The Case of the Golden Idol

I don't remember where I accidentally stumbled upon The Case of the Golden Idol, but it sounded so intriguing that I simply had to get my hands on it shortly after. Now, after completing it in short of 20 hours, I can safely say that it's a fantastic and unique experience – or at least I've yet to encounter anything similar. The only major caveat I have to say is that the price felt a bit steep considering the fact that even with all the DLC you will probably beat it in 12–20 hours, and there's essentially zero replay value to be found. The puzzles in the game consist of you figuring out what is going on at a murder scene – as an ethereal outside observer – by investigating the one to five rooms that usually make up each scenario during a frozen point in time. After a gradual start, you will soon be looking out for 32–36 different subjects, objects and verbs to fill in the people involved in the scene, smaller sub-clues, and eventually [i]whodunit[/i]. Especially the second DLC offers some additional cool mechanics, like inspecting a scene during three different points in time. While there might have been something slightly fishy going on with the grammar or logic at certain points, I was nonetheless able to finish all scenarios without any clues nor beating my head against a wall [i]too much[/i]. There's also a helpful mechanic that informs you when one or two word boxes are incorrect, which is useful in case there's one character or item you're having trouble identifying. The thing that surprised me the most was that I ended up really loving the story. Bit by bit you learn more about all the recurring characters (that stay alive), and their motives. By the final stretch I was almost jumping up from my chair and pointing at the screen à la Leonardo DiCaprio when I figured out the identity of one character with his face obscured. Towards the end of the story, and the DLC as well, there was a bit more fantastic elements and alternate history going on than what I was primed for, but not too much to really drag me out of the story. I also loved how the DLCs described the preceding events and satisfyingly looped back into the main game. All in all, The Case of the Golden Idol offers a great story along with some 4D puzzles in a 2D environment that are sure to tickle your little grey cells. Bonus points for being made using the Godot engine. I will probably end up playing the sequel at some point in time. [h1]9+ / 10[/h1]

just absolutely stunning. the case of the golden idol is recommended in so many places and on so many posts, yet it definitely lives up to the hype and creates a thirst for more detective investigation games just like this one! i absolutely loved the way the storyline slowly becomes unravelled through the course of playing the game, and the puzzles and clues and red herrings were enough to be thoroughly engaging (and more than a little frustrating at times). still, this game is so expertly woven together and belovedly crafted that i can't imagine a reason not to play. it'll keep you engaged for quite a bit, and the writing is very personal and reasonable all the while. i loved the small worldbuilding elements that made it all feel so alive, and i can't wait to check out more of colour grey's games.

One of my all time favourite games - along with all its DLCs (and the sequel). Excellent attention to detail - great storytelling - would definitely recommend!