The Case of the Golden Idol is a brilliant game of deduction. There are clear parallels to the fantastic The Return of the Obra Dinn in that the mysteries are each presented as moments frozen in time to be explored and examined, and it should be noted that both games share the same dedication to tight logic and satisfying deductions. Golden Idol's mysteries are a bit less overwhelming, however: although they add up to a cohesive, compelling narrative, they're presented as discrete moments to be solved one at a time. This allows them to get pretty tricky without letting the subtle clues get buried under a mountain of unrelated evidence.

The visuals and music are often distinctly unpleasant but highly polished and evocative. The style is clearly a deliberate choice, and it does an excellent job of meshing with the disturbing nature of the story.

My one complaint would be the length of the game. I finished the main story and DLC in a little over eight hours, playing at a leisurely pace and without using hints. That's mostly due to the fact that Golden Idol completely avoids filler and length-padding mechanics. You don't have to slowly walk from location to location or tediously interview suspects; you can solve the mysteries as fast as you can read, think, and click. Still, I would have liked to see a bit more.

Overall, this comes with my highest recommendation. If you're a fan of tightly written mysteries with rock-solid logic, get it.

The Case of the Golden Idol is a brilliant game of deduction. There are clear parallels to the fantastic The Return of the Obra Dinn in that the mysteries are each presented as moments frozen in time to be explored and examined, and it should be noted that both games share the same dedication to tight logic and satisfying deductions. Golden Idol's mysteries are a bit less overwhelming, however: although they add up to a cohesive, compelling narrative, they're presented as discrete moments to be solved one at a time. This allows them to get pretty tricky without letting the subtle clues get buried under a mountain of unrelated evidence. The visuals and music are often distinctly unpleasant but highly polished and evocative. The style is clearly a deliberate choice, and it does an excellent job of meshing with the disturbing nature of the story. My one complaint would be the length of the game. I finished the main story and DLC in a little over eight hours, playing at a leisurely pace and without using hints. That's mostly due to the fact that Golden Idol completely avoids filler and length-padding mechanics. You don't have to slowly walk from location to location or tediously interview suspects; you can solve the mysteries as fast as you can read, think, and click. Still, I would have liked to see a bit more. Overall, this comes with my highest recommendation. If you're a fan of tightly written mysteries with rock-solid logic, get it.