-: [REVIEW] Relic: First Guardian – Ambition or AI Slop?

These mid-budget projects often aim to capture the genre’s lightning in a bottle, using unique cultural settings or specific mechanical hooks to distinguish themselves in a crowded marketplace.

The current landscape of action RPGs is increasingly defined by "B-list" titles attempting to challenge the throne established by FromSoftware. These mid-budget projects often aim to capture the genre’s lightning in a bottle, using unique cultural settings or specific mechanical hooks to distinguish themselves in a crowded marketplace. The Relic: First Guardian, developed by Project Cloud Games, enters this arena as an ambitious contender, attempting to blend a grim reimagining of Korean folklore with a high-octane, "aggression-first" combat loop.

However, the game’s arrival has been marred by a highly controversial launch state that raises questions about technical viability and creative integrity. While the conceptual framework shows promise, the actual execution is currently hampered by significant performance failures and a reliance on generative shortcuts. For players and analysts alike, the title serves as a stark example of the widening gulf between creative ambition and the harsh reality of a product that lacks fundamental optimization and linguistic QA.

The Dark Folklore of Arsiltus

At its surface, the narrative premise is functional, if boilerplate: the Great Relic that once protected the land of Arsiltus has been shattered, plunging the world into a monster-filled void. Players take on the role of a nameless guardian tasked with recovering these fragments to restore order. While the "hero saves the world" frame is generic, the game finds its footing by reinterpreting traditional Korean folklore with a visceral, grim edge that separates the setting from standard European high fantasy.

The strength of the narrative lies in these cultural reinterpretations, such as the subversion of the traditional woodcutter and fairy tale. In The Relic: First Guardian, this benign story is transformed into a dark account of abuse and torture, culminating in the fairy’s metamorphosis into a monstrous boss. This commitment to "dark variants" of folklore provides a distinct thematic flavor, turning cultural touchstones into haunting encounters that offer genuine narrative intrigue.

Unfortunately, this cultural distinctiveness is frequently undermined by a total localization failure. Much of the lore is delivered through "narrative breadcrumbs" and dialogue that suffer from a lack of professional translation, reading as if they were processed through basic software without human oversight. While the mythological roots of Arsiltus are fascinating, the player’s immersion is consistently broken by confusing NPC behavior and prose that fails to meet industry standards.

Punchy Combat, Broken Systems

Mechanically, the game attempts to distance itself from the "Soulslike" label through its "aggression-first" system. Unlike genre staples where every swing drains resources, stamina here is reserved exclusively for defensive maneuvers like dodging and blocking. This theoretically allows for a high-pressure playstyle where the player can maintain a constant offensive rhythm.

The game offers five core weapon categories to facilitate this:

Sword and Shield
Battle Staff
Daggers
Two-Handed Weapons
Longswords

However, a fundamental design contradiction sabotages this "aggression-first" intent. While the player has infinite stamina for attacks, enemies rarely stagger or flinch, and the lack of visible enemy stamina bars means players can never gauge when a foe is nearing a stunned state. This frequently results in players being punished for the very aggression the game encourages. Further complicating matters are amateur-hour control flaws: the dodge is a "dash" mapped permanently to the 'X' button with no remapping allowed, and on-screen tutorials for skills are frequently incorrect, instructing players to use L2 when the input is actually L1.

These mechanical frustrations are exacerbated by systemic technical failures. Reviews from GamingTrend and IGN highlight "particle effect clutter" that routinely obscures the player's vision and "atrocious camera work" that fails during critical boss encounters. When combined with a jank-ridden lock-on system and unavoidable stunlocks, the combat experience often devolves from a punchy action-fantasy into a frustrating battle against the game’s own interface.

Progression Without Levels

The Relic: First Guardian opts for a "level-free" progression system, where growth is driven by discoverable Relics and weapon-specific skill trees rather than traditional XP. This item-driven growth encourages build experimentation, as Relics provide passive bonuses and combat enhancements that can be swapped to suit different boss encounters. While the blacksmith remains essential for upgrading one-of-a-kind gear, the economy is split between gold and "Ancient Relic Energy," the latter being the specific currency required for skill tree advancement.

This dual-currency system is meant to drive exploration, but it ultimately falls into the "Gold Trap." Because gold is the primary reward for almost every activity, its value evaporates once the player moves into the third act. Once the preferred weapon trees are maxed out, the single-currency rewards found in chests and dropped by the game’s 80+ bosses become meaningless. Without a traditional leveling loop to maintain engagement, the incentive to engage with the world's side content rapidly diminishes.

The Technical Crisis & AI

The creative potential of the title is currently buried under a "shambolic" launch state, reflected in IGN’s 4/10 and GamingTrend’s 30/100 scores. The performance is particularly egregious on the PS5; despite the console being defined by its high-speed I/O and SSD capabilities, The Relic: First Guardian suffers from 30-second load times and constant frame rate stutters.

The technical failures extend into the basic user experience:

Controls are frequently held "hostage" during forced, unskippable dialogue, leaving players vulnerable to enemy attacks while unable to move.
Confirmed use of generative AI for voice acting and loading screen art contributes to a lack of handcrafted quality.
Suspected AI involvement in the UI design and writing results in erratic paragraph spacing and tiny, difficult-to-read text.

These issues suggest a development priority on quantity—boasting over 80 bosses—at the direct expense of polish and stability. The reliance on AI-generated assets, particularly for voice work and art, further cheapens the experience, making the game feel like a collection of reused assets and automated scripts rather than a cohesive vision.

Bottom Line

The "Rough Diamond" Theory: The core "aggression-first" combat and dark Korean folklore are genuinely promising, but they are currently suffocated by a staggering lack of technical polish and design contradictions.
A Warning on Price: The $49.99 asking price is a significant barrier to entry for a product that arrives in an unpolished and fundamentally broken state.
Wait for Patches: This title is only redeemable if the developers execute an aggressive roadmap of bug fixes, performance optimization, and a total overhaul of the current localization.

What’s your take on the rise of AI-assisted assets in gaming? Does the combat potential outweigh the technical mess? Comment and Share this article to join the discussion.

About the Writer

Jenny, the tech wiz behind Jenny's Online Blog, loves diving deep into the latest technology trends, uncovering hidden gems in the gaming world, and analyzing the newest movies. When she's not glued to her screen, you might find her tinkering with gadgets or obsessing over the latest sci-fi release.

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