The Case of the Golden Idol

2024-11-25
Obra Dinn x Mad Libs it turns out is a fantastic idea for a game. A series of murders all linked together by a long running plot through the years. Each murder is captured in a single point in time rendered in beautiful and weird pixel art. You click around to inspect what's in people's pockets, what's in the cupboard, what's under the floorboards to try and build up the context necessary to complete a final sentence like "__ __ used __ to __ __ __ after discovering __ __ had __ the __ __".

Tying the wonderful mechanics of the thing you have this whole alternate 18th century history world tying it all together. Each scene is filled with these ugly, strange little knockoff-British people paired with some really delightful faux historical music. All of it revolves around a weird magical object, the eponymous Golden Idol, and the odd groups that form around it over the years.

While it does end up tending to overcomplicate things later on leading to some pretty significant logical leaps required in some of the last couple murders it's a consistently fun ride throughout.

2024-02-11
What happens if you took Obra Dinn and mixed it with a point and click adventure? You get a great fucking game is what. A series of murders all linked together by a long running plot through the years. Each murder captures in a single moment of a scene using beautiful and weird pixel art. You click around to inspect what's in people's pockets, what's in the cupboard, what's under the floorboards to try and build up the context necessary to complete a final sentence like "__ __ used __ to __ __ __ after discovering __ __ had __ the __ __". As you encounter things they unlock words you can use to fill in the blanks like a bloody Mad Libs.

The vibe of the whole thing is excellent with ugly weird little british-esque people from the 18th century paired with period-esque music. All of it revolves around a weird magical object, the eponymous Golden Idol, and the odd groups that form around it. While it does end up tending to overcomplicate things later on with the details of a murder being maybe a little too obscure to figure out on your own purely from the information presented, forcing you to make some logical leaps that aren't spelled out. overall I had a wonderful time.