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A Golden Wake, a 1920s adventure from Wadjet Eye and Grundislav Games

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Total Posts: 179

Joined 2004-01-25

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Just finished it. It was very short - which is okay; I prefer games these days that I can finish in a few hours in one or two sittings. Graphics were nice, character animations were beautiful; but (and I really hate to say this) the story and characters were a little underwhelming - I didn’t really feel emotionally invested in the characters. Great game overall, though, strongly encourage everyone here to purchase it.

     
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Total Posts: 7432

Joined 2013-08-26

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So what made the game great for you? Just the shortness, nice graphics and beautiful animations?

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

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Total Posts: 92

Joined 2003-09-10

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I knew next to nothing about George Merrick and the development of Coral Gables going into the game so I was endlessly fascinated by all the nitty gritty historical stuff going on in the background. It’s a perfect backdrop for a story especially with it being able to weave in many topical threads such as the Great Depression, prohibition and ever-increasing presence of organized crime

I was less intrigued by the character of Alfie Banks who starts off as a bit of a blank avatar through which you get to see this unique moment in US history but then gets more and more involved with the plot in increasingly ludicrous ways. I think his rags-to-riches-to-redemption arc is there but the motivation which needs to sell it is not and so he makes some very big, very odd decisions which seem completely out of line with his character. He goes where the story needs him to go, not the other way around, which I think hurts the second half of the game.

I don’t want to sound too negative as I still really liked the game, it just does a better job at nailing the atmosphere and the historical significance of the era than it does at running a narrative through it. The joy I found in this game was simply partaking in the development of Miami and interacting with the real people who were there trying to make it happen as the bubble burst.


On a side note, I remember playing the Hooky McPegleg Reality-on-the-Norm games when they were first released well over a dozen years ago so it’s quite something to now to be playing a commercially-released Grundislav game. Good work, Francisco!

     

Total Posts: 90

Joined 2008-09-01

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I won’t lie i expected more based on the AG review. I like the setting and the historical references, but the narrative really falls flat for me. The character of Alfie is totally underdeveloped so it was really hard for me to get into the whole rags to riches to rags story. I totally agree with SamandMax about the very odd decisions he makes which kinda come out of the blue.

The game’s whole story is kinda like reading a summary of key points from some longer script. When the years go buy you’re really left in the dark as to what happened to him and why he makes the decisions he does. I just all happens so fast i have a hard time agreeing with AG’s review where they say “strong story and emotionally resonant”, i had none of that since there wasn’t no time to get really involved with the character. Not to mention the fact that most of the characters are really underused, the game tries to tell us that we should care about some of them, but in such a short amount of time i really don’t understand why….

Also the puzzles are really simple so i think i finished the game in about 5 hours. Didn’t care much for the ending too..

Its not bad, but not as good as i expected.

     
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Joined 2013-08-26

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I’ve just started it and already I keep telling myself that surely it must get better.  Mini Smile

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

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Total Posts: 49

Joined 2006-12-19

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Bumping this thread to let you all know that A Golden Wake is 50% off as part of the Steam Sale.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/307570/

     

Total Posts: 1891

Joined 2010-11-16

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Just finished this. Its…. ok i think? I definitely did not think id ever play a commercial adventure based on the florida land boom in the 1920s. I really liked the pacing and the passage of time… i felt like anything could be around the corner. What did disappoint me quite a bit: when i got to the point when i could tell merrick about the mob, i chose deny, and i thought wow what a significant choice.. now im working for the mob and its because i didnt tell merrick. And while it was an odd plot direction because it didnt exactly fit with alphie’s personality… it was an entertaining and engaging plot. But then after finishing the game i reloaded back to that point with merrick to see what happens when i confirm that the mob is in the hotel…. and the same thing happens! It doesnt even make perfect sense.. and a missed opportunity for interesting depth. 

     
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Joined 2011-04-01

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zane - 10 February 2015 08:00 PM

Just finished this. Its…. ok i think? I definitely did not think id ever play a commercial adventure based on the florida land boom in the 1920s. I really liked the pacing and the passage of time… i felt like anything could be around the corner. What did disappoint me quite a bit: when i got to the point when i could tell merrick about the mob, i chose deny, and i thought wow what a significant choice.. now im working for the mob and its because i didnt tell merrick. And while it was an odd plot direction because it didnt exactly fit with alphie’s personality… it was an entertaining and engaging plot. But then after finishing the game i reloaded back to that point with merrick to see what happens when i confirm that the mob is in the hotel…. and the same thing happens! It doesnt even make perfect sense.. and a missed opportunity for interesting depth. 

Yes, I agree. And I didn’t even have to load back to know that the choice you make doesn’t count for anything. It’s a shame that games don’t let us make choices any more - and even worse, presenting false choices - when you think back to games like Conquests of the Longbow and how different things were.

     
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Total Posts: 7432

Joined 2013-08-26

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Oscar - 10 February 2015 08:31 PM

It’s a shame that games don’t let us make choices any more - and even worse, presenting false choices - when you think back to games like Conquests of the Longbow and how different things were.

Have you tried The Novelist?

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

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