Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark Review

Game developer INTI CREATES has brought back the Gal Guardians series with Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark. I know this franchise from the first title, Grim Guardians: Demon Purge game that I had the chance to review in 2023. I was a fan of the characters and the tongue-in-cheek humour of the first title, so I’m curious to play and see the changes made from that early entry in the franchise to this game.

The Gal Guardians world is made up of three domains: The Heaven Realm, the peaceful home of angels; the Human Realm, home to the frail and weak humans; and the Demon Realm, a chaotic world that is home to demons. The game takes place in the last realm where demons have no issues with resorting to violence and even murder. Here, the most powerful beings are known as demon lords, and they are fighting to take over the realm.

As soon as the game begins, we are treated to an animated cinematic intro with a theme song introducing the voice actors —  in Japanese —  for all the characters. I always get excited when I see this because it feels like I am playing a videogame version of an anime; having voice acting with subtitles instead of text boxes is always a nice addition.

In Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark, you play as two sisters returning from vacation to the Demon Castle, where they work as maids serving the Demon Lord Maxim. We have Masha, who seems to be in love with Maxim and has vibrant green hair, and Kirika, the more sensical sister with pink hair. Upon their return, they see black smoke pouring out of the castle. It’s under attack! 

Demon Lord Lyzenorg is challenging the girl’s boss, Maxim (his full name being Maximum Onslaught), to a duel. Masha and Kirika try to intervene and help Maxim in the battle, but another maid named Lysa stops them. It turns out that she is the Head Maid and a traitor, working for Lyzenorg. The two had figured that this was the perfect time to attack since the sisters were on vacation; after Lyzenorg reigns victorious, he and Lysa make a quick exit. Our demon sister protagonists are heartbroken, mourning their dead master... until he comes back as a spirit. Apparently, he wasn't totally defeated! The two had figured that since the sisters were on vacation, this was the perfect time to attack. Lyzenorg is victorious in the battle, making a quick exit with Lysa. The demon sisters are heartbroken and are mourning their dead master until Maxim comes back as a spirit. Apparently, he wasn’t totally defeated!

There is a way to bring Maxim back to life: the sisters will have to collect all his bones that have been spread around the demon world. In return, as they recover the pieces, he will power the maid sisters up and give them new abilities. Once they are all obtained, the sisters can put the spirit and everything back together to bring their boss back to life to get revenge on the evil Demon Lord Lyzenorg. I always love a good revenge story!

Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark is a 2D metroidvania game, though based on the setting, it looks Castlevania-like. You can select how much of a challenge you would like when you play ranging from: Casual, an easier play style with increased HP and DP (demon points for secondary weapons), along with a map showing your destination; Veteran, standard play with a bit of challenge, recommended if you have played games like this before; and Challenger, the rate items are dropped is increased, but in return, the damage enemies deal is higher. The one thing that was changed, that I love, is that there are no longer any bottomless pits to fall in. Instead, if you fall, you are taken to a new area to explore.  

Like in Grim Guardians: Demon Purge, there are two protagonists to switch between. Kirika uses guns and is a long-range specialist, with her max ammo at 60 bullets. If you dash while shooting, you can spend 15 bullets to fire off a shotgun blast. In contrast, her sister Masha is more of a close-range melee fighter; she has a vine whip covered in thorns as her weapon. Each has a secondary weapon available to them: Kirika can be equipped with close-range weapons, but for Masha, utility and support are more of the focus.

As you progress in the game and collect Maxim’s bones, you can exchange them to level up and unlock new abilities that will give you access to areas that were unreachable before. The bones will be dropped by defeated enemies, found in treasure chests, or bought from the shopkeep. Once some are collected, you will need to return to the throne room in the castle to exchange them, which is kind of annoying.  

Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark can be played solo, switching between the sisters with the left trigger button, or co-op locally or online with someone else, with each playing one of the maids as you travel the demon world looking for all the bones that Maxim has lost. Fortunately, if you play with two players one time it does not mean you will need to save over your previous file; you can just continue.

The pixelated visuals look beautiful and create a great sense of depth between the background and the foreground elements. They are highly detailed, and the main characters are brightly coloured, and sexy kawaii. I don’t really think that is a real term, but they definitely look good in their suggestive maid outfits! The music is very good and fits in with the game’s look and feel; it never felt odd or out of place. 

Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark has made many changes from the first game, fixing a lot of the elements I found frustrating in the original. Having a map accessible at any point so that you can see where you discovered chests, characters, upgrades, and rift portal locations is so convenient. This makes it easier to find all those spots once you have the needed ability to get through that area, though even with the map, you can still get lost. No more bottomless pits and you have the full demon realm to explore, not just a school like the previous title. Plus, if one of the sisters falls in battle, the other can resuscitate them and bring them back to life.

Fans of the 2D metroidvania genre and anime characters are sure to enjoy this title. Being able to switch between the two main characters at a whim is great, having one with long-range attacks, and the other with strong melee helps you fight any foe you come across. Plus you can play with a friend locally or online, which is always a nice mode to have available. Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark has a great sense of humour and is full of adorable characters and fan service of course!