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Lil Guardsman is a funny but not exactly lighthearted “choices matter” point and click adventure with puzzle-like dialogue encounters. You can make parallels to 3909 LLC’s “Papers, Please” or Crazy Rocks Studios’ “Contraband Police.” But saying that Lil Guardsman is “like” those games is a stretch, which I’ll get into. I would recommend Lil guardsman to those looking for a witty game with thoughtful choices and interesting characters.

Lil Guardsman puts you in the boots of Lil, a bushy haired youngster from the Sprawl, the game’s protagonist city state. Lil’s father is a gate guard and after covering one shift for him, you are recruited to work the gate by a trio of characters that represent essentially a shadow government, making policy decisions without the knowledge of the Princess. The trio of shady characters use Lil to keep what they deem as undesirable characters out and let in people they approve of. Sometimes they will pressure you to do something that goes against what is “right,” and sometimes being the good guy costs you wages and approval rating. The dynamic is interesting, if a little underbaked.

In between shifts at the guard gate, you can explore locations in the Sprawl, interact with NPCs, and shop. Typically, a level in the game involves a guard shift and then one if not multiple dialogue encounters in which the game’s story plays out. The player makes tons of little decisions that can have a big or small impact on the story, and I can easily see the interested gamer getting 3 playthroughs out of the game, especially with all its branching stories and encounter resolutions.
The strength of the game is its writing and voice acting. I laughed out loud at some points. I liked many of the characters and the wit and humor is evident. I would not call the game lighthearted though, as much of the humor is very dark, people die because of the player’s actions and others are relegated to lives of misery. I enjoyed with fully voiced cast, and think it contributed much to the game.
As I mentioned before, the game is different from “Papers, Please.” or “Contraband Police” because although the gate guard aspect is present, the game is much more than a bureaucracy sim. Unlike those games, you’re not looking for discrepancies in paperwork or searching cars for contraband, its more of a social puzzle. You can use certain items to gain information on a visitor and make decisions that impact the greater story. Each person that visits has a purpose and most impact the grand scheme in some way. There is also way more to do than just the guard gate, much of the game is spent away from the guard booth.
My only gripe is that the game is tragically short. But for what you pay, I think it is a fair amount of content.

I enjoyed my time with Lil Guardsman, and I think you will too.