July Assassination #2

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While I thought Golden Light was a first-person shooter, it's more apt to describe it as a first-person tactical espionage survival roguelite. Moment to moment gameplay here is mostly scouring the floor you're in, looking for keys which will give you access to the next floor, while avoiding traps and enemies (and combat), and collecting resources that can all be used in multiple ways. Got a consumable? You can either eat it or throw it at enemies to trigger status effects. Got a new weapon? You can either use it (with very poor control and damage in general), throw it (for status effects) or eat it (?) as well. Managing these resources while deciding when to engage in combat is the core to the game, and it took me almost four hours to really understand it, since it's a very obtuse game (and unashamedly so).

So, if you want a run and gun game, this is not it. This is a much more cerebral and cautious kind of game. Buyer beware.

Outside of the 'dungeon floors' you have a hub world that is as weird as the levels, and even after beating the game I'm still confused as to how to navigate it. There's certainly a proper way, an optimal path, but I have absolutely no idea what it is.

Now, I didn't love the gameplay, and hence is why I wouldn't recommend the game. But one thing that it gets absolutely right are the vibes. Visual design, sound design, enemies, environments, loading screens and transitions, everything is super well alligned to the vibe the game wants to convey, and there's something really satisfying to see gel together. Unfortunately I couldn't get over the gameplay jank so it's still a no-go for me, but if you know exactly what you're getting into this could be your game.