Like any writer worth their salt, the first thing I do before writing about something is to read over all the information I have on it. There was no shortage of things about Guardians of the Rose-Witchcraft vs Magic to fascinate me, but what caught my attention the most was towards the very end of the page.
Broc Copeland, who is the Programmer, Designer, Artist, Animator, etc. for the game was a person! Of course, they are all people, but Broc gives more than facts when he tells you about who he is. He shows you bits of himself, talks about his past, his family, his dreams. To be fair, his words probably resonated with me as Mario and Duck Hunt were also the first games that I ever played.
When I saw the comparison to old school Zelda and Gauntlet games along with Elder Scrolls, I knew there was no way I could not like this game. The world is open-ended and you can explore however you wish, completing the lore of the main story along with various side quests, that make you feel as if you are actually making a difference in the world around you as opposed to finding lost chickens or such.
Guardians of the Rose was inspired by classic tales and high fantasy novels like Homer and Lord of the Rings. This shows in the story. After the Great War, witchcraft was banned after it all but destroyed the kingdom. A warrior-king brought them together and taught them how to find and use their inner magic which they used to drive the Great Witches into hiding. Unfortunately, a small group was tainted by the very thing that they sought to destroy. It is now up to a small group to overthrow the Great Witches and try to restore the tainted Royal Guard. Your main goal is to restore peace; whether you do this by taking an evil route or trying to be good is completely at your discretion. Being a long-time fan of the Fable series, this aspect certainly caught my attention. Your actions will also determine how the game ends.
The music of the game is 8-bit style and was formatted using sounds from the older systems like the Nintendo, the Gameboy and the Commodore 64. The pixel graphics are also old-school and from the second and third generation consoles.
Like many other RPGs, you have stats that you invest points in that are gained from leveling up. You have the ability to use witchcraft, even though it is the source of all evil. However; using it comes with risks and could potentially hinder your ability to co-exist peacefully with natives or alter which game endings you can access. You also have to recruit allies in your quest to overthrow the Great Witches, but just as you would in real life; choose your friends wisely.