to me.
So, overall, I appreciate this video putting this cool game on my radar that I would never have heard of otherwise.
@@SecondWindGroup Sorry, I did not mean to imply that he didn’t. I was just commenting on the previous video title.
Careful not to over do making a point.
Papers Please is the more interesting game tonally. It's a game that evokes the idea of being a mere cog in the machine, powerless to change things.
This is probably personal bias, but the CalArts-esque is unappealing. Something about that style feels artifical, corporate, and soulless.
Regarding dialogue, I also have reservations. Comedy is subjective and given the artstyle, I doubt that it will stay above the Whedonesque "that just happened" snark that makes a lot of modern comedy fall flat.
It's probably fine, mechanically, but I wouldn't say that this game eclipses Papers Please. It's probably a good game for those that have tried Papers Please and didn't care for the anxiety inducing opressive atomosphere it has. Fair enough. Just be sure you like the way Lil' Guardsman presents itself before diving in.
I don't understand what this added to papers please to revolutionize the genre and the constant comparison to papers please feels weird and kind of mean spirited why did papers please have to walk lol everybody loves that game
Yer Cruzin' for a bruisin' with that kind of tag line, mister!!
...eh, I think the vibe is so different between the two, there's space for both on the shelf. 'S how I don't want to kick Cobalt Core out of bed because of my 111 hours in FTL.
Child labor is so wholesome.
The children yearn to join the workforce, so they too can provide more value to the investors! 😉
@@probablythedm1669 see I thought you were making a fun dark joke until the wink emoji
@@ArcadeStunfisk I'm old and the wink emoji is the original "/s", so it is meant as a dark joke. One riffing of "the children yearn for the mines".
@@probablythedm1669 That’s the thing, it didn’t need a wink face or an /s for me to think it was a joke!
@@ArcadeStunfisk always tricky to know these days if people are going to read a joking statement as sincere or a joke, figured I'd best err on the side of caution... and I still failed to make it clear I was joking!
The first video on this channel I would say is weak. The tone also doesn't fit, way to 'how you do fellow kids-y'
Add back the part where you tell me the platforms the game is available on!
Absolutely this!
PP does let you go back to previous days. This game seemed to lack the timed spot-the-difference aspect too?
I have to agree with the sentiment in many of the comments, love and admire hugely what Second Wind is doing - IMO this is the single weakest video SW has put out. Dare I say it feels like an IGN video? This isn't what we're here for. A slight mark miss but excited to see more!
I dont hate on this, but it wasnt an objective review. It was vague. I know not all videos can be a banger, but this was pretty flat.
The whole point of Papers olease was the moral dilema, if you take that away to add a rewind mechanic, you take away what made that game good. So this not a step in the right direction, its a downgrade.
Sorry to say I'm feeling a lot of the other comments here - I feel like it's probably more interesting to discuss what it brings to the bureaucracy-type genre rather than trying to apples & oranges with Papers Please. Is that the right angle to show the game in the right light, or is it more introducing the genre to kids/young people with a chill semi-magic gameplay experience. I mean - from the art and levity, it made me think of Death and Taxes or Jenny le Clue - but I couldn't see what the plot you liked was, nor how the gameplay loop and the tools we get that can "change" how we approach each interaction (is it just you can choose to use different ones for each person, but presumably there's optimal choices for finding out things, or not...?) I mean, I'm all for games that are not as anxiety-making as Papers, Please, but that stress was a point - like War is Mine. This currently looks like a really uncritical copaganda-ist version of border police, which is, well, it's a choice and the fact it's not mentioned (neutrally or otherwise) makes this, a bit shallow I'm afraid
Being someone who does not like anxiety inducing games, no matter how good they are, this is for me!
Looks wonderful.
This video introduced me and sold me on this game. Just bought it. Thank you for this review. I enjoyed idea of papers please but couldn't deal with the stress xD
was amused to see a steam review complain the story becomes too political toward the end. this story about child labor and border control gets TOO POLITICAL, go figure.
No way💀💀
Looks like it combines my favorite elements from Papers Please and Point n Click adventure games. Will definitely check it out!
Although I'm not a fan of the often ugly art style paper's please has. I like Little Guardsman's artstyle even less.
CalArts is an obnoxious visual style that is synonymous with certain socio-politcal ideologies, and is used now to signal to people who of that mindset that something is aimed at them.
@@thelastmotel what a weird comment, aside from the part where "calArts" isnt a style (and a lot of what people call that are very different styles with little in common) the part about it being synonymous with certain socio-political ideologies is really weird here, as the ideologies they are "synonymous" (atleast in certain online spaces) with, seem to heavily contradict a game that shows how fun being an underage borderpartrol agent is
id argue they're more in line with the original papers please
almost like superficial art style doesnt determine the political stances of a body of work, weird
Firstly, huge fan of the channel.
But the fact that it has charming art, comedy and is kind of like Papers Please, I could’ve gotten from watching 15 seconds of their trailer. An actual review would’ve been nice.
This is one of the worst review videos I've ever seen! You barely talk about the game the video is supposed to be about and instead talk about completely different one! This felt more like an ad than anything else!
No disrespect, Mr. Cruz, but I think you could talk a wee bit faster. It's not an audiobook. :P
What on earth is a "vibe shift"? I'm old.
The atmosphere, mood, and general feelings of a situation...then shift/change.
Vibe = tone
@@Crispman_777 vibe =/= tone smmfh
@@thelastmotelThen what is it? Telling me you don't know the basic definitions of words without saying it...
It's making me crazy I can't pin down the artist of this game because it's so goddam similar to something I know but can't put my finger on it. The vibe of "Papers, Please but silly" sounds great though. Will have to pick this up when I finish Infinite Wealth.
It's nice to know that Lil Guardsman lives up to the premise we saw during the Steam Nextfest video from last year. I'll probably pick it up as a game to play during my plasma donations.
I'm in. I played the heck out of Papers Please and loved the story and gameplay loop, but I'm someone inclined to enjoy that sort of story tone. Now that the genre has been established, I'm interested in what more can be done with it. It doesn't diminish Papers Please to have games come after it, iterating on the principle. No more so than Doom got worse because of Duke Nukem 3d.
good game, , terrible bad review.
Super cute game. Can't wait to play it with my nephews!
It's always a wonderful time playing games like this, Tinykin, Lost in Play, Born of Bread.
Love it.
Thank you so much, and please keep the good content rolling in.
I first saw the "time reversal" part of a the bureacracy sim in Mindscanners, which was released in 2021. It is still a less intense game than Papers Please but keeps the dark comedic tone a lot better if anyone is after a midway point of lowered anxiety but a similar tone.
I saw this on Switch's new releases and the art style caught my attention. So funny to hear you guys gushing about it. On my wishlist it goes!
Probably just me but I keep wanting to read the title of Bytesized as Byzantine for some reason.
Sounds great, will have to check it out!
I didn’t know this game was a thing! It looks like something I’d love!! Papers Please was too depressing and anxiety-inducing for me to play through all the way
You had me at LucasArts comedy
Back to the steam store i suppose.
My gpu being in RMA for 3 have done wonders for me diving into the indie scene, although I started out with Homm3 😂
The steven universe art style is very off putting.
...it looks nothing at all like Steven Universe? It has bright colors but that's about it? And even then its not a remotely similar color palette.
@@robbybevard8034 Oh you're right, my mistake, it does look much worse than the bog standard CalArts cartoon art style you see everywhere, thanks for pointing it out, now I dislike it even more.
The style used is called CalArts
@@thelastmotel There's no such thing as a "CalArts" style. That's just an insult created by the Ren and Stimpy guy after he couldn't get work anywhere.
Like The Little Mermaid and Iron Giant are from CalArts, it's not a thing.
There's some industry trends certainly, largely due to the switch to digital animation and HD and the influence of anime, but every decade has it's trends. There's no one particular style taught by the school. Heck, Steven Universe and Gumball, two of the biggest "CalArts style" shows come from MCAD instead.
Disney-like visuals? More Nickelodeon, surely. Great byte-sized review.
This. I find a lot of people say Disney when they see CalArts, and I'm not totally sure why, though I have a few ideas on the subject.
Maybe I am too soft but I really liked that review and I am totally going to get the game. Like the enthusiasm was infectious and I wanted to experience those feelings as well.
Lil’ Guardsman is so good!! 🎉🎉
this is a nice short video, and it looks like most people just want MORE
I would never know about this game if it wasn't for your video
OMG thank you for checking out our game!!!
"What if I refuse? You can't make me do anything I don't want to do, I'm 12 years old." Wow! That's a A Hat in Time Hat Kid level mood that made me laugh in a relatable manner😆😅
This looks like a ton of fun. Team 17s new game their publishing Border Bots VR is also a very papers please like game.
MIght need to lower the bass level on your voice recording. Awesome video otherwise!
You convinced me! Papers Please was too depressing for me.
no way?? Crazy that you people exist
good to know about this game!
Added straight to my wishlist, thank you for the suggestion :)
The holy Numbers bless this video.
I saw the preview you did on the older channel that shall be named it was Escapist. You sold me on the game there ( and also Stray Gods), it legit looks really fun
Was on the fence about this game now I'm sold
How is Papers, Please, a new game, the grandaddy of a genre?
Papers Please came out 11 years ago.
That's 3 console generations back, and it has inspired tons of games in a similar style, which have in turn inspired other games.
I Loved this review! More Will!
aw I liked the original title better
LOL, that was a great review papa!
yeah it looks like a disney cartoon and that's pretty neat
It looks nothing like Disney, whatsoever. It's done in CalArts
I think at this point I play more games from bytesize than from fully ramblematic. Can't wait to play this one too
Glad some people appreciate someone just gushing over a game they enjoyed lol. Buncha people want Will to be critical on this, and it’s just not that kind of video.
It says it right in the description that you pasted that this is an indie essay show. We don't use the word review anywhere, so I think we've made it pretty clear what the show is. People have critical feedback on this episode, that's fine, we hear it and we'll learn from it. But a bunch of the "criticism" was just calling this an "ad" which isn't criticism, it's implying we were paid to make this video, and not the genuine thoughts of the person making it.
People expect more from the writing, vo, etc, and that'll improve. Bytesized is our variety essay show that will be from creators new and old, and only way they get better is to make videos and learn from it. @@NormalTheBand
Nce
I could never play Papers, Please because it was so anxiety-inducing, maybe this will be a nice change of pace. Wishlisted!
CalArts = hardest of passes
I really appreciate Will's take on this. I could never play Papers Please because I couldn't handle the anxiety of those decisions. So finding an alternative is a lot of fun. Thanks, Will!
Cue a bunch of grumpy boomers/ gen xers complaining.
Had to change the title real quick on this one lol. Was praising both, but people clearly took it as an insult.
Visually, and tonally, it gives me strong Gravity Falls vibes.
Everything done in CalArts will give you that vibe. It's all interchangeable
@@thelastmotel Ah, that is true. It is honestly a somewhat appealing style, it was just WAY overdone in too short of a period.
Cheers Will, love hearing your voice Interesting twist on the meet people games, wishlist-ing now