Call of the Golden Valley

i have pretty sure i have bought a meat pie from that bakery in real life

A charming mystery game to find your friend, the voice acting was well done and despite a few bugs the story was enjoyable. Can't wait to see what this team cooks up in the future, hopefully a jump to Unreal engine??

Very reminiscent of the old Nancy Drew games. I had a lot of fun playing, took about 4 hours for the whole play through, and I intend to go achievement hunting in the future!

I really enjoyed this game and can't wait to see where this dev goes! This is an excellent choice for anybody into mystery games. Others have commended the voice acting as a standout in the game and I agree. It really does some heavy lifting when it comes to immersion. While the graphics are simplistic for the most part, I'd like to give credit to the landscapes later in the game - without giving too much away, they really need to convey a sense of vastness, and they succeed. The mystery is engaging if slightly slow to start, but the characters have such fun personalities that I like having a bit of time to get to know them before the case really gets moving. I love the setting, and now I know fun facts about wombat poo! Gameplay-wise it's a bit of a hybrid P&C with open walking controls, about half (in-game) online research and half out-and-about detective work. The puzzles are overarching, no small playtime-padding roadblocks. The game does still have a bug or two, but the developer is responsive and rolling out updates as they're solved, and I only encountered one that required me to close and re-open. I would say to first time players to remember to save the game at obvious checkpoints. I believe there are bright things in the future for this dev! In future games, I'd enjoy having autosave and a bit more time in the conclusion. The game does have an ending (and room to continue the story as well!), I just would have liked to have more time to say bye to all my new friends. All in all, solid first entry!

This game is delightful. I grew up playing Nancy Drew games, and the story and gameplay here are really bringing me back in the best way. The characters, setting, and puzzle are charming, but I'm really intrigued to see how the theory-building mechanic plays out. I'm still early but it's so satisfying to see clues visualized with red string and thumbtacks, rather than in just a bulleted list. The ability to highlight information and attest to why it is or is not important definitely makes the experience more immersive. Will update this review when I finish the game but so far I'd recommend it to any mystery game fan.

For a first game from these developers, I was pretty impressed. I was drawn to the game for the "conspiracy" board, and it was pretty good. The puzzles weren't super difficult but did involve some thinking. I enjoyed the internet sleuthing part, it was really well done. That being said, the game is VERY short. A lot of strings were left untied and some questions never answered. I believe this is on purpose and relates to the ending. Although I enjoyed the game, the price is double what it should be and the screen tearing is still an issue. Overall I would recommend the game if you manage to find it on sale! I hope this studio releases another game!

Lovely and engrossing game! I would have only loved a little more of it. This game is a loving rendition of small town Australia, with some nice attention to detail... looking at you cubic wombat poo... but also the bird sounds, the local vernacular, drop bear references and the voice acting. The puzzles aren't particularly difficult, but are thoughtfully integrated so the game feels cohesive. Also love the hint system - call Dad for help. Just as I'm really getting into it though the game finishes! I want to come back to the town some time, meet more of the locals and have more time to explore the bushland. Hoping to see more and bigger releases from this dev!

A cute, cozy game that I overall enjoyed! About 6 hours of play time without rushing. Unfortunately my game bugged out with ~15 mins left of the game so that was frustrating and I ended up watching a video of the ending on youtube since I didn't have time to do a speed through and wanted to finish. Would definitely play another mystery game from the developers despite my glitch at the end though!

This game is so fun! Its not too difficult, but it still makes you think. There is a bug that causes you not to press ESC to zoom out when youre closely looking at objects.

This was a really cute and engaging puzzle game! I enjoyed following the mystery and learning about Australia along the way. Would recommend!