Goldenheart

It's peak

I hate to give negative reviews to indie games, but this is just not it for me. Goldenheart is a game that failed to spark me any interest into the world, story, characters, progression and even its own mechanics. Its aesthetic holds it not by hand but by a leash - High contrast vegetation that makes everything seem like an item, lack of any sort of even a slight of reward for exploration or fight, simply nothing is interesting. Fighting mechanic on its own is FINE. But fighting the enemies themselves is an utterly annoying waste of precious time, much like exploration overall. Enemies that latch onto you, enemies that have too few health but are still annoying, it feels like there is not a single well done fight here. Exploring the map feels like an absolute chore. And going to hard to reach places, you'd figure there is SOME reward to going up this path up this hill, right? I mean, there is a bunch of vegetation showing a way, right? Nope. Everything feels absurdly frustrating to do. NPCs feel uninteresting, say nothing that makes me want to speak to them, and all feel kinda the same. So it was really hard to even have any interest in understanding the NPCs and the lore throughout the game, even when I met an important NPC (Which blabbed for WAAAAY too long). The only dopamine hit I had was finding a ladder after a WAY too long and excruciating walk, only to be met with: - The same boss I fought before, right by the ladder - Going up the ladder, finding nothing, and only finding the way forward after giving up Overall it was an experience that I did not expect. It feels like Skyrim without the fun mechanics (like fighting, looting, exploring, finding treasure), good storytelling and characters that feel unique and interesting from the go. My point is not to compare it to a AAA title, but to show the possible ways this game could have gone to, which it has not.