Try the demo for delightful sandbox mystery The Case of the Golden Idol

Ready to solve 12 gruesome, strange murders in one go? Hope you are, because The Case of the Golden Idol is out now. Color Gray Games' debut, published by Playstack, is an open-ended detective game where you have to investigate, think, and explore freely in order to solve several deaths. We first got a look at it earlier this year, and its appeal has only widened since then.

The Case of the Golden Idol is complicated by the nature of the deaths: they span 40 years, so you can guess that this gets real weird, real fast.

Golden Idol encourages you to try unorthodox solutions, filling in the blanks of what you know as effectively and thoroughly as you can, as you go, and revising your theory as new evidence arises. "Reveal the true nature of the mysterious Golden Idol and those who covet it. Follow the journey of a cursed aristocratic family as you untangle a web of deceit and villainy in your hunt for the truth behind this dark conspiracy," says the official description.

Back when I was playing Return of the Obra Dinn I often thought "It's very sad that t here aren't more games like this" and, now, here is a second game like that. If you loved Obra Dinn's more mystery-driven bits, well, here's a game you should definitely at least try the demo of. (Indeed, Obra Dinn author Lucas Pope endorses the demo on the Steam page.)

You can find The Case of the Golden Idol on GOG and Steam for $18, 10% off until October 20. I've barely dug into it, but so far I can at the very least recommend you give this startlingly interesting game a try.

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.