Rise of the Golden Idol Review

Point-and-click puzzle games often take the brunt of what, at first glance, may seem like simple mechanics and slow-paced gameplay. Compared to their heyday in the ’90s and early ’00s, these games have become more niche in recent years as action, open-world, and narrative games have primarily stolen the spotlight. However, the genre has been kept alive thanks to a dedicated fanbase and a constant influx of releases, especially in the indie games scene. Color Gray Games’ The rise of the golden idolOn the other hand, it may be enough to break the niche of its genre and attract players beyond those who are already passionate about point-and-click detective games, as it offers a compelling story and challenging gameplay.

The rise of the golden idol It is the sequel to Color Gray Games The case of the golden idoland he feels primed to make some kind of appearance at the Game Awards this year, given everything he has to offer. As a standalone sequel, even those who never played the first golden idol can follow its story, although playing the first game beforehand could help players see all the improvements the sequel has made to the now-franchise formula. With some incredibly challenging puzzles to solve and one of the most shocking, disturbing and atmospheric stories I’ve seen unfold in quite some time, The rise of the golden idol It could be the shot in the arm that its genre needs to re-emerge.

The Rise of the Golden Idol specializes in atmospheric storytelling

After spending almost 10 hours in The rise of the golden idolIn the story, one of my main takeaways is its excellence in creating a chilling atmosphere, no matter how innocent the scene may initially seem. The shock value, for one, often left me with my jaw on the floor and my eyes glued to the screen in disbelief as I repeatedly witnessed murder after murder, ever since. The rise of the golden idolCharacter animations occur in two-second loops. The disturbing feeling of The rise of the golden idolThe characters’ distorted expressions also made frequent trips across each strand of hair on the back of my neck, often serving as an effective distraction from the real culprit.

The rise of the golden idol It’s not always gruesome and macabre, but it certainly has its moments. Anyone who’s taken a look at the game’s pre-release screenshots can see it, but that’s just a small part of its most horrific scenario. It’s also not so much what’s shown on screen that makes these moments chilling to witness, but more so the underlying motives of the game’s criminals, their dubious behavior, and the apparent lack of remorse they have for the victims of the crimes they commit. they commit. Music is another important contributor to The rise of the golden idolthe atmosphere, as it generally becomes darker and loses its shape depending on which part of the story is being examined.

Rise of the Golden Idol puzzle challenge increases your reward value

While The rise of the golden idol It’s primarily about telling a story, that story can’t be told unless the players are successful in their efforts to uncover the truth. Like its predecessor, The rise of the golden idolThe overall narrative is divided 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 successfully completed, that puzzle piece is added to the main story at hand 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 times during my time with the game where I felt so stumped that I had to ask someone with fresh eyes for help. The game has a hint system, but it’s really nothing more than a hint system. First of all, if I ever used it, he always tried his best to talk me out of it, but sometimes I couldn’t help myself and kept going anyway. Secondly, the clues are really just clues and sometimes they are so obscure that even they sometimes baffle and confuse me even more.

The main reason The rise of the golden idol It is so challenging because it stands out for confusing players at all times. One event, in particular, left me completely baffled for several hours because I was too stubborn to see the scene play out any differently. However, this was largely due to a character apparently giving me evidence that turned out to be no evidence at all.

Another thing is that the game’s puzzles become progressively more complex, often adding multiple levels 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 idolThe 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.

Most of The rise of the golden idolEvents also have optional objectives, such as determining who is who in the scene or what object was used for what. Many of the game’s clues even help complete these objectives, proving their importance. However, as optional as they are, completing these tasks is often critical to success, as they make completing the event pages much easier.

I didn’t find many glitches on the technical side, but there were times when I felt like the Event page wasn’t updating to reflect my progress. Upon restarting the game, it worked, which told me that it was indeed a bug. Other than that, I can say that this is not a game for the ignorant. Sometimes, The rise of the golden idolThe clues pointed out things to me that I didn’t even consider 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 that feature alone can make it frustrating for some players.

Related

The Case of the Golden Idol Review

The Case of the Golden Idol takes a clever approach to solving its mysteries that leaves players feeling like Victorian super detectives.

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 in the world is Carmen Sandiego? and the Monkey Island series, I’m more than familiar with the genre and I thoroughly enjoyed those experiences. These games have since flown under the radar, as my primary focus has shifted over the last few decades to the opposite side of the gaming spectrum. However, The rise of the golden idol has convinced me that it might be time to get sucked back into the genre, because if games like this are what it currently offers, then the massive popularity it once maintained deserves a resurgence.

In general, The rise of the golden idol It’s a huge achievement in storytelling and gameplay, especially for a point-and-click puzzle game. Despite its great challenge and the possibility of players encountering a game-stopping bug, The rise of the golden idol It’s worth a try, even for those who don’t consider themselves fans of the genre. Its gameplay is slow and intentional, but completing those event pages, completing each objective, and witnessing the entire story unfold is very satisfying, something that even some of the fastest action games fail to achieve.

Reviewed on PC

Developers

Gray Games

Editor(s)

stack of games

Advantages

• Stands out for creating atmosphere
• The story is compelling with a satisfying conclusion.
• The game is challenging but rewarding.

Cons

• May be too challenging for some
• Potential for game-stopping bugs