The Case of the Golden Idol

by Aethyna Jan 6, 2023 | 1 Votes | 51 Played | 0 Reviews

10 rate

Genres:

Adventure

Graphics:

Labels:

Point-and-Click , Investigation , Storytelling

Platforms:

Publishers:

PlayStack The Case of the Golden Idol is a fantastic, investigative-themed point-and-click adventure that follows in the footsteps of old-school classics but with a modern twist. Figure out what happened in each case and solve them by filling in the report scroll with the correct texts, all of which are found as clues from the scene of the crime. Play Now Similar Games

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Summary Plotline Gameplay Graphics/ Sound Conclusion

Summary

The Case of the Golden Idol is a fantastic investigative-themed point-and-click adventure that follows in the footsteps of old-school classics but with a modern twist. Figure out what happened in each case and solve them by filling in your “train of thought” with the correct texts, all of which are found as clues from the scene of the crime.

Plotline

Without spoiling the story completely, you just need to know that you’ll be following the journey of the mysterious albeit powerful Lemurian golden idol as it passed from one hand to another. You’ll start off solving a case involving a fight over some family inheritance which gradually develop into something a lot more sinister – think the Illuminati and an attempt to take over a country (and probably the world).

The game is also filled with plot twists, some can be somewhat predicted while others may completely catch you by surprise. The story in The Case of the Golden Idol is worth experiencing, that’s for sure!

Gameplay

As an old-school investigative-themed point-and-click adventure, the game expects you to click around to find and observe various objects and people for clues. The game even helpfully suggest that you might want to have the “Highlights” on which would add fairly obvious yellow sparkles on anything that you can interact with in the game. The yellow sparkles will turn red once you’ve gathered the clues – a.k.a. texts or any observations – that you may need to eventually solve the case.

Personally, I’d recommend going with the Highlights too since the cases themselves, some of which can be really tricky to solve. Though, you can just as easily disable the highlights if you want to while solving a case via the highlights option at the top right part of the screen.

As mentioned, the game will have you gather clues, namely texts, from various objects of interest. However, not all texts can be collected as clues. Only those that are underlined will be added to the panel at the bottom of the screen when they are clicked on.

Once collected, the texts will also be given a colored background. These colors clearly indicate what kind of text it is. For instance, texts with brownish-maroon backgrounds indicate that the texts are part of a name, while yellow-backed texts mostly refer to objects and locations. As you progress, you’ll encounter other kinds of texts such as the blue-colored ones which indicate an action.

There is a specific total of texts you’ll need to collect for every case – it is helpfully indicated at the right side of the bottom panel – so you’ll do well to keep an eye on that number to ensure you have all the clues you need to solve the case. The game also provides the option to rearrange the texts in alphabetical order as well as a Hint button in case you’re stuck.

What use are these texts you may wonder? Why, they help you solve the case! You see, in the Exploration phase, you’ll be able to “travel” between various scenes or locations, as well as peek into the inventory of the characters involved and the items they may hide behind locked doors. This phase is where you can get all the texts you need. To actually solve the case, however, you’ll need to switch over to the Thinking phase where you’ll then be presented with a report scroll. Here, you’ll then need to figure out which blanks should be filled with which texts.

The scroll is often segmented into various sections. One of which may consists of character identities, while the other contains the chronicled order of which events have taken place. Once you’re close to the end-game, you’ll notice that there’s no more need for character identities since you should already know most of them by now, while unmasked. Instead, the game focuses more on the events that unfold, most of which can be in different locations throughout the area.

At one point, you’ll even be given the chance to revisit old cases to refresh your memory of what had happened since everything that happens in the later cases can be tied to the people or cases in the past!

Now, despite being an investigative-themed game, there’s no need for you to conduct your own interrogation. Everything you need to solve the case at hand are already present in the scenes you have access to and all you need to do is to collect the clues – again, the texts – and assemble them into the blanks in the scroll in the Thinking phase.

The game comes with a scene selection option for you to revisit old cases as well as the option to delete your progress entirely just so you can have someone else – or yourself – enjoy playing the game again from the very beginning. On a side note, achievement hunters would also love this game since there’s no need to do something outside what’s needed to complete the game. Simply by solving all 11 cases, you’ll be able to earn all 11 achievements and get a Perfect Game rating on Steam.

Graphics/ Sound

Not only does this game have superb storytelling, it also comes with nostalgic art that every player who grew up laying point-and-clicks may recognize in a heartbeat. Of course, since it’s set during the Age of Enlightenment, some animations are exaggerated to fit the culture and people of that time, such as Mary Richards’ theatrics-like laments. In terms of sound, the game makes good use of its selection of orchestral music, immersing the player in each case while they solve them, all the while without being too distracting.

Conclusion

The Case of the Golden Idol definitely deserves every acclamation it has. Not only does the game put you through a rollercoaster of a mystery thriller with plot twists from start to finish, the meticulous number of details that went into every piece of evidence, clue and even the art are nothing short of impressive, making it possible to solve each case without having to make random guesses or trial and errors. Of course, the hints available are helpful too if you do need them. With 11 cases in total and a story filled with intrigue that would stay with you for years to come, The Case of the Golden Idol is a must-have addition to your games library especially if you enjoy detective-style games and point-and-clicks.

New Game Added: The Case of the Golden Idol

by Aethyna Jan 6, 2023

The Case of the Golden Idol is a fantastic, investigative-themed point-and-click adventure that follows in the footsteps of old-school classics but with a modern twist. Figure out what happened in each case and solve them by filling in the report scroll with the correct texts, all of which are found as clues from the scene of the crime.