Sunday Gold Review (PC)

very good
key review info
  • Game: Sunday Gold
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: No
  • Reviewed on:
Sunday Gold key art

Sunday Gold is an interesting mix of point & click adventure and turn-based RPG elements. Developed by BKOM Studios, the game is set in a dystopian London and follows the intertwined story of three criminals who stumble upon a terrible conspiracy that’s about to change the world for the worse.

Frank, Gavin and Sally meet in an obscure bar and put in motion a plan that’s supposed the bring them the money some of them desperately need to pay off their debts. Little do they know that they’re about to embark on an adventure that will lead them right into the wolf’s den, or better said right into the wolf’s jaws.

Fully voice-acted, featuring tongue in cheek, dark humor, Sunday Gold does quite a lot of things very well. As a fan of both genres, point & click adventure and turn-based RPG, I feel like neither reaches its true potential in Sunday Gold, but I do think that mixing these genres is a great idea.

Every action in Sunday Gold costs action points, even if you’re just in exploration mode trying to complete puzzles to advance the story. Searching in a dumpster cost 3AP, picking up an item costs 1AP, and these are just examples of how the gameplay mechanics work.

Sunday Gold
Sunday Gold
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Thankfully, things go more deeper than that, as each character is specialized in something. For starters, Frank can open locks, while Gavin is good with computers. Sally, on the other hand, is extremely powerful, so you’re going to be using her on anything that requires brute force. Each character starts with a certain number of action points, but when everyone runs out of AP, it’s time to “end turn,” just like in a traditional turn-based game.

Depending on your situation, you might be attacked or not between rounds. Combat in Sunday Gold isn’t particularly hard, especially from mid-game onward after you have picked up more skills to help improve your attacks. Completing objectives and winning battles will reward your characters with experience and once they level up, you can unlock specific abilities.

You won’t go beyond level 10, but that’s more than enough to stomp on just about every enemy in the game. Although I did enjoy the combat system and the skill tree, I would have liked to see more variation when it comes to enemies.

The point & click adventure aspect isn’t particularly stellar, but it does come up with some interesting ideas. While trying to unravel the dark mystery surrounding a certain mega-corporation, you’ll stumble upon puzzles that sometime require the completion of mini-games. Picking locks, hacking electronics or breaking/lifting objects require each of you character to successfully complete certain mini-games.

Once you figure out what you need to do, they’re not that hard, except for the hacking mini-game which remains just as hard if you don’t find a smarter approach to make it easier (I found one, but I won’t be spoiling it for you). Unfortunately, you’ll be playing the same mini-games from the beginning to the end, so you’ll probably become an expert and be bored at the same time.

As far as the puzzles go, with a few exceptions, they shouldn’t pose a problem for those who played point & click adventure nor those more attached to the turn-based RPG genre. It’s almost impossible to miss any clues in Sunday Gold, and the game lacks a “hints” system, you’ll probably not need one if you’re used with this type of games.

On top of all the point & click adventure and turn-based RPG mechanics, developer BKOM added a stress mechanic that could have bad consequences if not treated in time. Basically, every time your characters are exposed to shocking scenes, they lose some of their composure. When they pass a certain threshold, they might not respond as expected during combat. Additionally, when a character is stressed, they will have a limited time to act in combat, while normally you have unlimited time to take an action on your turn.

Visually, Sunday Gold adopts the comics-book art trend. Some of the characters’ physical traits are purposefully drawn to look grotesque just like in caricatures. It fits well with the setting and the dark, gritty story. I enjoyed it quite a lot.

Sunday Gold
Sunday Gold
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The Good

  • Interesting dystopian setting
  • Tongue in cheek dialog, dark humor
  • Great art style and soundtrack
  • Smartly mixes adventure and turn-based RPG elements

The Bad

  • Combat and many mechanics lack depth
  • Generic story

Conclusion

In between silly remarks, turn-based combat and puzzle solving, Sunday Gold provides enough entertainment to keep you going until the end, which is probably around 12-15 hours if you figure out the puzzles and finish the boss fights faster.

Sunday Gold is a hybrid of two genres, point & click adventure and turn-based RPG, that simply works. It doesn’t make everything perfect, but at least it comes up with some interesting ideas that could be refined in a future title.

BKOM’s game is trying to do something different and, partly, it succeeds. I enjoyed many parts of the game and some of the mechanics, and the story, while pretty generic, it did make me feel like I’m playing in a Guy Ritchie movie. Ultimately, Sunday Gold is entertaining and that’s what I expect from a game, so I consider this a successful experiment.

Review code provided by the publisher.

story 7
gameplay 8
concept 9
graphics 8
audio 8
multiplayer 0
final rating 8.5
Editor's review
very good
 
NEXT REVIEW: Little Orpheus

Sunday Gold screenshots (29 Images)

Sunday Gold key art
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