{"id":1234327,"date":"2026-02-26T07:20:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T07:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=608200"},"modified":"2026-02-26T07:20:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T07:20:59","slug":"the-lonesome-guild-champions-the-power-of-friendship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/the-lonesome-guild-champions-the-power-of-friendship\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lonesome Guild champions the power of friendship"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Lonesome Guild<\/em>, to be published by indie trailblazer Don\u2019t Nod<\/a>, is something of a departure from developer Tiny Bull Studios’ previous games: a VR title and a Lovecraftian horror game. The Lonesome Guild<\/em> is decidedly much more kid-friendly, featuring a cast of anthropomorphic animals adventuring together \u2014 along with a ghost, who\u2019s more \u201cCasper the Friendly\u201d than poltergeist. With its focus on the evergreen theme of friendship, it\u2019s the exact type of game I would have enjoyed as much when I was a kid as I do now.<\/p>\n

It starts with a shooting star streaking across the world of Etere, aching with loneliness, and eventually crash-landing in a forest. A miasmic mist of concentrated loneliness spins out of it, as well as a ghost in need of a friend. Inventor bunny Davinci crosses paths with the ghost, whom Davinci aptly names Ghost, and together they set off to unravel the mysteries of both this mist and Ghost\u2019s past, of which they have no recollection.<\/p>\n

They meet Mr. Fox (I assume not his real given name, but who knows), the final playable character of the roughly two-hour demo. Davinci is excitable and has a whole \u201cGee Willikers!\u201d vibe to him \u2014 he frequently exclaims \u201cSparks!\u201d in lieu of four-letter words \u2014 while Mr. Fox is decidedly curmudgeonly and pessimistic. Still, you can tell they\u2019ll be best buds by the end of the game.<\/p>\n

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And that\u2019s because friendship and building relationships are at the core of The Lonesome Guild<\/em>. The trio march toward a \u201cfriend\u201d of Davinci\u2019s, Ran, who can supposedly help them take a shortcut out of the forest. Instead, they\u2019re greeted by that friend\u2019s automaton creation, and it promptly attacks. Later in the demo, you learn Davinci has never met this friend in person before and they\u2019ve only corresponded via letters; it gives off the impression that Davinci is embellishing his perception of his relationship with Ran, and they might not be as close as he implies. Maybe Ghost isn\u2019t the only one suffering from being lonesome.<\/p>\n

Davinci, Mr. Fox, and Ghost bond over campfires when resting, and here is where The Lonesome Guild<\/em> gamifies its core theme. Characters gain Relationship points through conversations around the fire, upping their relationship with Ghost, and opening up pathways for new skills and passives to be unlocked. Gamified relationship building is nothing new for games, but I hope the full build of The Lonesome Guild<\/em>, with its focus on friendship, goes further than superficially gaining relationship ranks with characters just to increase some stats.<\/p>\n

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Boosted damage will come in handy as The Lonesome Guild<\/em>\u2019s enemies can pack a hefty punch if you\u2019re not careful. Aside from Ran\u2019s robots, most of the enemies are some little dudes sporting overalls and pots on their heads like they\u2019re Greg and his teapot in Over the Garden Wall<\/em><\/a>. Gameplay is of your classic dodge-roll variety (think Tunic<\/em><\/a> or Death\u2019s Door<\/em><\/a>), but with a fun and unique mechanic: Ghost can inhabit other characters, boosting their damage and granting them a Super Saiyan-like aura. That buff will wear off, and you\u2019ll then swap to another character in the combat arena to give them the same boost. You\u2019re constantly shifting about in combat to gain Ghost\u2019s buff, and it offers a fun way of making sure the game doesn\u2019t get stale. However, you\u2019ll need quick reflexes as you might switch control to another character who you don\u2019t realize is actually under attack and needs to skedaddle.<\/p>\n

The combat in The Lonesome Guild<\/em> is enjoyable, but the real draw is its emphasis on relationship building and friendship. Its Steam<\/a> demo revealed a lot of layers to the characters I got to meet, and I look forward to meeting even more (lonely) cute animal dudes when the full game launches later this year on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.<\/p>\n

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