Lil' Guardsman is a Papers Please-style deduction adventure with you as an unlikely town guard
- Lil' Guardsman sees you take on the role of town guard for The Sprawl
- Covering your father's shifts, you'll have the choice of who to admit and who to reject
- This cosier take on the Papers, Please, formula is coming to iOS and Android
While Papers, Please invoked a really grim and dystopian style of gaming, for better or for worse, many other developers have taken a slightly lighter view on the subject. Case in point: the upcoming deductive sim Lil' Guardsman, which is set to release on iOS and Android this winter, puts you in the shoes of the bane of all adventurers.
In Lil' Guardsman, you play as the twelve-year-old Lil, tasked with covering your father's shift as, unsurprisingly, a guardsman at the gate of a city called the Sprawl. You'll need to interrogate various visitors, ranging from wizards to cyclopes, and decide whether to let them in, jail them or deal with them in some other way.
Guards, guards!!!
Boasting over 100 fully voiced characters and different endings based on the decisions you make, Lil' Guardsman certainly isn't lacking in stuff to do. You'll even be able to spend your wages on upgrading your shed, all while pursuing the high score.But even so, I can't help but see the irony that others have already pointed out. The inspiration from Papers, Please, a grim and dystopian story of abuse of power, being translated into a cute and cosy game about, well, abuse of power is certainly an interesting angle.
At the same time, that's no reason to dismiss Lil' Guardsman entirely. And with a hefty amount of content to sink your teeth into, if you're looking for something to test your deductive skills, with a new perspective on a fantasy world, then Lil' Guardsman is certainly one to watch!
And if you're looking for even more great releases to play on mobile, then you don't need to worry about checking Google or Apple's trending pages! Instead, just take a look at our constantly updated list of the best mobile games of 2026 (so far) for some of our favourite picks!
