REVIEW – The idea of a game set in a cyberpunk version of Great Britain is not bad. Point-and-click genre and puzzles, all in a turn-based action style. It’s an odd mix, and the game is also partly bizarre, as the three anti-heroes face the challenge in such an unusual combination. Unfortunately, the oddness is also evident in the result: it feels more like a concept than a finished game, ready to be sold on Steam (or any digital store).

Sunday Gold is a point-and-click, turn-based adventure game set in a grim, dystopian future. Play as a ragtag trio of criminals to hunt down and expose the dark secrets of an evil mega-corporation and the malevolent billionaire behind it. (Is this description about Elon Musk? Going by what he’s doing to Twitter as we speak…)

Friday

It’s interesting how the two genres (which are not that close to each other) can rely on each other so cleverly because it’s not as if two “half-games” have been welded together by BKOM Studios. The game’s point-and-click portions are split into turns. Our three characters (Frank, Sally, and Gavin) interact with objects using their action points. You either get these points back by ending your turn or engaging in combat with the opponent, who can raise the area’s alert level after completing their turn, making the upcoming battles slightly more complicated. Our equipment, weapons, and items are unlocked as we solve puzzles, and once you get into the game’s style, picking up more action points during combat means you don’t have to spend more rounds solving puzzles. Make no mistake, none of the gameplay elements are particularly complex, but it has to be acknowledged that the two portions fit well together and complement each other. Tactics are necessary and, to some extent, worthwhile.

There is always the possibility of going back to the items left a little further away in case you get into a particularly tight situation. The story involves the trio’s attempts to publicize a billionaire in a decently written anti-capitalist tale, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s mostly a dime-a-dozen story. It also exposes the same shortcomings perceived in the gameplay: superficial. It lacks the depth that separates a lasting game brought out every 2-3 years, say, from a product that is played through once and then forgotten in short order. Okay, Gavin has a hacking mini-game (they all have something!), but that alone does not make the gameplay outstanding. It’s okay that there are fights, but the opponents need more hits to defeat them, while the voice acting becomes repetitive and tedious in a short period. Perhaps the puzzles themselves aren’t as tricky as what we saw in The Witness (if we’re talking puzzles, a slightly unusual but legitimate example fits here…).

Saturday

It will be a bit divisive, but Sunday Gold’s visual style doesn’t seem one-sided. To be more precise: not everyone will like it because it’s not a game that can quickly be dubbed excellent or bad. The perpetrator of this bunch of characters, being in the latter camp, believes that the game has been given a childish, stitched-together, Peppa Pig-like visual, which did provide the characters with a cel-shaded, comic-book style (which is even visible during the attacks) with exaggerated characterization. Still, the overall effect didn’t seem right. It was likely trying to emulate ZA/UM’s hit game Disco Elysium, but it didn’t succeed either.

The atmosphere, however, did: the British pub style combined with the heists and comments proved pretty effective, and all of it was coupled with a slightly bolder, sci-fi-leaning concept in the setting. Let’s not forget the stress mechanic: we must watch how much someone has because if it’s too high, the poor person starts hallucinating or simply doesn’t do what we ask. It can also be necessary when we have to decide whether to go Rambo on the enemy or sneak up on them (which will surely make the team nervous because it still causes tension). However, these two factors are just as superficial, which is why this is not a significant problem because our decisions only affect a small part of our tasks, and we have to watch the time. It’s strange when there are ideas but no substance behind them, but unfortunately, Sunday Gold has fallen into this error in several cases…

Sunday… bronze

Sunday Gold gets a six-and-a-half out of ten for this reason: the ideas are good, but the execution keeps it from going higher. The satire is enjoyable, and the setting is good, not to mention the mixing of the two genres, but everything felt so superficial and incomplete, and the visuals aren’t that great, either. The clichéd storyline didn’t help it much either to allow the game to at least receive a seven out of ten rating. If it had been a little deeper in all respects, there is no doubt that the rating would have been a nice round eight out of ten. The game is recommended to be bought at a discount at most if you like Disco Elysium. Otherwise, avoid it.

-V-

Publisher: Team17

Developer: BKOM Studios

Style: turn-based point-and-click/puzzle/adventure

Release: October 13, 2022.