The Relic: First Guardian

Flawed, but honest and fun game from a small team that's genuinely trying — worth a thumbs up at a discounted price. I knew about the game before release, and when I saw the launch and the reactions, I turned my back on it and didn't look into it further. But the last few days, after getting my fill of MGS4 MC, I didn't know what to play next, so I ruthlessly bought it on the PS Store during a sale (and since the game runs noticeably better on PC — even though I primarily play on PS5 — I also picked up a cheap Steam key). I have over 30 hours in and I'm trying to explore everything. What bothers me: - Frame drops, especially during boss fights (this applies to the PS5 version — on my PC build, in the few minutes I played, it ran without issues and noticeably better) - Character getting stuck on certain stairs - Long loading times between death and respawn - The menu interface is only half clear — some of it is well done, some isn't - From chapter 2 onward there are too many enemies — by the end it starts to feel tiring (though this might just be a subjective feeling on my part) - The camera sometimes doesn't cooperate, especially in tight spaces and during certain boss fights - Graphics won't blow you away — I also noticed a graphical glitch in the background during Chapter 2 and 3, and sometimes objects in the distance would visibly pop in as I got closer - One, maybe two enemy types have a death sound that gets annoying over time from repetition - The map could use more icons — for example, rest/save points are missing, and overall better tracking of where you've been and what you've explored - There's an inconsistency issue with the environment — some invisible walls appear on rocks that should otherwise be climbable without any problem, while other similar-looking rocks let you climb freely. The same goes for wooden fences: some can be destroyed, others can't, with no clear logic to which is which - Finding the Sealing Stones is a painful experience — while they aren't required to finish the game, they are important for completion, and the way they are tracked is extremely frustrating. I also have a feeling that my PS5 save may have become corrupted because of this - In Chapter 3, the game failed to register one of the bosses I defeated, which is especially frustrating when trying to complete everything - After finishing the entire story and defeating every boss, I still have around 10 quests and nearly 20 field pages showing as incomplete, despite hours of dedicated searching across the whole map. At this point I genuinely believe most of these are tracking bugs rather than things I've missed - The balance is odd — in chapter 1 I was as weak as a fly, by the last chapter I felt like a terminator, but I got used to it and that's just how this world works - Parry works well, but if you're not directly facing the enemy, even a correctly-timed parry sometimes won't save you from getting hit - Some boss fights have explosive barrels in the arena, which feels like an unnecessary unfair element — though over time this stops being an issue once your character is strong enough - NPCs tend to repeat the same gestures/animations endlessly, and nearby dialogue can block interactions — you sometimes can't open a chest or interact with something until the conversation nearby finishes - No Steam Cloud support Positives: - The world — and its sheer scale. Lots of forests, rain and fog create great atmosphere, plus villages, caves, and almost an entire chapter set in a bright environment during sunset, which was a nice change of pace. It genuinely feels vast and expansive to explore. - A rich amount of interesting stories told through memories - Lots of bosses — big praise for how varied they are - No enemy respawning — feels very fresh and different compared to other games in the genre - A large variety of weapons, weapon types, skills, relics, etc. - Plenty of secrets and side paths to explore — there's always some reward waiting - C

The Relic: First Guardian has real potential. The core is there - parry system and boss design are solid, but the presentation is holding it back. Right now it's blurry/hazy with no way to fix it because there are almost no graphic settings. If you want to turn this around, devs need to 1. Add real PC graphics options: FSR, DLSS/....Xess is not doing it... fix resolution scale, anti-aliasing toggle, motion blur toggle, shadows, and a proper fullscreen/borderless mode. Right now we can't optimize it at all. 2. Fix the image clarity: The game looks desaturated and muddy. Sharpen the image and fix the artifacting on characters/items. 3. Optimize performance: Stuttering and frame pacing issues are constant. Needs proper optimization patch, especially for lower-end PCs and handhelds. You have the foundation of a good Soulslike. Give us the tools to make it run and look right and it will be a completely different experience. I still recommend it bcoz it's good. The core is there...