Rise of the Golden Idol review

Point-and-click puzzle games often get the short end of the stick due to what, at first glance, may seem like simple mechanics and slow gameplay. Compared to their heyday in the 1990s and early 2000s, these games have become more niche in recent years as action, open-world, and narrative-driven games have mostly stolen the spotlight. However, the genre has been kept alive by a devoted fan base and a constant influx of releases, especially in the indie game scene. Gray color games' The Rise of the Golden Idolon the other hand, it might be enough to break the niche ceiling of its genre and attract players beyond those already fond of point-and-click detective games, as it offers a gripping story and addictive gameplay to boot.

The Rise of the Golden Idol is the sequel to Color Gray Games' The case of the golden idoland it seems poised to make some sort of appearance at the Game Awards this year, given everything it offers. As a stand-alone sequel, even those who have never played the first one Golden idol can follow its own story, though playing the first game ahead of time might help players see all the improvements the sequel makes to the franchise's formula. With some incredibly challenging puzzles to solve and one of the most shocking, disturbing and evocative stories I've seen unfold in a while, The Rise of the Golden Idol it could be the push its genre needs to rise again.

Rise of the Golden Idol specializes in atmospheric narratives

After spending almost 10 hours The Rise of the Golden IdolFrom 's story, one of my biggest takeaways is its excellence in creating a spine-tingling atmosphere, no matter how innocent the scene may initially seem. The shock value, for one thing, often left my jaw on the floor and my eyes glued to the screen in disbelief as I repeatedly witnessed murder after murder – since The Rise of the Golden IdolCharacter animations occur in two-second loops. The eerie feeling of The Rise of the Golden IdolThe distorted expressions of his character made frequent trips through every strand of hair on the nape of his neck, often serving as an effective distraction from the real culprit.

The Rise of the Golden Idol it's not always creepy and macabre, but it definitely has its moments. Anyone who has taken a look at the game's pre-release screenshots can see it, but this is only a small part of its most horrific scenario. Furthermore, it's not just what's shown on screen that makes these moments hair-raising, but rather the hidden motivations of the game's criminals, their shady behavior and the apparent lack of remorse they feel for the victims of the crime . crimes they commit. Music is another important contribution The Rise of the Golden Idol', as it generally becomes darker and loses its shape depending on which part of the story is examined.

The challenge of Rise of the Golden Idol puzzles increases the value of their reward

While The Rise of the Golden Idol is primarily about telling a story, that story cannot be told unless the players are successful in their efforts to uncover the truth. Like its predecessor, The Rise of the Golden Idol's overarching narrative is broken up into a series of shorter plot points called “Events”, where players are tasked with gathering clues in the form of words and then applying them to an Event page in the correct order. Once each Event page is filled out correctly, that piece of the puzzle is added to the main story until players reach the end of the game and see each piece come together in a highly rewarding conclusion.

Where The Rise of the Golden IdolThe puzzles really shine in their challenge. In fact, there were moments during my time with the game where I felt so perplexed that I had to ask someone with fresh eyes to help me. The game has a hint system, but it's really nothing more than a hint system. First, if I ever used it, he always tried his best to talk me out of it, but sometimes I couldn't help myself and did it anyway. Secondly, the suggestions are really just suggestions and sometimes they are so obscure that even they sometimes confuse me and confuse me even more.

After spending almost 10 hours
The Rise of the Golden Idol
From 's story, one of my biggest takeaways is its excellence in creating a spine-tingling atmosphere, no matter how innocent the scene may initially seem.

The main reason The Rise of the Golden Idol is so challenging because it excels at disorientating players at every turn. One event, in particular, left me completely stunned for several hours because I was too stubborn to see the scene unfold any differently. However, this was largely due to a character apparently giving me evidence that turned out not to be evidence at all.

Another thing is that the game's puzzles get progressively more complex, often adding more layers to each Event and too many words that don't even belong on the Event card. Furthermore, the difficulty of The Rise of the Golden Idol's tutorial event is absolutely nothing compared to what comes next, which is just the game's way of showing its allergy to holding the player's hand. That said, one way the game helps is by revealing when two or fewer words have been placed incorrectly.

Unfortunately, “help” means being generous because there are often so many words that getting to the point where two or fewer are incorrect is a tall order.

Most The Rise of the Golden IdolEvents also have optional objectives, such as determining who is who in the scene or which object was used for what. Many hints in the game even help you complete these objectives, which proves their importance. As optional as they may be, completing these tasks is often critical to success, as it makes filling out your event pages much easier.

I didn't experience many glitches from a technical perspective, but at times I felt like the event page wasn't updating to reflect my progress. Upon restarting the game it worked, which told me it was indeed a bug. That aside, I can say that this is not a game for the unnoticed. Sometimes, The Rise of the Golden Idol's suggestions made me notice things I hadn't even considered looking at. In short, each Event requires players to look at every detail, major and minor, and not just rely on the words they find to tell the entire story, and this feature alone may make it frustrating for some players.

The rise of the golden idol could spark a new golden age for its genre

Having grown up playing point and click puzzle games like Where the hell is Carmen Sandiego? and the Monkey Island series, I am more than familiar with the genre and thoroughly enjoyed those experiences. Since then, these games have largely gone under my radar as, over the past two decades, my primary focus has shifted to the opposite side of the gameplay spectrum. However, The Rise of the Golden Idol convinced me that it might be time to get sucked into the genre, because if games like this are what it currently offers, then the widespread popularity it once held deserves to be brought back.

Overall, The Rise of the Golden Idol it's a huge achievement in terms of storytelling and gameplay, especially for a point-and-click puzzle game. Despite the challenging challenge and the possibility that players will encounter a game-breaking bug, The Rise of the Golden Idol it's worth a try, even for those who don't consider themselves a fan of the genre. Its gameplay is slow and intentional, but filling the event pages, completing all the objectives, and watching the entire story unfold is very satisfying, something that even some of the most fast-paced action games fail to accomplish.