While early looks at the game appeared interesting, and I don’t shy away from a Metroidvania to begin with, The Eternal Life of Goldman demo was so much more than I had expected. While Goldman is a seemingly invincible old man, what really stood out to me was the way the story was told, and the sharp, intuitive mechanics that allowed me to move Goldman with ease. The demo even ended in an interesting twist I didn’t see coming.
The story, as far as the demo lets on, is about Goldman being one of a group of prophesied heroes. They travel to the Archipelago trying to stop “something” from happening. That something could be the end of the world or the end of the beautiful islands the game plays host to. The most interesting part of the story, though, was how it was told.
A Dark Reality Seen Through the Lens of Innocence
I learn that the story is told by a mother to her sickly, possibly bedridden, child. I get little glimpses as to what was happening outside Goldman’s story when the voices of the two break through Goldman’s world and voice their opinions. Their main topics were the sickness the child has, and his negative feelings towards both his mother and his caretakers. I find this interesting because it gives reason to the beautifully colored and vibrant world. At the same time it explains why and how the world is viscerally dark.
The enemies and story have traits that make them seem cute and innocent, but from the beginning of the demo to the end, grotesque things kept occurring. For example, one of the mini-boss enemies you fight is this large magma worm with a cute face who makes baby sounds. To defeat that boss, you have to wait till it tires itself out. Then, rip out parts of its flesh as it cries out in pain, and that’s not all.
The beginning of the demo had Goldman escape from a fire with happy adventuring music pushing him forward, only to find out afterwards that he’d been running from a scene where all the island’s children were burned and eaten by monsters. It’s because of scenes like these that I believe the game is showing the boys’ mindset through its world-building. As a child, he sees things innocently, but as he learns more about the darkness of reality and pain, the world gets darker, emulating his feelings.
Tight and Unique
One of my favorite things about The Eternal Life of Goldman demo was that it showcased how well the controls worked and how easy it was to navigate the game. Once I started playing with the jumping and bouncing mechanics, I found that it was very easy to control and get where I wanted when I wanted. If I needed a smaller bounce, it took no effort to quickly switch up Goldman’s cane to get the desired effects. Once I got the long jump skill, I was able to move at dangerously fast and exciting speeds as I barrelled through locations. I felt faster and more free playing as Goldman than I ever did as a badass vampire, sorry Alucard.
I found that while parts of the combat, like landing on enemies to kill them, might seem familiar, each location had me fight both enemies and the terrain in a unique mix. Whether I needed to move across a room using hanging hoops, jump-controlled platforms, or falling floors, at each point, enemies were waiting and attacking. This made my trek more dangerous and exciting as I went, and I found that there were quite a few areas that didn’t shy away from having you use the enemies themselves as platforms to reach another location or enemy.
Final Thoughts
While I personally don’t go for the more visceral art in the games I play, I found the gameplay, story, and the world of The Eternal Life of Goldman beyond appealing in its demo. I was so engrossed in the story and the gameplay that I forgot it was only a 90-minute demo. When I go back to the hub island I saw a unique NPC tied to my quest and followed it without hesitation. I chased it across most of the island, all the way up to another character telling me my time in the demo was up. I personally can’t wait to get my hands on the full release of the game and find out what’s going on with the boy, his mother, and how far Goldman’s eternal story goes.
