Guards II: Chaos in Hell | PC Preview

I have never considered myself a fan of turn-based RPGs. While I did like Pokemon growing up, combat typically needs to have real-time elements for it to excite me. However, I have recently started to play more turn-based RPGs with the Super Mario RPG remake and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Now, both of those have timing sequences to either increase damage dealt, or blocks/parries to decrease damage. But when offered, I decided to try out Guards II: Prologue, a turn-based tactics RPG that serves as a prelude to the upcoming Guards II: Chaos in Hell. For me, Guards II: Prologue is a perfect example of Scott Clark’s signature tagline at the end of the podcast: “There’s no such thing as a bad game, just games that aren’t for you.”

Thirst for Power

In Guards II: Prologue, a magician summons a demon in search of power. The demon offers him power if he stops the Devil from invading the human world. The magician agrees and summons three other heroes to embark on a journey through hell, battling different demons and monsters from different mythological realms in seven different levels throughout the prologue.

The pixelated art-style is very well done. The creatures are very distinct, with some looking grotesque or intimidating. The backgrounds and environments are nicely crafted, whether from an arid desert fighting scorpions, to creepy dungeons battling different demons. If you like games with pixelated art, most would appreciate what Battlecruiser Games has created.

Battle Through Hell

Combat is simple to learn but hard to master, with every battle feeling like a puzzle. The four heroes are on the left side of the board, with three in front and one in back. Enemies start on the right and move towards the heroes, with most only able to move right to left. 

Players are only able to swap two heroes during a turn, and the turn ends once that swap has been confirmed. Some heroes only have close-range combat, while others have medium to long-range abilities, so it is important to know where enemies are on the board and swap accordingly.  You can also swap the one hero in the back to the front, who will perform a special ability. The hero in the back is not active in the fight, but will heal each turn back there. Lastly, you can perform special abilities from a menu on the right side of the screen. You only have a select number of them, so you must use them wisely.

Battles are won by defeating a number of enemies specified in the top left corner. Levels can have multiple battles, in which you must win both battles consecutively to move on. However, your heroes regenerate health, and you can obtain upgrades in between to increase health, attack power, or special abilities. There is also a skill tree for each hero for more upgrades that can be accessed between levels.

Although the combat is simple, I found it to be quite challenging, especially on the final levels of the prologue. Deciding which hero to place to maximize damage dealt to enemies while also managing their health status was difficult for me. Battles are also lost when just one of your heroes die, so you have to keep track of all heroes’ health. Also, I was hoping to repeat previous levels to obtain new upgrades, but even though I could complete those levels, I did not earn more currency for skill trees.

 

Guards II: Prologue Final Verdict

Guards II: Prologue is a glimpse into Guards II: Chaos in Hell, which releases on June 19, 2025 on Steam. The pixelated art-style is well-crafted, but the combat was a little too difficult for me, despite its simplicity. By no means is this a bad game, despite it might not being a game I found myself frustrated with. The full game likely will be more enjoyable, with more characters and difficulty modes to make it more accessible. If you are looking for a challenging tactics-based RPG, it is worth giving Guards II: Prologue a shot before the full game releases soon.

This review is based on a PC copy of the demo for Guards II: Prologue provided by HeroCraft for coverage purposes.