Sequel to The Case of the Golden Idol to rise next year

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

The Rise of the Golden Idol to be set in the 1970s with fifteen new mysteries to deduce

Color Gray Games' The Case of the Golden Idol blew us away with its compelling mysteries and deductive inventiveness when it arrived in 2022, earning it the distinction of being named Adventure Game Hotspot's first ever Game of the Year. That was followed by two equally compelling expansions, but what we really wanted was a full-fledged sequel – and in 2024, we're going to get precisely that in The Rise of the Golden Idol.

The first game saw players assume the role of an eighteenth-century detective tasked with investigating a series of gruesome murders spanning forty years by carefully observing crime scenes to deduce suspects, motives and murder weapons. In the process, the complex conspiratorial story of the "mysterious Golden Idol and those who covet it" was gradually unveiled. The sequel picks up three centuries later, when the accursed artifact has faded largely into legend. But there is one "tenacious relic hunter" who believes it to be real, and embarks on a journey to discover the Golden Idol and tap into its powers, rumoured to be able to "reshape the world." Following in his tracks, you must investigate fifteen new "strange cases of crime, death and depravity," using only your human powers of observation and deduction to solve them.

Set in the 1970s, The Rise of the Golden Idol takes place in much different environment than its predecessor – an era of "hallucinogens, fax machines, parapsychology and TV guides," not to mention disco. But while "the world has changed dramatically" in three hundred years, represented by a more refined but still highly stylized hand-drawn aesthetic, "the sins of humanity have not." Which means lots of new treacherous murders to investigate. As before, you'll encounter frozen tableaus of crime scenes in which you must form your own theories – literally – by collecting words and using them to draw connections based on your interpretation of events. It won't be easy, of course, as "enlightenment seekers, convicts, chat show hosts and corporate middle management will all have a role to play in the wider mysteries that unfold." Naturally, each member of this eclectic cast of characters will have their own motives and agendas, making it difficult to separate fact from fiction.

There is no target release date yet, but The Rise of the Golden Idol is due to arrive sometime next year on Steam for Windows PC, along with a wide variety of other platforms, including PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch consoles, as well as mobile devices through the Netflix app.