Color Gray Games: The Rise of the Golden Idol | Review

The Rise of the Golden Idol Review | The Idol was lost — but not forgotten. In this followup to the award winning detective game The Case of the Golden Idol, you are an observer that must investigate 20 strange cases of crime, death and depravity – all somehow connected. Use your detective skills to make sense of a grand mystery that unfolds across an age of hallucinogens, disco, fax machines and parapsychology.

Time Played: ~10 hours
Console: PC / Nintendo Switch / Steam / Playstation / Xbox / Mobile
Recommended For: fans of Return of the Obra Dinn

“The Rise of the Golden Idol” is the sequel to The Case of the Golden Idol, and like the first game is an innovative puzzle games that requires you to investigate the various scenes and deduce the who, what and why of the scenario. However, the sequel brings us to a more modern (but still retro) setting, with updated visuals and a new set of mysteries to uncover.

Welcome to the 20th century

The Rise of the Golden Idol is slightly less focused on murder and conspiracies and more focused on…less gruesome murder, and magical cults. The level of puzzles may have been a little easier compared to the first game, or perhaps it was better designed. I found it much easier to piece together the solution compared to the first game, although I still had to put in the work, as such I didn’t feel there were as many leaps of logic compared to the first game, and some of the puzzles themselves were much more interesting and involved.

The story itself flowed much more naturally between each chapter, and I enjoyed how the ‘power of the idol’ was explored more in comparison to the first game, with your own knowledge building as your progress.

Golden Idol now in technicolour

The updated graphics were a breath of fresh air compared to the original game – they are still unique and a little odd, but smooth and bold. The interface is also a lot easier to use, letting you move smoothly between investigating and solving, and highlighting areas you may have missed in an easier way to see.

I also enjoyed some of the meta puzzle aspects of this – there are 4 “scenes” within each “chapter”, contributing to one (or more) overarching puzzles for the chapter. I found it much easier to follow the story – although there were still a number of imaginary locations and groups, they were easier to keep track of. 

The Rise of the Golden Idol: Verdict

While I recommended the first game with a slew of caveats, I recommend this with no caveats attached! I think it surpasses the first, with ingenious puzzles, intriguing story lines and a much smoother game play.

You can find out all about The Case of the Golden Idol and download it on a platform of your choice by heading to their website here.