Sunday Gold

All in all, Sunday Gold has an interesting premise and gameplay mechanics, but it doesn't come together as well as it could. Some parts of the game were completely engrossing and entertaining, but there are several segments that I did not enjoy. The story and puzzles are fun, but the combat is rather shallow and difficult, which isn't eased by the restrictive AP system and minigames. It's an enjoyable indie with a great idea, but the execution doesn't always match. If you're in the market for something new and point-and-click-adjacent, Sunday Gold is a great pick-up for all of its strengths. If you're hoping for a great RPG like Disco Elysium, you'll want to look elsewhere.

An original mix of point-and-click adventure and a turn-based strategy. Its literal dogfights are dirty, brutal and they ooze cyberpunk. It’s not well balanced, though, so don’t expect a masterpiece.

On paper Sunday Gold has the elements needed for a simple but interesting RPG, including enjoyable puzzles and characters who have a lot to talk about. Sadly, most of its promising plot threads remain undeveloped, the enemies are repetitive and the level cap takes fun out of combat. Real shame, because it could have been a gem.

Sunday Gold is raw gold. Guided by a delightful art direction, Sunday Gold competently fuses the elements of RPG combat with a point-and-click adventure. While somewhat short and shallow in some aspects, it's quite fun and interesting enough to leave me yearning for more action with Frank, Sally and Gavin.

Sunday Gold is a game with a lot to say, says it eloquently, and has an aesthetic and artistic direction that I’ve fallen in love with. However, it must be said that the execution leaves something to be desired - the game excels in set pieces, confrontations, and dialogues, but getting from one highlight to another is a bit of a slog. I’d play another game following Frank, Sally, and Gavin in a heartbeat, but I’d hope it flows much better than Sunday Gold.

As a hybrid game concept, both sides of the Sunday Gold experience don’t always feel fully fleshed out, and it’s better to look at the game as an experimental piece with a terrific aesthetic. Specific puzzles or moments absolutely stood out and felt like premium adventuring, with the turn-based combat pulling the shorter straw. For anyone waiting for a lovely point-and-click adventure that experiments with the genre and never wears out its welcome, Sunday Gold is absolutely worth a look.

Sunday Gold may not be pretty, but it's certainly stylish, and a few fresh ideas help make up for its shortcomings.

Sunday Gold is undoubtedly a good game, full of courage and original ideas. Too bad that not everything mixes perfectly and ends up flying over some parts.

Sunday Gold has a story that is set in an interesting world, but its focus on a singular plot point, while entertaining, makes other content feel disjointed. As a point-and-click adventure the game lacks stakes as everything can be completed with enough attempts. As a turn-based RPG the characters don’t get a lot of customization, and the most interesting parts of combat are how to avoid spending too much time in it, or dealing with an inventive negative state. However, the balance between both of these average experiences combine into an enjoyable experience that fills its fifteen to twenty hour runtime, but likely only for those actively looking to see the results of such an experiment.

There's enough vim and vinegar to Sunday Gold's central gimmick that we wouldn't mind playing a sequel. [Issue#377, p.118]

Sunday Gold is by no means a bad game, but its tonal and game mechanical confusion, created as a result of the developers' honuorable attempt at originality, makes it hard to whole-heartedly recommend for anyone looking for a casual pick-up-and-play tactical heist game.

The story kept me interested, and as mentioned before, the art direction and characters, as well as their voice actors, made cut-scenes and just generally exploration a treat. As for the mechanics and meat of the game, I felt like there was a lot to be desired. I wanted more of everything presented here, and I felt like almost everything outside of the story, and art really needed an extra layer of pizazz.

Sunday Gold is an ambitious game with some smart mechanics. The way it seamlessly weaves a point-and-click adventure with a turn-based action romp is inspired, while its satirical dystopian future is a ton of fun to explore. However, it struggles to expand its concepts past their surface level, leaving an experience that lacks depth.

It would be nice to focus solely on how the bleak setting is intriguing, the stealth missions often feel cool, and the characters are at least entertaining, if not quite appealing—but it’s tough to do that when Sunday Gold is simply overrun with punishing turn-based combat and related RPG-style skill mechanics, and the adventure side of this genre hybrid is consistently minimized.

An ambitious blend of genres that winds up a jack of many trades but a master of none, Sunday Gold deserves credit for its aesthetics and goals but it’s difficult to recommend this trip to the races.