Publisher Plug In Digital has released the mobile version of the indie adventure Lil’ Guardsman from Hilltop Studios. Players take on the role of 12-year-old girl Lil, who is filling in for her father at the castle gates. The aspiring guard must interrogate over a hundred fully voiced characters — from humans and elves to goblins and cyclops — and decide who to let into the city.
Various tools, which can be upgraded with earned gold, help to detect lies and contraband. Lil also has access to the Chronometer3000, allowing her to rewind time and reconsider a decision. The player's choices affect relations between neighboring states, the outcome of a royal wedding, a subsequent siege, and the fate of the city's inhabitants.
Lil’ Guardsman is often compared to Papers, Please due to the checkpoint work and the need to check suspicious visitors. However, Hilltop Studios' project offers a more cheerful fantasy story, a developed dialogue system, and various tools for interrogations.
Lil’ Guardsman was originally released on January 23, 2024, for PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. On Steam, the game has garnered over 1150 user reviews, 93% of which are positive. Currently, the port is only available on Android: there is no App Store page for the game. Russian localization is also not announced.