Guile & Glory: Firstborn

I bounced off this game twice due to its slow start, but finally got into it on my third try. It's a solid puzzle game that makes the most of its simple but effective mechanics. Its worst levels have only one correct solution, but its best leave you feeling very clever for quickly dispatching enemies with smart positioning. It gets better as you gather more characters and unlock new boons - by the way, make sure to scroll down on the 'Boons' screen! I initially dismissed the other boons as downgrades, not realizing that if I scrolled down I could find a ton of powerful abilities that give the game a much-needed shot of customization and tactics. I haven't run into any bugs in my first 4 hours, except some explosion sound effects are crazy loud. (Maybe they aren't properly configured to respect volume settings?) Looking forward to the rest of it!

This game plays like a better version of Into the Breach. The fact that it has a campaign with hand-made maps (and also some optional randomly generated levels) and that you get to unlock a pretty large roster of characters and their upgrades, makes this game fun to play, without feeling like a puzzle where there is only one good solution. I had no bugs and the loading times where very fast. Overall, a good game!

This is one of those "tactical RPGs" that is actually a "tactical puzzle game". Your characters have relatively limited leveling options, and there is at least one "correct" answer to every level. The tactical puzzle genre isn't really my thing, and usually I'm mostly just a little annoyed that I don't feel like I'm getting the RPG goodness I was looking for. That being said this game is pretty solid. Replaying levels to figure out the exact solution is important, and the dialog quickly becomes tedious (solved: double tap escape to skip) when doing so, but the mythos of being a hulking conan-esque barbarian killing the enemies that "cannot be felled by any mortal blade" by throwing them into spikes or down pits is pretty cool

[h1]Summary[/h1] [h3]Full review below.[/h3] [table] [tr] [th]🟩 [b]Pros[/b][/th] [th]🟥 [b]Cons[/b][/th] [/tr] [tr] [td]• Memorable characters and story. • Thoughtful enemy design and encounters. • Deterministic AI rewards intelligent play. • Main characters' playstyles complement each other well. • Boons provide extra depth and specialization. • Retro aesthetics are well done. • Unlockable characters shake things up in Delve mode.[/td] [td]• No option to increase combat speed. • Limited layout variety in Delves. • Perfect clears limit boon variety.[/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [th]🟨 [b]Bugs & Technical Issues[/b][/th] [/tr] [tr] [td]• Sound effect volume is unbalanced, and should be kept low. • Alt-tabbing occasionally resulted in a black screen, though this could have been a Proton compatibility issue and wasn't guaranteed. • There was a single, inconsequential instance of a Delve enemy being untargetable. • Two relic entries in the lorebook cannot be filled.[/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [th][h3]Conclusion[/h3][/th] [td][i]Guile & Glory: Firstborn[/i] is a fantastic if somewhat simple tactical RPG, blending puzzle elements that recall the most satisfying parts of Subset Games' [i]Into the Breach[/i].[/td] [/tr] [/table] [h2] Characters and Combat [/h2] [i]Guile & Glory: Firstborn[/i]'s combat is presented in a manner typical for a tactical RPG, with a birds-eye view, square tiles, and limited movement and action points for each character. What sets [i]Guile & Glory[/i] apart, however, is that none of the three main characters can directly attack the Firstborn blocking their path. The Firstborn — and the stronger Unborn, later — are immune to mortal weapons, and must be killed indirectly. The vengeful Outlander can push enemies into hungry pits, crystal thorns, or fatal water. The Scoundrel can pull enemies with his cursed whip or turn them with a rope bomb. The Guardian can stun enemies, passively block attacks with her shield, and later swap places with allies. The early-game strategy of pushing and pulling enemies to their deaths while stunning the ones you can't will find limited success later unless you've mastered the trio's synergies. Some missions will provide an extra party member that can directly damage enemies. While not underbaked by any measure, it's clear that development priority and polish went to the main trio and it's their playstyles that play most to the game's strengths. [h2]Enemy and Encounter Design[/h2] When starting a map, you can usually look at it, thorns, pits, and all, for less than ten seconds and decide how you'll complete it. Most missions just require your party to reach the victory tiles, though boss fights and some Delve floors require killing all enemies or a boss. Enemy AI is deterministic and the challenge, especially for perfect clears, lies in how well you can kill enemies and manipulate the rest for the next turn. Missions can completed at your own pace, but perfect clears — completing missions within a set number of turns without taking damage — reward extra Glory for unlocking boons. Most enemies have just three movement points, one action point and, early on, just one health point. Early enemies are straight-forward to deal with, but later enemies require extra consideration and teamwork, such as having to be stunned before they can be moved, or damaging anything that is pushed or pulled toward their spear. Late-game areas feature enemies camouflaged as stone statues that, after a slightly too-long delay, perform a small animation that gives them away. Enemies prefer the path of least resistance, typically moving to and attacking the closest target. Most enemies are easily controlled, or at least predictable, but Giants and [spoiler]the final boss[/spoiler] are more punishing. They capitalize on mistakes and, if given the chance, will happily shove characters into pits or keep them stunned while they pummel them. Enemy attacks and movements are never random; the game never feels unfair as it punishes poor positioning. [h2]Boons and Delves[/h2] While the story provides a satisfying experience, players seeking perfect clears will want to earn extra Glory by completing Delves. Delves contain up to 15 floors but feature a limited variety of maps and enemy layouts. A Glory multiplier increases with each floor completed, and you are given the option to leave the Delve at the end of each floor. However, if any character dies or you quit before completing the floor, your reward will be halved. Glory is spent to unlock powerful boons for your characters. Each of the three main characters has four "paths" of boons that enhance their abilities, traits, movement points, action points, or health. The final four boons for each character are the most powerful and require investing in two different paths. However, the strict requirements for perfect clears limit viable choices and most players will likely keep the Outlander on the Berserker path until they unlock the Gladiator boon, which grants himself [b]and everyone else[/b] two movement points and an action point whenever he kills an enemy. The perfect clear for the penultimate fight has a 12-turn limit and I cleared it in six thanks to this. The Delve-only unlockable characters' boons offer only linear improvements, but they're still worth bringing along, if not just for novelty, then for unique dialogue that enhances and expands the story. This is especially true if you have [spoiler]the final boss[/spoiler] in your party when fighting the Delve-exclusive [spoiler]true final boss[/spoiler]. The unlockable characters are also capable of attacking enemies directly, though only three of them will be of any use in late-game Delves. [h2]Aesthetics and Writing[/h2] While most of the music is fine, if nothing to write home about (excepting the wonderful surprise of the credits music), the pixel art and animations are great. Everything is discernible at a glance and it's hard not to appreciate the different environments, especially the Abyss. And, rarely for me, the pixelated font was easy to read on a 32" monitor. The story, while simple in retrospect, was hard to predict, always driving me to play just one more mission. There's optional lore books that can be picked up, though perfect clears will require a second attempt due to the turn limit. The lore is interesting, though piecing everything together with the found lorebooks involves redoing story missions to revisit dialogue if you forgot something. The characters' writing complements their gameplay synergy. The stoic, revenge-obsessed Outlander, oafish, greedy Scoundrel, and kind, stalwart Guardian play off each other well, both seriously and comedically, and it was nice seeing them grow closer to each other and into heroic archetypes. The Herald and his lord kept me intrigued, and the two get most of the extra story tidbits in Delves. [h2]Closing Thoughts[/h2] I was [b]very[/b] pleasantly surprised by [i]Guile & Glory: Firstborn[/i]. Its typical presentation belies its smart design, and the challenges presented never feel unfair. If you're a fan of [i]Into the Breach[/i] or just want a tactical RPG that rewards clever execution, you'll be beguiled by [i]Guile & Glory: Firstborn[/i].

Starts off great, but completely BS invincible enemies make it purely frustrating rather than fun later on.

Push and pull the Firstborn to their demise in this puzzle-ish RPG gem of a game. Buy this game if you want to enjoy: -Into the Breach-like mechanics spread out over a brief campaign. -Crisp, old school, Swords and Sorcery esque visuals. -A minimal yet endearing story with surprisingly good worldbuilding. -Big muscles.

Um bom jogo desse estilo de táticas em turno com uma temática medieval, mas as classes bem únicas, estou curtindo bastante.