The Relic: First Guardian from Perp Games and Project Cloud Games is a semi-open world action RPG that offers something new and different to the Soulslike genre that players have come to know and love. Despite the grim setting that Soulslike games often use, The Relic: First Guardian brings more realistic grit and grime while maintaining and respecting its fantastical influences. It’s far from perfect, but The Relic: First Guardian is quite an engaging game, thanks to its gameplay systems and methods of story-telling.
The Relic: First Guardian doesn’t waste time putting you right into the fray. After brief opening sequence and a tutorial, you’re put into the game’s world, Arsiltus, to explore freely within its dark and dreary forests and passages before venturing into scenes that feel more fantastical in nature. In Arsiltus, players observe a world that has been swallowed up by some sort of void that brings destruction and chaos with it. You discover that a great relic has been broken, and as the player, it’s up to you to navigate this treacherous landscape and close the void for good to restore what humanity used to be in this once-prosperous land.
The Relic: First Guardian Brings a Dark Journey Worth Diving Into
Like any other Soulslike, The Relic: First Guardian doesn’t waste any time putting you into the reality of what a cold world you’re in. From the moment you complete the tutorial and use the Tibelle’s Stone (this game’s equivalent to a checkpoint or bonfire), you find a dead family’s home on fire with looters up the road leading into a greater area. The Relic: First Guardian begins to tell its story through side quests and notes that are left around, which are easy to discern on the ground. There’s a storybook-like presentation with the fully-voiced notes you find, but even more so, there’s a sense of loss all around you since everyone who left those notes behind are dead not too far from them. This is where that realism I briefly mentioned comes into play. The Relic: First Guardian reminds you that it was a world once lived by normal people of its time, and it’s now lost to ruin for you to redeem someday.
As a warrior in this forsaken world, you have a sword, shield and relic magic at your disposal, including a healing spell. Weapon swings have a sense of momentum behind them, and you need to master timing your dodges in order to avoid taking major damage from the looters and monsters you come across. There are plenty of narrow areas, and due to the darkness of the void, enemies seemingly blend with the dreary atmosphere you find yourself in if you aren’t alert. Fortunately, your attacks do not drain your stamina, so you can easily learn how to many that particular resource if you become adept at evasion. In The Relic: First Guardian, it’s all about finding the right timing to attack, and in lieu of a heavy attack, magic will deal decent damage for those wanting to take a risk mid-fight.
Fire is the first element of Relic Magic that you have access to, but later on, you get more options to work with. You can equip and enhance Relic Stones to get buffs and enhancements, and you also gain access to more weapons at the Blacksmith and via loot drops. Relic Power is another aspect that will give you an edge, since you can get skills and add them to your weapons. You will absolutely need to leverage the Relic Magic, Relic Power, and weapons you have at your disposal to fare against the game’s tough and uniquely terrifying bosses.
In the preview build I had access to, there were already 15 bosses to fight, and most of them were a test of patience and pattern recognition when it comes to their attacks. Entom of the Abandoned Village is one of the first bosses you come across, and the fight sets the tone for what you can expect later on. It’s not a difficult fight, but if you aren’t careful, you’ll be losing health in no time due to carelessness. Afterward, you’ll be able to talk to Elisa and unlock the ability to equip Relic Stones, which are essential to fighting the other bosses. Admittedly, I didn’t get around to fighting all the bosses, but like any other Soulslike game, there is some choice over the order you can fight them, and there’s a fun gameplay loop in regards to getting rewards and valuable loot.
A Promising Start
From what I experienced in The Relic: First Guardian thus far, I think the game is really engaging with its combat system and overall aesthetic. There’s no level-up system or souls to collect, and equipment and Relic-based aspects are keys to becoming stronger. You’ll get more Relics as you defeat bosses, so there’s also progression in that capacity. The weapon-specific upgrade trees bring some more depth to the weapons than you may expect at first glance, too. You can even unlock new buffs and attacks that will surprise you. There are many qualities that make The Relic: First Guardian stand out.
The Relic: First Guardian is far from perfect, however. I think the presentation and voice acting of story notes could be better, and the overall feel of the gameplay could use some polishing to make combat feel a little more impactful. In regards to bugs, the team is already working on bug fixes ahead of launch, and in my playthrough, I didn’t encounter any major bugs besides the occasional quest that can’t be completed within the bounds of the preview build.
The Relic: First Guardian is definitely going to be on my radar as the next Soulslike game I want to play, but it’s worth noting again that the gameplay and setting really do stand out in their own ways. There’s an emphasis on runes, items, and crafting that makes you value the loot you come across. The world of Arsiltus is full of mystery in its dark depths, and its monsters and bosses want to make you discover more about how such a place came to be. I’m looking forward to seeing what else lies in store for The Relic: First Guardian.
The Relic: First Guardian will launch on July 31 for PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam. The Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X|S versions of The Relic: First Guardian will follow up at a later date this year. A physical version for the PlayStation 5 version will release on September 4.
