Goldenheart

Goldenheart is an unconventional Zelda-like created by a two-person indie team. I would describe it as a Metroidvania without backtracking. Or rather, you do return to old areas a couple of times, but this is driven entirely by the story rather than by newly acquired abilities. The Metroidvania element comes from the steady stream of new tools and mechanics. Some are entirely new, while others enhance the weapons you already have. Even the humble torch is useful not only for lighting dark dungeons but also for solving puzzles. At the same time, the game has no leveling system: character progression consists entirely of expanding your arsenal and discovering hidden health upgrades. These are exceptionally well concealed - out of 16 bonus health points, I managed to find only ten. What’s more, this is the kind of game where the better equipped you become, the harder the challenges get. During the final 15% of the game, I had to lower the difficulty from Normal to Easy because it was beginning to feel like the Halfquake, only without quicksaves, which Goldenheart does not have. In fact, it lacks many other conventional features as well: there is no map, no inventory, no journal, and…

An adventure I won't soon forget. I really apriciate the solitude offered as you navigate and negotiate the enviroment entirely on your own. While linear the way twists and turns, goes up and down, send you flying or plummeting, then teleporting here and there. Just exploring is a teat since there is no objective list, no quest markers and interactions with other creatures capable of speech is rare and far between. On top of this there is nicely paced out puzzles that at times require a bit of pause and thought, but then it clicks into place. If you are anything like me that pines for the days of Half-Life 1 level design then you will have a good time here. Go from deserts to mountaintops to forests to descending bottomless pits, entering tombs long left undisturbed, visiting alien worlds and finally facing down the final boss. Equipment is upgraded as you progress, only resources you need to think about is health and arrows. The at times dodgy hitbox and hurtboxes is balanced with said health and arrows is replenished if you look around and search a bit. While I can count on one hand the times I got angry over timing or getting hit, I was never bored. While few there are some ga…

Very fun adventure game with simple but tight fight mechanics, fun puzzles, and nice world building.

Good

Goldenheart has charm and wanderlust aplenty. But also contains too many obnoxious or frustrating moments to recommend it to a casual audience, but if you are a true connoisseur, and if you’ve a tolerance for such things – or even an appreciation for them – this might be the game for you. It worked for me. (Just play it on easy)

Generally a somewhat decent experience. It lacks polish in some regards some annoying backtracking just to talk to a required NPC. Only recommended if you REALLY like the genre and everyting else have been played. Theres one significantly bad design choice. The arrow count. Especially since you can get locked out of progress if you dont have arrows and there is no refil nearby. Its simply ass design that thats a possibility. Id rank it behind Lunacid, Verho and every other kings field like at this point in time.