Golem Review: An Adventure Worth Taking

By Ara Alexandre
8 years Ago

Golem is a sidescroller puzzle game made by Longbow Games, set in the ruins of an old world&period; You play as a young human, and by your side is a mysterious, glowing orb&period; We’ll call this orb the golem, the one the game is named for&period; As you progress through different environments and conquer more difficult challenges, the golem will grow and change shape, evolving with you&period; You and the golem work together to progress through the sprawling ruins and uncover their secrets&period;&NewLine;<h3>First Impressions</h3>&NewLine;Golem begins as a simple, unassuming game&period; Your assignment is first to collect the golem, your partner-in-crime, and move them from point a to point b&period; The golem can unlock doors that you can’t figure out, but in this beginning stage, it’s simply a floating magical orb&period; It can’t move on its own, and you can’t carry it with you up vines and ropes&period;&NewLine;<h3>Good Golem, Best Friend</h3>&NewLine;This creature is probably one of the cutest things in any game, hands down&period; As you move from stage to stage, your golem will change its shape&period; Each new form changes the way the golem moves, and the way you interact with it as a player&period; This means that with each stage, the way you play the game is completely different&period;&NewLine;In the beginning, you’re in control of every little motion of the golem, pushing it where it needs to be and choosing to leave it there&period; Once it gains legs, it will try to follow you until you tell it to stay in place&period; Just when you think you’ve mastered the gameplay, Golem throws a curveball, enticing you to keep thinking on your feet and developing new ways to play&period;&NewLine;<img class="wp-image-138910 size-full aligncenter" src="https&colon;//cdn&period;bagogames&period;com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/28135523/girlSlinky&lowbar;stairs&lowbar;02&lowbar;GIF&period;gif" alt="" width="616" height="200" />&NewLine;But besides that, it’s simply adorable&period; Each form the golem takes has a different method of movement and expression&period; Animators took the time to develop specific idle animations and walking patterns for each form&period; The two-legged form will sometimes whack itself on the head, the way someone might hit a large machine to get it to work&period; The animal-like form gallops at top speed on spindly legs, with a wiggling tail behind it&period; The amount of effort put into these animations is remarkable, and it makes gameplay an absolute joy&period;&NewLine;<h3>Setting the Stage</h3>&NewLine;<figure id="attachment&lowbar;138908" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-138908" style="width&colon; 1920px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-138908 size-full" src="https&colon;//cdn&period;bagogames&period;com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/28135501/golem&lowbar;screenshot9&period;png" alt="" width="1920" height="1080" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-138908" class="wp-caption-text">Golem, Longbow Games</figcaption></figure>&NewLine;All of the scenes in Golem are rendered in 3D&period; Much of the action takes place on a flat plane&colon; you can go up, down, and side-to-side, but not to the foreground and background&period; Despite this, Longbow Games did not skimp on detail and atmosphere, even in places players can’t actually reach&period;&NewLine;Much of the game’s exploration takes place in broken-down ruins, crumbling and overgrown with vines, but still very alive&period; With a free camera, players can look into all the shadowy corners and see carvings, doorways, and other signs of life and activity, even though they aren’t part of the puzzles&period; The environments really feel as if they were once lived in&period; It’s difficult to play through each scene without feeling a sense of awe and reverence for the people that came before the player character&period;&NewLine;<h3>Once Upon a Time</h3>&NewLine;If you wanted to, you could play Golem without caring about the story&period; After the start screen, there are no words on the screen and no voices in the audio track&period; Nothing demands your attention, or quizzes you on the lore of the game&period; You could move right along solving puzzles and no one would trouble you&period; Or, if you want to, you could pay attention to each lovingly-crafted detail, and get that much more out of the game&period;&NewLine;<figure id="attachment&lowbar;138905" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-138905" style="width&colon; 1920px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-138905 size-full" src="https&colon;//cdn&period;bagogames&period;com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/28135138/golem&lowbar;screenshot1&period;jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-138905" class="wp-caption-text">Golem, Longbow Games</figcaption></figure>&NewLine;In each stage, especially as you get closer to the pools of energy that upgrade your golem, there are carvings on the walls that form pictures&period; As the golem passes each carving, it lights up in blue&period; These engravings tell the story of the people that once inhabited the ruins, conveying something about their relationship with golems &&num;8211&semi; and yes, that’s plural, because it appears that the player’s golem isn’t the only one in existence&period;&NewLine;Even outside these chambers, there are little tidbits to pick up about the setting&period; In one stage, you travel around four sides of a tall tower, unlocking each part, which creates a towering spire into the sky&period; When the last lock is released, metal flaps extend from the spire, and you begin to see it move by harnessing the wind&period; This marvel of technology isn’t just efficient, it’s beautiful too, plated in gold and sparkling in the sun&period; The people that created it were intelligent, with a penchant for pretty things too&period; Even when they’ve all disappeared, the traces they leave behind still feel human and real&period;&NewLine;These are just a few of the many, tiny details woven into the game&period; For the sake of avoiding spoilers, this article won’t include more, but it’s safe to say that for those who love the thrill of discovery, this game is for you&period;&NewLine;<h3>Conclusion</h3>&NewLine;It would be absurd for one journalist to say that every person would fall in love with this game&period; Some people won’t like it&period; Some people just don’t like puzzle games, and that’s fine&period;&NewLine;But Golem is truly a striking game, and I found it to be a wonderful, enriching game from start to finish&period; I’m a long-time fan of puzzle games, and this one fits seamlessly into the niche in my heart&period; It’s beautiful, it’s fun, it’s adorable, and the puzzles it presents are engaging and challenging, but not frustrating&period; Golem pulls out all the stops to make sure you can play in a way that keeps you hooked, as long as you’re willing to be taken away to their beautiful world&period;&NewLine;If you’re looking for a new puzzle game, please give Golem a chance&period; You can find more information on <a href="https&colon;//www&period;longbowgames&period;com/golem/">their website, here,</a> and <a href="https&colon;//store&period;steampowered&period;com/app/646010/Golem/">their Steam Page&period;</a>&NewLine;

Categories: Game Reviews, Indie Game Reviews, PC Reviews
Tags: Games Indie Games PC Puzzle Games

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