Ahead of the Game - Guild of Monster Girls is pixel-art idling across an interesting grid
Low-key adventuring in chibi form
- Grid-based stages with randomised tiles
- Cute chibi characters and idle progression
- Adorable and lighthearted narrative
It's all about cute characters and chill combat in this week's Ahead of the Game series, where we tell you all about a new mobile endeavour that's playable in one form or another despite its unofficial launch.
As any fantasy adventurer will tell you, a good guild master is everything - which is why when said leader goes missing, the guild inevitably falls apart. Or does it?
Not when you're a Guild of Monster Girls, apparently, as it seems you'll stop at nothing to pick up the pieces and get the band back together, so to speak.
That's basically the charming little premise for this idle RPG, but honestly, with the way the characters are so adorably designed, I wouldn't mind having a not-so-deep narrative to go with it.
Now, before you dismiss this as another run-of-the-mill pixel-art idler, it's actually bringing something new to the table, in my opinion. There's a grid-based exploration-slash-combat stage layout, for instance, where you explore the World Map that's laid out across blocks on a grid.
As you go from one grid to another, you'll consume stamina, but there's a lovely roguelike element to it too, especially since each tile offers randomised burdens or boons as you go along.
This means that when you tap on a tile, you're never really quite sure what to expect - you can hoard a whole bunch of treasure one moment and end up struck down by a flaming sword the next. You'll also encounter friendly merchants along the way, and, as you might expect from the genre, pick up a procedurally generated perk here and there too.
This main adventuring gameplay adds to the "monster collecting" aspect of the guild girls you recruit, which means there's more than enough motivation to want to unlock them all, level them up, and give them the proper gear they deserve as you progress.
Personally, just the fact that it lets me adventure idly without breaking a sweat is good enough for me - but the pixel-art animations and charming characters are always a huge plus.
So, how do you play Guild of Monster Girls?
Developer ChillyRoom's Google Play test is currently open in select regions, including the United States, the Philippines, Brazil, India, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and more. What's great is that if you manage to get your hands on it now, there won't be a data wipe once the official build launches, so expect all of your progress to carry over to the official release!
