A Golden Wake

Yes, this game has moments of unnecessary confusion and some tiresome sections, but for me I found it to be worth playing through for two reasons. First, the interest of learning about Miami's early history. Second, the surprisingly poignant, twisty plot. Since the game is relatively short, these advantages outweighed its shortcomings for me.

The story is okay, nothing special. Your ambitious and hopeful character ends up running around on errands for his bosses who never quite appreciate him the way he would want them to. The thing I liked about it though is how it introduced characters of real people who played a very big part in the development of Miami in the 1920s and onwards. It's always nice to learn a little something new, especially when you weren't expecting it!

I've only found about 20 games in my life to be interesting enough to finish in a sitting or 3. and a Golden Wake is one of them! Not sure how it got up there with The Last of Us, Life is Strange, The Secret of Monkey Island, Farcry 2 and most of the Telltale games. But, it did! Great little game!

+ Beautiful pixel art + Competent voice acting + Fantastic soundtrack well matching the time period + Historical characters - Like the American positivism, the storyline is shallow, straightforward and uninteresting - Virtually no problems, the brain rests, everything is obvious and easy - Zero ability to influence anything - no decision matters, there is no possibility to fail, and only one ending - The minigames are silly and simplistic

Loved! Just played it for the second time and it holds up 7 years later. The puzzles are fun, without being frustrating. The time period is fascinating and I just wanted Alfie to find his place in the world. If you enjoy any of the Wadjeteye, Grundislav games, you will love this one.