The Rise of the Golden Idol Steam Charts & Stats

If you liked the first Golden Idol game you'll love this one as well! Same mystery-solving mechanic. For the story, they take the Golden Idol's powers in some interesting new directions.

honestly great puzzles, but I'm a bit sad that they didn't maintain the old art style, instead they went for an art style that felt like a place holder in some areas. the artists are clearly talented, which makes me even more confused as to why those ugly black duckling instances come up. story is fine, not as mysterious or serious as The Case of the Golden Idol but honestly still fun to play through. I'd say the puzzles are actually more challenging this time but that may vary from person to person. I finished the core game, first 2 DLCs and half the 3rd, gotta say I like them a lot, enjoyed the 2nd DLC especially. get this if you liked The Case of the Golden Idol, if you haven't played it get it first, both great games with great DLCs.

I genuinely love the golden idol games. A part of me wishes they stuck with the pixelated look, but the story and gameplay is just as enriching. I recommend this game, alongside its DLC's!

The first one is a really great game. This one is sharper, smarter, and more complicated in almost every way. I liked the slow burn reveals from the story quite a bit. Both this and its predecessor have a penchant for really vividly painting the ways that power and entitlement bring out the absolute worst in people. On the gameplay side, it goes without saying, but the puzzles are best in class. Most scenarios have multiple ways to come to the right conclusion and it lets you make some really interesting deductive leaps. Had a blast throughout.

I really enjoyed... well, almost everything about this game. If I have to criticize anything, then it's that some puzzle sentences have very specific wording requirements, that can be extremely frustrating - because you [i]know[/i] what happened, but the wording of the solution is non-specific, and the hint system just tells you that one or two words of your six-page essay (OK, slight exaggeration) are in the wrong place. But yeah, great game! Play it before your neighbour!

The Rise of the Golden Idol is a distinctive point-and-click detective game that immerses players in a dark, alternative 1970s world filled with mystery and intrigue. Players step into the shoes of an investigator tasked with unraveling a series of gruesome crimes connected to a mysterious golden idol. The gameplay revolves around examining detailed, frozen scenes where every object and character can hold a crucial clue. By carefully clicking through elements in these static images, players gather keywords to piece together the narrative and reconstruct what happened, making for a deeply rewarding puzzle-solving experience. What sets this game apart is its emphasis on observation and logical deduction. Each case is presented as a snapshot in time, encouraging players to slow down and analyze their surroundings meticulously. Filling in the blanks of the investigation involves connecting dots across multiple scenes, requiring attention to subtle details that might otherwise be overlooked. This approach makes every discovery feel meaningful and keeps players engaged as they gradually uncover the story behind the golden idol and the web of corruption and supernatural events tied to it. The narrative unfolds through a series of interconnected cases, weaving together themes of power struggles, dark secrets, and mysticism. While character development takes a backseat to the plot, the writing is sharp and laced with a dry, sometimes dark humor that adds flavor to the grim scenarios. The game’s tone is further enhanced by its unique art style, which combines exaggerated, almost expressionistic character designs with a muted color palette. This distinctive visual approach perfectly complements the eerie atmosphere, turning each crime scene into a carefully crafted tableau rich with hints and story elements. Though the game excels in many areas, it’s not without minor flaws. Some players find the interface occasionally awkward, and the puzzles can sometimes be overly cryptic, leading to moments of frustration. A few cases may require external help to solve, which can interrupt immersion. Additionally, the localization, particularly the French translation, has received some criticism for inconsistencies. However, these issues are relatively minor when weighed against the game’s inventive mechanics and captivating storytelling. Overall, The Rise of the Golden Idol delivers a fresh and engaging detective experience that challenges players to think carefully and piece together a complex mystery. Its innovative gameplay, compelling narrative threads, and striking art style combine to create an unforgettable journey into a bizarre and haunting world. For those who appreciate thoughtful puzzles and atmospheric storytelling, this game offers a uniquely rewarding adventure that stands out in the point-and-click genre. Rating: 9/10

If you liked the first game, and feel like you want more, you're either goning to love this one, or you're not going to find any fault in it. Either way, easy thumbs up, and I can't wait for the crew to finish all of the DLC content, which I didn't mind pre-ordering.

Though I had fun playing this game, I fear that the combination of the anticlimactic ending and numerous shortcomings compared to the first game led to a huge lack of satisfaction once I beat it. If you loved the first game you will probably have fun with this game, but don't expect something that lives up to the first. This game I think has better visuals and animations and I do like the way you solve the puzzles in this game with the windows instead of the explore/thinking panes from the first game. However this game also falls short in many aspects. The music isn't as good, I had music from the first stuck in my head a lot but none of the music is memorable from this one (also the alarm in the prison break level going off every time you re-enter the prison was so annoying). The puzzles felt a lot more short, and at times either too easy or difficult just because of the wordings. I had to use hints 3 times, and 2 of those didn't help because they pointed me towards info I already knew, I just had the wording wrong, which led to me having to tediously swap words to try and deduce what was "wrong". The puzzles don't all fit into the story as good as all of them in the first game, and some of them just feel like straight up filler puzzles. Another small thing that annoyed me a lot while playing is the fact that the load times in/out of or between scenarios is not short. To return to a previous scenario is a commitment, and if you can't remember which chapter the information you're looking for is in you better prepare to spend a couple minutes looking around. This obviously became a problem at the end where you are trying to gather everything together, which was also hurt by the fact it felt kinda rushed and left aspects of the story disappointingly unexplored. This all hit in the finale which didn't feel like a proper climax of the story. Especially the "reveal" feels like it should have hit like the big reveal in case of the golden idol but it really fell flat for me. I do think the anticlimactic ending really tainted my thoughts on it despite actually enjoying the game for the most part. I don't regret buying or playing the game, but I just feel too unsatisfied after finishing to give it a recommended.

The base game is quite a good addition to the golden idol series, but I don't think it reached as high of highs as the first game did. The revelation of [spoiler] The mind transfer capabilities of the idol [/spoiler] was a good Aha moment right before the finale, but in the cases after that I feel didn't build on top of it in a satisfying way. The DLC, however, is a different story. The first DLC, the sins of new wells, is my favorite part of this game. It's sitting right along side of the endgame of the first game in terms of quality. The second DLC, the lemurian phoenix, I didn't like as much. I feel that a certain character needed some more time in the spotlight before becoming as important as they did. This may be my fault with poor deduction, but I also believe [spoiler] The second case needed a little more to indicate the perpetrator. The suitcase felt a little underutilized, unless I missed something. [/spoiler] The third DLC, the age of restriant, knocked it out of the park once again like the first DLC. It felt more gimmick heavy with [spoiler] a speildance cypher and pseudo programming [/spoiler] which I honestly quite enjoyed. I believe in this team to continue making great work, high hopes for DLC 4!

Sure, I prefer the original. But the bottom line is one of my favorite detective games is now one of my favorite detective series.