Golden Rails: Harvest of Riddles Reviews

fun

Of all the Golden Rao; games, this is the worst.

reminds me of Farmville on Facebook

This one if fun, but not as fun as the others

[h1] AT A GLANCE [/h1] [list] [*][b] Game Name: [/b] Golden Rails: Harvest of Riddles [*][b] Original Release: [/b] 2023-12-07 [*][b] Genre Tags: [/b] Casual, Time Management [*][b] Estimated Playtime (Campaign): [/b] 8-10 hours [*][b] 100% Achievements Playtime: [/b] 10-12 hours [*][b] DLC Required for 100% Achievements: [/b] N/A [*][b] Multiplayer Aspect: [/b] None [*][b] Replayability: [/b] None [*][b] Recommended To: [/b] Casual Gamers, Achievement Hunters, Kids [/list] [h1] REVIEW [/h1] [b] Golden Rails: Harvest of Riddles [/b] is a casual, time management game. It is the sixth game in the Golden Rails series. [h3] STORY [/h3] Jack and Jill are summoned to Oklahoma to help the mayor plan for the harvest festival by transporting vegetables and repairing railways. While helping out several problems arise and it is up to Jack and Jill to determine who the culprit is by finding clues. [h3] GAMEPLAY[/h3] Each map has you doing tasks, like collecting resources and building buildings in a specific time frame in order to get a three star rating for each map. Play through 45 main story maps, 5 vegetable stand themed mini game maps, 15 after story maps, and 1 classic shooter mini game. [h3] PLAYTIME [/h3] Much like all the previous games in the series, it is not difficult. You can play the game at an easy level and not be held to any time restrictions to get 3 starts on every map or play normal mode, which still gives you enough time. Play time is ~8-10 hours to complete all the maps, but ~10-12 hours to get all achievements. There were 2 rewards that require the user to grind for; building railways, and gardens. (Replaying level 2 gets you railways fairly quickly, and playing 14b gets you all the gardens you need.) [h3] COMPLAINTS [/h3] There is nothing specific to complain about for this game. [h3] REPLAYABILITY [/h3] There is NO replayability on this game as there is no end game mechanics, no map metrics to try to beat, and no engrossing story to return to. [h3] RECOMMENDATION [/h3] While the fact that the game feels like a once and done kind of game; I do recommend it to anyone that likes casual games or is an achievement hunter.

I suggest to try the demo. If you've been used to playing Alawar games in hard mode, now is the time to soften your stance. Already level 1 took me several tries to get 3 stars. By the time level 4 rolled around, I threw in the towel and switched to normal. Levels are cute and colorful as usual and there's the Yustas owl to find in every one. The plot is thin, someth. about veggies and residents and you definitely don't start off in unfamiliar territory. Settings are very basic: turn off tutorials, music, ambients and custom pointer. There's a level guide but I found it useless in the first four levels. Had to dial back hard mode to normal just to get moving. I might try it later in hard mode again but it's not looking likely right now. Good luck!

A fine entry in the series that does everything right, and adds a new element to the plot: you're not just laying railroad track and helping townspeople, but you're also solving a well-written mystery. Every few levels you can find a clue that you add to the 'evidence board' in the main screen, and the story plays out like a detective show set in western times. The levels can be a bit lengthy, so I recommend doing just two or three at a time to get maximum enjoyment out of the plot mystery and out of the time-management gameplay. Two thumbs up.