The Case of the Golden Idol

 PC
The Case of the Golden Idol Image
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 21 Ratings

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  • Summary: The Case of the Golden Idol is a wryly amusing detective game set in the 18th century, brought to life with striking hand-drawn artwork. The game tests your ability to piece together clues and reconstruct the events leading up to some mysterious deaths.

    Investigate a series of mysterious    The Case of the Golden Idol is a wryly amusing detective game set in the 18th century, brought to life with striking hand-drawn artwork. The game tests your ability to piece together clues and reconstruct the events leading up to some mysterious deaths.

    Investigate a series of mysterious deaths. Explore hand-drawn locations set in the 18th century, where some mysterious deaths have taken place.

    Reconstruct the events with a unique drag-and-drop mechanic. Gather verbal evidence and visual clues, then apply your deduction skills to figure out what actually happened and how each victim died.

    Explore a greater mystery that spans centuries. Start revealing a larger overarching story that connects all the individual tales.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. Guardian
    Nov 13, 2022
    100
    The Case of the Golden Idol is a game of reasoning, elegantly modest in execution – the artwork is rudimentary, but strikingly so – but one that often requires extravagant feats of deduction. Genuinely new and inventive forms of play are relatively rare in video games, a medium that more often trades in refinement than revolution. Which makes this even more thrilling. Its puzzles are inventive, but so too is the way they must be solved, allowing both a trial-and-error approach and pure deductive reasoning. A game of wondrous, Sherlockian texture that plays out in our own imagination as much as on screen.
  2. Game Rant
    Nov 14, 2022
    90
    Some flow hiccups will do little to interrupt the fun for most players, who will instead see a uniquely clever game, full of wonderful idiosyncrasies, that tells a delightful tale of murder and deceit.
  3. Vandal
    Jul 31, 2023
    90
    This is one of those games that make you feel smart, thanks to a fantastic design and very interesting mysteries to solve. Something very unique and easy to recommend if you’re looking for something different.
  4. Softpedia
    Oct 13, 2022
    85
    The Case of the Golden Idol is a tight adventure with good mechanics, excellent design for all the scenes, and great presentation. Players should try to play a sequence at a time, savor the clues and avoid relying on the hint system as much as possible. Playing with a group of people will probably make the entire experience, with or without hints, even more enjoyable. The Case of the Golden Idol shows what Color Gray Games can do with a solid premise and carefully designed scenarios and I would love to see their set of skills applied to other settings.
  5. The Games Machine
    Nov 15, 2022
    85
    The Case of the Golden Idol is an excellent debut. Color Gray has learned the lesson of Return of the Obra Dinn and reinterpreted it with its own style. The cases to be solved are well thought out and to come to grips with puzzles that require deduction and intelligence rather than skill with the classic mechanics of the genre is quite satisfying. The Latvian developer duo in his first game shows they have personality, including in the graphic style that does not mind being disturbing and in the appropriate background music, all of which conveniently mystery-themed.
  6. Screen Rant
    Oct 13, 2022
    80
    For situations where players have exhausted all their available options and brainpower, The Case of the Golden Idol also offers a fantastic in-game hint system. It doesn't overreach and offer solutions blatantly, but instead uses phrases like "consider the food on the dinner table, and everyone's personal eating habits" to point confused players in the right direction. None of the puzzles presented in the game are impossibly difficult (except for one late game chapter which suddenly threw maths in, but that could be my own personal shortcomings) and the story it tells about the golden idol itself is delightfully weird and fleshed out despite the game's short runtime. For anyone looking for 3-6 hours of cryptic crossword-like murder mysteries, The Case of the Golden Idol is a solid choice.
  7. Adventure Gamers
    Aug 3, 2023
    60
    In The Case of the Golden Idol, the mystery-solving is quite engaging up to a point. But overall, the narrative is frustratingly executed and the presentation is unremarkable.

See all 21 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Goldfighterfive
    Jul 5, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. To be perfectly honest, this is one of my favorite games ever. Adding dots showing you where to click is incredibly simple yet so effective. I found that the art style was very unique and fit the game well. The idea of dragging the clues into the boxes was also very satisfying. When I first played there were many details I missed out on, such as the fact that all the characters that were in the Brotherhood had a ruby ring in their inventory, and I also didn't even notice the fact that Edmund Cloudsley was Lazarus Herst the whole time until the final chapter.

    In conclusion, This game is a hidden gem that isn't talked about enough.    … Expand
  2. RazielIgor
    Oct 23, 2022
    9
    It's like a logic puzzle/hidden object/deductive reasoning game with an interesting story. I loved it.
  4. PurpleMaster
    Oct 18, 2022
    9
    Wonderful game, loved every second of it. A little bit on the short side, but it's a must for any fan of detective games. Don't miss out!
  5. CILIZ
    Dec 11, 2022
    9
    A must play for anybody who loves detective games and who enjoyed Obra Dinn. Depending on your problem solving skills, it will take around 5-7A must play for anybody who loves detective games and who enjoyed Obra Dinn. Depending on your problem solving skills, it will take around 5-7 hours to completely finish the game.
    There is a really good story telling, and clues are just excellent. Unlike other point and click games, it is not enough to just randomly click something and hope for the result. You really have to sit down and think about the clues.
    Brilliant, brilliant game design, well done.    … Expand
  6. Fyxhcl
    Jan 3, 2023
    8
    Great investigation game. Each level you will be presented with a scenario, and by exploring it you'll collect words to be used to complete aGreat investigation game. Each level you will be presented with a scenario, and by exploring it you'll collect words to be used to complete a sentence that explains what happened. In order to do this, you need to watch everything carefully and make several logical deductions. Being able to solve each level is really satisfying and fun.

    Almost every level can be solved without looking at the previous ones, but all together they tell a story that you need to understand in order to finish the last chapters.

    The game is short and can be ended in few hours, but fun for the time it lasts.    … Expand
  7. jkirsteins
    Nov 7, 2022
    8
    Great story and challenging puzzles. Challenging but not so much you get stuck.
  8. DickPain
    Jan 9, 2023
    8
    Brilliant. Simple yet innovative storytelling and mystery-solving. Distinct and evocative art and music. And overall a really great story.Brilliant. Simple yet innovative storytelling and mystery-solving. Distinct and evocative art and music. And overall a really great story. Highly recommended.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

30
#30 Best PC Game of 2022

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