We tested… “The Rise of the Golden Idol”, the brilliant investigation game opens a new file

It was two years ago. We will remember this day when these two video game developers from Latvia, brothers, showed up at each other with a heart-to-heart with, under their arm, a thick computer file: The Case of the Golden Idol. « The Case »that’s quickly said. We were rather in front of the « cold case » the coldest since the Ice Age. The events described date back to the 18th century.^e century !

We thought they had made a mistake, that they thought they were delivering it to the antique dealer next door. But no, they were demanding that we resolve incidents that were more than two hundred years old. A dirty story of conspiracies, sects, murders, and above all people ready to do anything to get their hands on a strange statuette with supernatural powers.

It was then impossible not to feel blood run cold when we saw the two brothers push open the door of our agency again and place on our desk a USB key on which a name was scrawled in large letters: « The Rise of the Golden Idol » (release on PC and consoles on November 12, 2024). Obviously, it’s still up to us to get on with it.

Statuette with strange powers

The impression of déjà vu does not stop there, since it is once again a story of a statuette with strange effects which turns the world upside down. This time, the events are much more recent: we are in the 1970s, in full fever new agewith hippies on LSD who believe in the spiritual forces of harmony and other nonsense like that.

As at the time, we must draw all conclusions from stupid snapshots of incidents, almost still images. Depending on the case, it may be a murder, an accident or a strange event of no apparent gravity. But each time, it’s the same method: we click on the elements of interest, we take note of the relevant keywords which will automatically be placed in a list, and we try to reconstruct the sequence of events by filling in blank texts with the vocabulary put aside.

It may seem simple at first, but very quickly the plots become more convoluted. Find the name of a guard? The childhood of art: it is written on his badge. But for the corpse of an unfortunate person already buried, whose belongings have been burned? Yeah, good luck, eh. We will have to search everywhere and identify each witness, to try to understand who is missing.

Blank texts

Obviously, these incidents, taken together, paint a much larger picture. Names and faces sometimes reappear in surprising ways. The more we advance in this new affair, the more we realize that a much more sinister plan is at work. And unlike the previous investigation, that of two centuries ago, this time we are passionate about a well-identified group of actors, whose interests, alliances and betrayals are easier (and pleasant) to follow.

On the other hand, the new interface concocted by the two brothers? It is neither done nor to be done. We spend our time moving menus, making them overlap, getting lost. Why the hell did you want to fix something that wasn’t broken, guys? As for the French translation, it is a most touching attention, but, at the time of writing this report, it still poses problems. The kind that creates misunderstandings in blank texts.

After collecting our report, the two brothers seemed satisfied with the work accomplished and left, leaving us alone with our heads in turmoil. But we must recognize that their methods become addictive. If they were to show up again with another such pleasant affair, it will become difficult to pretend to be unhappy to see them again.

Pixels’ opinion in brief

We liked:

• the scenarios, always as enjoyable to solve;
• the overall story, more focused on a small group and easier to digest.

We liked less:

• the interface, inexplicably become less intuitive;
• the translation has the merit of existing but, as it stands, can create real blockages.

It’s more for you if:

• you feel like the soul of a Hercule Poirot or a Nestor Burma.

It’s not for you if:

• spending hours on the same screen trying to figure out who this handbag belongs to doesn’t really excite you that much.

Pixels’ note:

18 carats out of 24