How important is the power of friendship? That’s what The Lonesome Guild investigates when a lone ghost appears in the aftermath of an impact. Consumed by the pain of loneliness, they manage to find a companion and embark on a journey with them. What follows is the formation of the titular Lonesome Guild and a story of how unlikely individuals come together as friends. They live in a tough world but strive to overcome challenges with grit, optimism, and each other.
Teamwork is crucial with combat and puzzles relying on cooperation. Combat that emphasizes using everyone and competent AI make fights easy to navigate. It’s not too challenging and may feel repetitive at times. The Lonesome Guild presents a strong feel-good adventure with solid foundations for providing a great story.
The Lonesome Guild will be available on PC on October 23rd 2025.
The start of a journey with your newfound friends.
Story – Making Friends
The Lonesome Guild starts with a spectral being meeting a rabbit-like being named Davinci. After assuming the name “Ghost”, the being travels with Davinci to learn about their origins. Along the way, Ghost and Davinci meet several individuals with differing goals. Through the appeal of the adventure, they join the duo and form the titular Lonesome Guild. Even though the world is going through great turmoil, the group sticks together.
It’s a story similar to Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land but more friendship-focused. Everyone is willing to go along with the adventures even if they seem like unlikely allies. There aren’t many complex themes right now but it’s a feel-good story about the power of friendship. If you are looking for something comforting or are interested in an unlikely team of characters, this is the story for you.
You learn how each character views the world through your choices.
While every story has struggles, this doesn’t appear to be a story that deconstructs themes or investigates serious topics. This is a game you play because the power of friendship invigorates you rather than a deep dive into a topic.
Gameplay – Everyone Participates
You explore areas from a third-person perspective, solving puzzles and fighting enemies. One of the game’s strengths is real-time combat where you can switch characters in the middle of battle. Unlike games such as Cauldron, switching characters at the right time gives special benefits. This incentivizes you to try every character and figure out how to use them effectively. Rather than pick your favourites, this lets you see party synergies and learn what everyone can do.
You find unlikely allies who slowly become trusted comrades.
Puzzles are simple and require pulling levers, activating switches, or pushing blocks. Sometimes you can solve them alone but some puzzles require using your teammates. You can quickly test your ideas to see if they work and there aren’t any puzzles you can fail. These puzzles fit the theme of friendship well without being frustrating.
This game isn’t difficult and that may lead to a lack of challenge. It’s easy to learn the intricacies of combat and there aren’t puzzles that stump you too much. The Lonesome Guild does have intense moments with combat but that’s usually because you accidentally took too much damage. With sufficient practice, you learn how to avoid most damage and figure out how to solve the puzzles quickly.
Puzzles might look hard but the solution is never far away.
Audio & Visual – Cute Characters & Environment
Everything in The Lonesome Guild is in 3D and the characters look adorable. Visual cues for enemy attacks are easily noticeable, letting you clearly tell when enemies are about to attack. Environments also have a simple design but it adds to the friendly feeling because nothing looks fierce. Even enemies don’t appear overly aggressive or evil. Items are clearly distinct and puzzle objects are easily identifiable to avoid getting stuck.
The audio is soothing background music that doesn’t overpower the gameplay. You can also hear enemy attacks with audio cues, letting you know when something dangerous is about to approach. Characters don’t have voices but you understand how they feel with the occasional voice or grunt.
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- Bosses look big but aren’t intimidating even in combat.
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- You encounter a variety of characters while you look for answers.
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- Completing quests and helping others gives you an advantage.
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- If you aren’t switching characters in battle, you might struggle.
The Lonesome Guild was previewed on Steam with a code provided by ICO Partners.
