Willow Guard feels like it combines a bunch of different elements; an action RPG with deck building and a strong narrative drive, that takes you through a world where animals are the dominant, intelligent creatures and must survive against strange monsters that have traveled from another dimension.
When it comes to the story element of the game, you are playing as a ragged veteran, who is looking to figure out why these portals have opened up between your world and the world of monsters, so that you can stop them from taking over what you know as home. There are tons of other characters to meet, learn their ways, and help you in combat, as well as new locations and different choices that can be made. Choices do play a role in what is going to happen next in the story, so you will need to make your decisions wisely.
When you make a decision, it also changes how you are as a person. You can find yourself being more helpful to people or more reliant on your animal instinct. Your character can become obsessed with minor details, or more towards just going into things instead of checking first. Your decisions are marked to show you how it will change your character, but your story will really change with each change in your being.
Willow Guard also has a bunch of real-time isometric battles, where you can fight your way through different enemies in a hack and slash style. Each screen has a bunch of monsters, setting you a challenge to clear the area, resulting in you gaining cards that can help you by giving you new attacks or changing your abilities so they can be performed faster. These cards can also be upgraded and burnt, when you are at specific camp areas, to further help you control your deck.
There are a lot of interesting and captivating aspects in Willow Guard — and fans of games that strafe multiple genres will enjoy their time here. The story itself is very well written, and the gameplay has enough switching between different types that it keeps things interesting! I got the chance to play a limited demo of the game at the European Games Showcase at GDC.
Currently, you can play the demo for free on Steam or Wishlist the game ahead of its release.
