Little Guardians: The Last Hope

Liam and his mom head into the forest to pick blueberries, but a sudden flash in the sky sends them rushing back to the village. Before they can make it home, the ground begins to shake and tear itself apart. It feels like a massive earthquake as entire sections of land break away and drift into the air. One of these ruptures causes Liam to fall over the edge, separating him from his mother. Fortunately, he isn't alone for long. He soon finds his friend Hana nearby, who has also been cut off from the village. Together, they set out to find their way back home, only to discover that their village is now floating high above the ground like a giant island in the sky. When you first gain control of Liam, there are no tutorial messages explaining the basics. Thankfully, this never feels frustrating because the controls are immediately familiar if you've played similar adventure games before. Along with standard movement, Liam has a solid jump and an auto-grab ability that lets him pull himself up onto marked ledges and crates. Crates can also be pushed around to create makeshift platforms. Hana isn't nearly as agile as Liam. She can't jump over gaps, and you have no direct control over her. You also can't tell her what to do. Most situations involve creating a safe path for her, but she's surprisingly intelligent and always helps on her own by activating switches, crawling through openings, or positioning herself exactly where she's needed. Liam also has quite an arm when it comes to throwing stones. Rather than carrying them around, you pick them up from piles that are usually placed near puzzles that require them. Stones can be used to destroy large rocks and other obstacles. Aiming is very forgiving because the game automatically locks onto targets when you face them. Since this is considered a more advanced action, the game displays a button prompt whenever you're near something that can be interacted with. There's also a constant reminder at the bottom of the screen showing how to aim and throw in case you forget. Destructible rocks have a subtle glow that helps them stand out, while interactive objects are marked with a small diamond icon above them. That icon can occasionally be difficult to spot due to the game's bright and colorful visuals. A bit later, Liam gains another ability thanks to a friendly creature that starts following him around. Certain objects and pathways in the world appear transparent or partially missing, and the creature can make them visible. The ability also works in reverse, allowing solid objects to become transparent so you can pass through them. One of my favorite details is that the creature speaks in what can only be described as adorable gibberish Latin. Interestingly, the game's store page claims that controllers are not supported, but that doesn't seem to be true at all. It may simply be an oversight by the developer. My gamepad worked perfectly from start to finish. Button prompts changed correctly between keyboard and controller inputs, and the settings menu even includes controller diagrams showing every button and its function. Progression is completely linear and takes you through several distinct regions. You begin among the fractured floating islands before venturing into caves, frozen landscapes, desert temples, and eventually the end. Environmental puzzles are the main obstacle throughout the adventure, and I found them consistently enjoyable. They combine platforming, pushing and pulling objects, throwing stones, and using the creature's unique ability. While each region introduces a few new ideas, the core puzzle-solving remains familiar and never becomes frustrating or confusing. The downside of this linear structure is how easy it is to miss optional content. There are relaxing spots where Liam and Hana can rest, collectible gems, trapped mushrooms that need rescuing, and optional puzzle rooms that reveal more about the world. Some are hard to miss, while others require small detours off the main path. The problem is that the game gives you no indication of how many of these secrets exist or how many you've already discovered. There isn't even a notification confirming that you've found something important. Even worse, if you miss a single collectible, there's no chapter select or way to revisit previous areas. The only solution is starting an entirely new playthrough from the beginning, which takes hours. That would already be frustrating enough, but collectible and secret-related achievements appear to be broken. Story achievements unlock normally, but the collectible ones don't seem to register correctly, making the whole hunt feel pointless and like a wasted opportunity. Another issue is the camera. It uses a cinematic system that constantly changes angles depending on the scene and your position, which means there's never a consistent sense of what you'll be able to see. Sometimes a hidden path leading to a collectible remains completely off-screen unless you happen to walk directly into it. In practice, this means either knowing where secrets are beforehand or constantly checking every edge of the screen just in case. The camera can also be frustrating during normal movement. At times it's too slow to keep up with Liam, forcing you to stop and wait for it to catch up. Other times it rotates in a way that allows environmental objects to block your view of the character. Although the world is incredibly colorful and packed with charming details that make it feel like a living cartoon, invisible walls frequently prevent exploration. In other places, you can jump into areas that seem accessible and end up stuck. Sometimes, you can see a perfectly safe spot but die anyway because the game decides you can’t go there. There are also several graphical issues. One section of a bridge appears to be missing entirely, making it look as though you're walking on air, when in reality the bridge textures are simply invisible. Elsewhere, Hana is asked to crawl through what appears to be a solid wall. Thankfully, an interaction prompt reveals the hidden opening because otherwise you'd never know it existed. She then disappears into one wall and emerges from another. There's even a section where Liam's character model loses its textures entirely. Thankfully, checkpoints are generous. If you get stuck, you can restart from the most recent checkpoint. Falling into water, dropping off a ledge, or taking damage instantly respawns you nearby with no meaningful loss of progress. The only moments that felt slightly annoying were the multi-stage boss encounters. These usually require surviving long enough to create an opening for an action, and Liam dies in a single hit. Fortunately, they're easy enough that they never become a major obstacle. Overall, this is a very enjoyable adventure game that never overstays its welcome. The puzzles are fun, the gameplay remains engaging throughout, and the art style is beautiful. A handful of graphical hiccups and the poorly implemented collectibles and secrets system definitely hurt the experience, but not enough to overshadow everything else the game does well. Despite its flaws, it's absolutely worth playing.