Developer: Sunlight Game
Publisher: Kiss ltd
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
Tested on: PC
Gold Rush! 2 – Review
You know you’ve a niche game on your hands when after a certain amount of time there still aren’t any reviews to find about it. The game did fly under the radar and didn’t really have the best predecessor to continue up upon, with the first Gold Rush! game being notoriously difficult. Nonetheless, a sequel has been unleashed. Gold Rush! 2 has no ties to a sequel that was made back in the 80’s or later, so the creators had full liberty to improve where improvements should be made.
Story
Gold Rush! 2 is a perfect continuation after the events of Gold Rush! Jerrod and Jake strike their riches in California by hitting a very rich golden ore vein. Naturally playing a game about guys living out the remainder of their lives being rich, being settled and happy while the wife knits socks for their kids isn’t nearly as exciting as what really happens.
California has been kind to the Wilson brothers, but back in their home town, the one they left behind in pursuit of riches, things aren’t going so well. Tweed is a fabric, but also the head of a gang that has forced Jake to leave Brooklyn, and that same gang has key figures all up and down the law enforcement and is using its influences to let its corruption spread like wildfire. Jake and Jerrod aren’t about to let Tweed’s plans come to fruition and are going to put a stop to it with the evidence they have against Tweed. He in turn isn’t going to take it lying down and will stop the Wilson brothers from making it to their destination. The story is interesting, seeing as they’ve used the first game as a start of something, instead of an ending.
The games have their own identity story wise but are still canon to each other without superfluous interconnecting story plots. It’s clear and well done, even if you skip the first game, Gold Rush! 2 clues you in about what you need to know to understand the who’sits and what’sits. Enjoying the experience is made all the more easy this way.
Graphics
Gold Rush! 2 looks rather decent when it comes to the environments and that makes it really fun to watch. There are however some areas that could use some more polish. The areas that don’t really pop as much as the rest are the ‘grassy’ areas connecting certain parts. It’s quite jarring that the developers put so much effort in making the environments and the camera placement look good as possible, but for it to be padded with bland boring patches of grass that look like they don’t belong in the game because they look nothing like, the other backgrounds.
When it comes to the characters and their movements, they look quite convincing. They aren’t really lifelike ragdoll physics, but for the sake of the game and the animations used, they are sufficient enough. They are a step up from the first game, so there’s always that.
Sound
Gold Rush! 2 is a mixed batch when it comes to its sound design. There’s the rather fun soundtrack that’s both compelling and immersive. Then there’s the rather lackluster voice acting. A game doesn’t need voice acting if the sound mixing is good enough for it to be enjoyable to listen to. This isn’t the case in Gold Rush! 2. The voice acting is about as captivating as listening to sandpaper grinding along a wooden 2 by 4. It’s so dull and without emotion you’d think anyone who’d listen to it before putting it into the game would have put it aside and left the characters voiceless. If there’s anything that throws the player out of the experience this is it. It’s grating to listen to. Seeing as the biggest plot clues and gameplay hints are in these conversations you can’t really call it optional and you don’t have the option to just skip through it.
Gameplay
Gold Rush!2 is a puzzle game. Just like the previous game it’s all about finding the right items and using them to solve the problems that you face along the way back home. Like the first game, the puzzles aren’t easy and the game won’t hold your hand. This game is hard – not skill based hard but more of an exploration kind of hard. You are often left in the dark unless you talk to everyone and explore and walk around a lot before taking on the next ‘obvious’ step on the journey. It might even help you solve certain puzzles easier than you would if you don’t explore as much.
You’ll be exploring a lot anyway, because as said before, most of the time you’ll be wondering where you are going and if you are going the right direction. Movement is done by left clicking and when you hold the button a prompt will appear over the items or piece of scenery you highlight. This will make it obvious if the item you are looking at is something you can pick up and use for a puzzle later on or if it’s just something you can look at and get information on. Even though it might not look like anything worth checking out, inspecting everything will help you out massively.
Gold Rush! 2 isn’t something that you can play to just unwind, you really need to pay attention can’t gloss over anything making it not something that’s meant to be played for just five minutes.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a game that will really test your mental mettle, then Gold Rush! 2 is something you have to look into. The soundmixing leaves things to be desired, however. If you are new to puzzle games don’t think you’ll be eased into it, don’t let it deter you however because the price/content ratio is really good.
Gold Rush! 2 - Review,
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