A Golden Wake

About

The Roaring Twenties: a bygone era of glitz, glamour, and promise. Nowhere is this more apparent than Coral Gables, Florida. The real estate market is booming and even an ordinary guy like Alfie Banks has a chance to strike it rich.But with the mob on his back, the Great Depression on the horizon, and the Sunshine State’s idyllic waterfront only a hurricane away from total devastation, Alfie finds…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

75%

Audience ScoreBased on 160 reviews

story42 positive mentions

replayability2 negative mentions

A Golden Wake features a unique and engaging story set in the 1920s, incorporating real historical events and characters, which adds depth to the gameplay.
The game boasts excellent voice acting and a fantastic soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere and immersion.
The art style is charming and reminiscent of classic point-and-click adventures, appealing to fans of retro graphics.

The puzzles are overly simplistic and lack challenge, making the gameplay feel linear and unengaging for experienced players.
The protagonist, Alfie Banks, is often perceived as bland and unlikable, which detracts from the player's emotional investment in the story.
The narrative pacing can be slow, with some players finding the fetch quests tedious and the overall plot lacking excitement.

story
159 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
66%
8%
The story of "A Golden Wake" is set in the 1920s and follows Alfred Banks, a real estate agent navigating the rise and fall of his career amidst historical events. While some players appreciate the unique setting and character development, many find the narrative lacking in excitement and depth, often describing it as slow-paced and filled with uninspired fetch quests. Overall, the storytelling is seen as a mixed bag, with engaging moments overshadowed by a lack of compelling conflict and a linear progression that fails to fully immerse players.
- “It's got a great story that keeps you interested, and good voice acting and music as well.”
- “A Golden Wake illustrates a narrative based around historical events through the 1920s-40s, and I enjoyed how they incorporated real people into the story.”
- “The story is really well written, and the voice acting is superb, so I ended up totally engaged in the adventure, and was really surprised by its twists and turns.”
- “It's just very difficult to understand why they felt this incredibly dull story needed to be told, in the dullest fashion imaginable.”
- “The story is nothing to write about either - just your typical 'rags to riches but then turned bad because of greed' that doesn't do anything interesting or new or anything that would make it even at least bit engaging.”
- “The story kept shifting in place and in tone, and I never really knew what my role in it was going to turn into.”
graphics
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
48%
7%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a retro pixel art style that resonates well with fans of classic point-and-click adventures, effectively capturing the atmosphere of the 1920s setting. While opinions vary, many players appreciate the charming visuals and detailed backdrops, though some criticize the low resolution and basic art style. Overall, the graphics complement the game's narrative and music, creating an engaging experience for those who enjoy this genre.
- “The art style is just gorgeous, and the music makes you lose yourself in the 1920s setting.”
- “The pixel graphics/art style is really good, pretty detailed and beautiful; a lot of backdrops for the game would make great art.”
- “The graphics create a perfect atmosphere and match the style of the time, really getting the player in the mood to explore the world of the game.”
- “The graphics are another thing that don't help the game.”
- “The graphics are bad but classy.”
- “The low-res graphics suck.”
music
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
29%
7%
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to evoke the 1920s atmosphere, with many reviewers highlighting its quality, charm, and suitability to the game's setting. While some found the soundtrack to be occasionally forgettable or lacking in certain areas, the overall consensus is that the music, along with excellent voice acting, significantly enhances the storytelling and immersive experience. Special mentions were made for specific tracks and composers, reinforcing the game's strong auditory presentation.
- “The music is really understated but superb!”
- “The atmosphere, music, and voice acting are all spot-on.”
- “The visuals and the music match the style of the time and really get the player in the mood and mindset to explore the world of the game.”
- “Music score is acceptable, if forgettable, played by a midi synth.”
- “The voice acting and music are still consistent, but the story and characters lack flair and fail to hold much interest.”
- “While the game starts out nicely with the usual Wadjet Eye games quality of voice acting and music, it soon turns out to be a non-story non-game.”
gameplay
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
67%
8%
The gameplay is primarily a traditional point-and-click adventure, featuring simple mechanics and a linear structure that some players find unengaging. While there are interesting elements like persuasion mechanics and varied puzzles, many reviews highlight a slow pace and a lack of depth, making the experience feel more like a visual novel than an interactive game. Overall, the gameplay is charming but pales in comparison to more robust titles from the same developer, leaving players wanting more complexity and excitement.
- “Great little touches in animations and small gameplay choices sprinkled throughout, even deciding whether to wear your hat or put it on a rack is considered.”
- “The puzzles are interesting and varied, including side mechanics like hidden object and manipulation.”
- “The seller's intuition mechanic makes for an interesting challenge as you try to persuade people.”
- “Worse than the narrative perhaps is the gameplay itself.”
- “Yet, the gameplay doesn't really complement this approach to the way the story unfolds.”
- “If I had one complaint about A Golden Wake, it is that the history behind Miami's 1920s land boom held my attention better than the gameplay, which had all of the complexity of a walking simulator.”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive representation of the 1920-30s, enhanced by excellent art, music, and voice acting. While some graphics may not be perfect, the overall presentation effectively captures the era's charm, making the atmosphere a standout feature that elevates the gameplay experience. The combination of pixelated graphics and a suggestive musical score contributes significantly to the game's nostalgic and engaging ambiance.
- “The atmosphere of the 1920-30s is perfectly rendered.”
- “The art, music, and atmosphere are fantastic.”
- “Presentation relies on a suggestive musical score and nicely stylized graphics that effortlessly convey the atmosphere of the 20's.”
- “The atmosphere, music, and voice acting are all spot-on.”
- “The presentation relies on a suggestive musical score and nicely stylized graphics that effortlessly convey the atmosphere of the 20s.”
- “The atmosphere is enhanced by pixel graphics and digital music.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game offers a mix of replayability through innovative dialogue options and the option to engage in a point-and-click style, though some users feel it lacks replay value. However, the presence of challenging achievements and detailed developer commentary adds to its overall replayability for others.
- “With a few challenging achievements and detailed developer commentary, it offers substantial replayability as well.”
- “No replay value.”
- “The game allows you to simply play like a point-and-click adventure game if you want, but includes enough innovative dialogue options to give a sense of replayability and agency throughout.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
The game suffers from optimization issues, with frequent crashes reported, particularly when alt-tabbing or using the Steam overlay, which also impacts performance. Despite these technical shortcomings, players find the gameplay engaging, especially in favor chains and real estate minigames, thanks to the entertaining performances of the actors.
- “Somehow the game made doing a series of favor chains and real estate minigames fun and interesting, likely through the entertaining performances each actor gives.”
- “There were multiple occasions where the game crashed, especially if I alt-tabbed. Using the Steam overlay to talk to friends seemed to reduce performance over time as well.”
- “The optimization is so poor that even on high-end hardware, the game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate.”
- “I experienced significant lag and stuttering during gameplay, which made it nearly unplayable at times.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game is highly praised for its excellent pacing and depth, extending even to minor NPCs. The combination of strong voice acting, engaging dialogues, and artistic presentation enhances the overall narrative, making character growth a standout feature.
- “Excellent pacing, voice acting, art (character and background both), plot, dialogues, and character development of even minor NPCs.”
- “I must add that the character development was a key aspect of this game; it is very successful.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
The emotional aspect of the game is mixed; while some users find the story boring and the scripts lacking, others appreciate the protagonist's journey from a pushover salesman to a tycoon and mobster, highlighting the fun and heartbreaking elements of his life.
- “From pushover salesman to tycoon to mobster, he lived a life that was equal parts fun and heartbreaking.”
- “The story felt flat and uninspired, lacking the emotional depth I was hoping for.”
- “The dialogue was poorly written, making it hard to connect with the characters on any emotional level.”
- “I found the emotional moments to be forced and unconvincing, which really detracted from the overall experience.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Overall, while there are occasional bugs and minor glitches, such as characters not interacting with objects correctly and some dialogue stuttering, these issues are infrequent and do not significantly impact the overall gameplay experience.
- “There are some bugs in the game, like when Alfie Banks sits down, he doesn't sit in a chair; he just sits on nothing, like he’s doing a pantomime. Some dialogue can stutter as well, but honestly, those glitches were few and far between and they're not really game-breaking.”
- “The game suffers from frequent crashes, making it frustrating to progress. I lost several hours of gameplay due to this instability.”
- “I encountered numerous graphical glitches that pulled me out of the experience. Characters would sometimes disappear or flicker, which was quite distracting.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The humor in the game is highlighted by unexpected and absurd situations, such as the hilarious moment when a character is knocked out by an old drunk, eliciting genuine laughter from players.
- “Had me laughing hysterically when I inadvertently had Jeremiah Miller knocked out by an old drunk.”
- “The witty dialogue and absurd situations kept me chuckling throughout the game.”
- “I couldn't stop laughing at the ridiculous character interactions and clever puns!”