The Case of the Golden Idol

Witty, observationalist writing and a hands-off approach to deduction elevate this excellent period murder-mystery to a singular work.

A challenging and inventive set of mysteries to solve tied together with a brilliant storyline.

The Case of the Golden Idol is a game that makes me feel like a TV detective, slapping photos on a wall and drawing red lines between them. Those strings of yarn crisscross throughout my notebook, connecting characters and murder weapons and motives. It’s easy to get sucked into small details looking for a lead, but the feeling it gives when I’ve locked in the correct answers… It’s like I’m the most brilliant person on earth — even if just for a moment. The Case of the Golden Idol, like other deep detective games, expands past its own boundaries and into the pages of my notebook, leaving me thinking about its clues long after I’ve closed the game.

A treasure inspires murder, and your job as detective is to piece together the crime in this addictive 18th-century whodunnit

This handsome detective game isn't quite the second coming of Return Of The Obra Dinn, but it does come pretty damn close. An entertaining story told through a dozen murders, The Case Of The Golden Idol is a mystery well worth solving.

Wannabe detectives and lovers of the occult need to check out The Case of the Golden Idol. Just make sure to play the original PC release.

The Case of the Golden Idol's clever mysteries leave players feeling like Victorian super sleuths.

The Case of the Golden shook up the detective point and click genre, and rightfully so. You can tell a lot of love and passion has been put into every element of this game, from its narrative that weaves through the scenarios and the perfect way it allows the player to unfold the mystery for themselves through their game mechanics. It can get a tad overwhelming at times with some grand schemes to unfold, but if you play it at your own pace, you'll constantly be rewarded for figuring out how the game works and who has poisoned who this time.

Overall, The Case of the Golden Idol manages to enter the niche of good detective games that require real attention and reasoning in their investigations. Its retro look is well applied, but it may not be to everyone's taste. The mysteries are intriguing, provide good challenges and also have a hint system for those who are more comfortable with them.

The Case of the Golden Idol is not a game for everyone, but I suspect many who miss the classic adventure and point-and-click games of yesteryear will find an enjoyable and satisfyingly tricky detective based puzzle game to tackle here. The plot thickens as a family yearning for power ‘battle’ over the Idol, and there’s a neat twist to the proceedings that I won’t spoil here. But I fear that many will struggle with the sheer patience required to play on controller, and while it all works just as well it can, it’s a case that many players may not want to solve in the end. And that’s a shame. Here’s hoping touch support on Cloud can step in!