A short and fun detective game
Finished: 2026/01/25
The Case of the Golden Idol is a great detective game. Puzzles are short, thoughtful, and most importantly fair: none of them require major leaps of logic. The optional milestones are a nice touch, helping to build confidence in your deductions as you go. The feedback of when you are close to a solution is also very helpful, preventing the frustrating experience of being almost correct but feeling completely in the dark.
However, the fact that the puzzles are all connected is a double-edged sword. It helped me solve many of the scenarios (and feels almost required for some), but I suspect I would have struggled if I hadn’t finished it in a single weekend. The reliance on recurring characters to tell the overall story works well in extended play sessions, but would become a hindrance when played over a longer period. This becomes more relevant considering the art style: while many characters are memorable, I feel some of them are easily mistaken.