Game review: Immutable’s Guild of Guardians offers mobile dungeon adventures

From Oct. 9–20, Immutable invited playtesters to effort retired an aboriginal demo of its upcoming mobile game, Guild of Guardians.

Guild of Guardians was archetypal announced successful 2021. Its inferior token, Guild of Guardians Gems (GOG), went up for merchantability successful December 2021, raising implicit $5.3 million for the game’s development. In addition, implicit 800,000 individuals registered for the token sale, which Immutable claimed was an “oversubscription” of 82 times vs. the expected demand. It is being developed by Mineloader, which is the aforesaid institution that created the Final Fantasy VII remake and Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker. Gods Unchained creator Immutable is publishing the game.

According to the game’s roadmap, it is expected to beryllium released in unfastened beta sometime successful the 4th fourth of 2023. The Guild of Guardians documents authorities that it volition beryllium a free-to-play and play-to-earn mobile game. Players volition not request to marque immoderate purchases to statesman playing the crippled and commencement earning nonfungible tokens (NFTs) oregon crippled tokens. To concern the game’s further improvement aft launch, Immutable volition merchantability “seasonal content” consisting of constricted variation NFTs, including “heroes, pets, guilds and vigor boosters.” They volition besides complaint a percent interest connected secondary income of immoderate of the game’s items.

Guild of Guardians demo opening screen. Source: Guild of Guardians demo

The play-to-earn facet of Guild of Guardians volition revolve astir crafting instrumentality and summoning heroes. Players volition beryllium capable to gain crafting materials arsenic they advancement done dungeons, which they’ll beryllium capable to usage to mint NFTs that correspond gear. They’ll besides beryllium capable to cod “common” heroes that tin beryllium combined into higher rarities and minted connected the blockchain. Guild of Guardians NFTs are minted connected the Immutable X network, portion the GOG token is connected Ethereum.

Ever since the fundraise, details astir the authorities of the game’s improvement person been scarce. But Immutable invited members of the media to playtest the crippled From Oct. 9 to 20, and this writer was 1 of the persons invited. 

An Android and iOS mobile game

Guild of Guardians is designed wholly for mobile. You tin play it connected a mobile telephone oregon tablet, and it’s disposable for some iOS and Android. But there’s nary mode presently to play it connected a PC oregon console, and the squad doesn’t look to beryllium readying to marque a PC mentation anytime soon, if ever. The controls of the crippled are optimized for mobile gameplay, arsenic the battles are mostly automated, with precise small real-time power during fights.

Related: What is Gods Unchained, and however to play it.

In the Guild of Guardians docs, the squad emphasized that mobile games are much accessible than immoderate different benignant of video game. The fig of radical successful the satellite who ain smartphones is overmuch greater than the fig who ain PCs, which is wherefore they chose to marque Guild of Guardians strictly a mobile crippled with touch-screen controls.

A dungeon-crawling adventure

Guild of Guardians is simply a classical “dungeon-crawl” game. The main gameplay consists of progressing done assorted dungeons, warring monsters and opening treasure chests for loot. Players tin take which dungeon to research by clicking connected it from wrong an in-game satellite map.

Once a dungeon is chosen, the player’s enactment of heroes loads into the archetypal room, which usually contains monsters that tin beryllium fought. After each country is cleared, the subordinate tin take which country to spell to next. Different rooms incorporate antithetic force strengths and rewards, and the subordinate is presented with these metrics erstwhile making the decision. Some rooms incorporate treasure chests, healing oregon different boosts that whitethorn assistance the enactment to progress.

Once a subordinate progresses done each of the choices and defeats each the monsters, the dungeon ends. In this case, the main paper pops backmost up, and the heroes who died successful the dungeon are resurrected. If each enactment members dice earlier the dungeon is completed, the subordinate fails the dungeon. However, they inactive get to support the items they acquired from their partial completion.

New dungeons go unlocked arsenic aged ones are completed. If the subordinate completes each of the dungeons, they unlock a caller “infinite” mode. This mode seemingly allows a subordinate to play done never-ending randomly generated dungeons for adjacent much loot. I unluckily didn’t marque it acold capable to trial retired infinite mode.

Automated battles

The crippled has mostly automated battles. To commencement a battle, the subordinate clicks connected a “fight” fastener and watches the combat play out. They tin take to activate characters’ eventual abilities manually, successful which lawsuit determination is immoderate enactment during battles. However, they tin besides take to person these abilities activated automatically, making the battles a wholly passive experience.

Battle from an earlier physique of Guild of Guardians. Source: Guild of Guardians

The situation to winning a conflict comes from decisions made earlier it begins. Before entering a dungeon, the subordinate chooses which heroes to enactment into a party. Each leader has antithetic abilities. Some are tanks oregon healers, portion others are focused connected damage-dealing. To succeed, the subordinate needs to make a enactment retired of characters whose abilities complement each other. In addition, characters tin beryllium placed successful assorted positions wrong the party’s enactment earlier a conflict begins. Tanks should spell successful the front, portion ranged harm dealers and healers should beryllium placed successful the back. Players besides power their quality to triumph by deciding which cogwheel to outfit their characters with.

I recovered that the battles were beauteous balanced successful presumption of difficulty. My enactment cleaved its mode done tons of tiny trash packs with ease, portion determination were a fewer bosses that slaughtered them without mercy. I was blessed to spot that heroes are automatically resurrected aft a dungeon failure.

Collecting heroes and crafting

Two of the astir important goals successful Guild of Guardians are to cod heroes and trade equipment. To get a caller hero, the subordinate indispensable get a “summon,” which allows them to rotation for a randomly selected hero. There seems to beryllium a wide assortment of heroes that tin beryllium collected, each with antithetic artwork, eventual abilities and stats.

Some of the “summons” tin beryllium obtained arsenic rewards for exploring dungeons, portion a definite fig are besides fixed retired arsenic login rewards. Players get 2 heroes successful the tutorial: 1 vessel and 1 healer.

I recovered that the hero-collecting strategy was a beauteous satisfying reward mechanic. The heroes had a batch of assortment successful presumption of stats and abilities, which made getting a caller leader consciousness significant.

To trade gear, the subordinate needs to cod crafting materials wrong dungeons. I crafted a azygous point passim my playtest sessions but couldn’t summation much acquisition than that. The game’s documents authorities that cogwheel items disagree successful presumption of rarity, with much uncommon items requiring much uncommon materials to craft. Different pieces of crafted cogwheel supply antithetic unsocial buffs; immoderate items are parts of sets that springiness bigger bonuses if a quality wears much than 1 portion from the set, the documents stated.

Related: Game review: Axie Infinity presently rules the Pay-to-Win-to-Earn roost

In conclusion

The Guild of Guardians demo that I played was an aboriginal mentation of the game. The nationalist merchandise volition apt person much features and content. But truthful far, the game’s improvement seems to beryllium connected the close track. The battles are challenging, and determination are a assortment of strategical decisions the subordinate has to marque successful bid to succeed. This is not a run-of-the-mill play-to-earn crippled featuring mindless grinding for cryptocurrency. The gameplay is engaging and requires important thought from the player. Fans of turn-based RPGs whitethorn bask Guild of Guardians, arsenic it scratches their itch for strategical challenges.

On the different hand, players who are looking for Diablo-style real-time enactment whitethorn privation to walk implicit Guild of Guardians erstwhile it’s released. The battles successful the crippled are astir wholly automated, truthful there’s nary trial of reflexes successful this peculiar dungeon-crawler.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed present are the author’s unsocial and bash not needfully bespeak oregon correspond the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.