Golem Creation Kit

About

Golem Creation Kit is a single player casual strategy game. It was developed by Illuminated Games and was released on July 14, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Golem Creation Kit" is a frantic game inspired by classics like "Papers, Please" and "Doodle God." You play as a golem maker, racing against the clock to defend yourself from angry mobs using golems made from various environmental ingredients. With rich 16-bit pixel graphics and a subtle, enthralling story, the game offers wit, charm, and numerous secrets to uncover, all wrapped in a visual-novel style.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

72%

Audience ScoreBased on 54 reviews

story14 positive mentions

stability5 negative mentions

The game features a charming story with well-developed characters and multiple endings, making it engaging for players who enjoy narrative-driven experiences.
The pixel art and soundtrack are praised for their quality, contributing to the overall whimsical and immersive atmosphere of the game.
The developer is responsive and actively works on fixing bugs, showing a commitment to improving the game and enhancing player experience.

The gameplay mechanics can be frustrating due to bugs, lag, and a cumbersome interface, which detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.
The golem creation aspect is often seen as shallow and repetitive, with many players feeling that it limits creativity and becomes tedious over time.
The game is criticized for its heavy reliance on visual novel elements, leading to long dialogue sequences that can interrupt the pacing and gameplay flow.

story
51 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
67%
6%
The game's story is a central element, blending whimsical narrative with engaging characters and multiple endings that encourage replayability. While some players found the execution and depth of the story varied, many appreciated its humor, charm, and the intriguing twists that unfold as they progress. Overall, the narrative is well-written and offers a satisfying experience, despite some critiques regarding its integration with gameplay mechanics.
- “The story alone makes it all worth it, in my opinion.”
- “The story in this game was an unexpected delight.”
- “Adorable characters and graphics, and a compelling story, this game should really get more attention.”
- “Having said that, I have reservations about the execution of the story.”
- “As for the story the game follows, I have little to say.”
- “The game is actually really short to beat and the replay value is close to none, even though there are slight differences in the story.”
gameplay
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
61%
9%
The gameplay is primarily focused on a narrative experience with puzzle mechanics involving golem crafting, but it suffers from bugs and a lack of engaging mechanics, often feeling more like a distraction from the story. While some players appreciate the quirky and original elements, many criticize the interface, the repetitive nature of gameplay, and the frustrating time limits that hinder enjoyment. Overall, the game offers a charming aesthetic and intriguing story, but the gameplay experience is marred by technical issues and a lack of depth.
- “A very original little game with nice pixel graphics, good soundtrack, and curious mechanics.”
- “Fun and original gameplay, good stories, nice pixels, overall a game that deserves some attention.”
- “The drag and drop gameplay is pretty fun; I enjoyed it a lot more when I got rid of the time limit in NG+.”
- “The developers failed one of the most basic, fundamental requirements of game design: 'show, don't tell.' You'll spend a huge amount of time not playing the game, but clicking through endless lines of poorly written visual novel text cutscenes because the developers couldn't figure out how to relate their narrative through the game mechanics.”
- “The mechanics are initially confusing, the interface can be unfriendly, and the golem-crafting is at best a diversion, and at worst an unwelcome distraction.”
- “Sadly, I still suffer from laggy gameplay and a frustrating time limit. Whenever you fail a round, you have to start the day over by going through a load screen, waking up, skipping the dialogue (another load screen), watching villagers attack (load screen), and then finally trying to make the golem again. If you fail, you have to do it all over again.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
42%
25%
The graphics of the game are a mix of retro pixel art that some players find charming and nostalgic, while others criticize it for being outdated and lacking resolution options. While the visuals are described as winsome and fitting for the game's quirky characters and story, there are complaints about the overall quality and lack of modern graphical features. Overall, opinions are divided, with some appreciating the retro style and others feeling it falls short of contemporary standards.
- “A very original little game with nice pixel graphics, good soundtrack, and curious mechanics.”
- “The graphics are winsome and the music is enchanting.”
- “Adorable characters and graphics, and a compelling story; this game should really get more attention.”
- “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel art as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
- “If developers want to get paid the same kind of money as real game developers who know how to do graphics properly, they need to learn how to do graphics properly.”
humor
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as a blend of quirky, whimsical, and occasionally absurd elements, with players enjoying the funny interactions and outcomes, particularly involving the creation of golems. While the gameplay can be unbalanced, the lighthearted approach and amusing dialogue contribute to an entertaining experience, especially when the timer is disabled. Overall, the game successfully combines humor with its puzzle and visual novel elements, making it a fun adventure for those who appreciate its unique style.
- “I can't pretend that this game will appeal to everyone, but its combination of a humorous, mysterious, and occasionally creepy fantasy visual novel and a puzzle-crafting minigame that uses environmental elements and magic spell words to create golems was, to me, more than worth the asking price.”
- “As for the core of the game, the concept of getting rid of annoying bloodthirsty villagers who want to put your head on a spike by sending golems out to attack them is quite funny.”
- “Pro: fun concept, fun story, funny dialogue.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The music in the game is generally praised for its enchanting quality and ability to enhance the atmosphere, complementing the charming pixel graphics and retro art style. While most reviews highlight the soundtrack as a strong point, some users noted technical issues, such as overlapping music during gameplay. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's mood and experience.
- “The graphics are winsome and the music is enchanting.”
- “The music serves to set the mood nicely in each different screen, while the art is polished where it needs to be and charmingly retro where it doesn't.”
- “Quirky game with very light but interesting gameplay, gorgeous art, good music and a pretty well-written story that is more than it seems at first.”
- “Graphics and music are meh, so don't worry about that.”
- “As of the time of the review, I had experienced a few bugs from double music during the tutorial, and errors when picking up certain items.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
83%
The stability of the game is frequently criticized, with users reporting daily crashes and buggy mechanics, particularly during interactions like dragging and picking up items. While some players appreciate that these glitches may contribute to the game's narrative, many recommend waiting for a more stable version before investing time or money. However, the developer is noted for being proactive in addressing these issues.
- “I really enjoy the gameplay, but it's buggy enough that I'm getting crashes every single day of the game.”
- “Although other reviewers have pointed out that it is quite buggy, keep in mind before playing that those bugs can be part of the meta narrative of the whole game.”
- “Leaving glitches aside, [i]Golem Creation Kit[/i] isn't without other issues.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of the Golem creation kit is criticized as a cash grab at around $5 USD, with users feeling it is not worth the price due to its defects and shortcomings, especially when compared to numerous free, higher-quality games available on Steam.
- “The Golem creation kit has a cash grab price of around $5 USD. It's not worth it given the defects and shortcomings of the product, especially considering the sheer number of completely free, much higher quality games on Steam.”
- “The monetization strategy feels exploitative, as essential features are locked behind paywalls, making it frustrating for players who don't want to spend extra money.”
- “I was disappointed to find that many in-game items are only available through microtransactions, which detracts from the overall experience and enjoyment of the game.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
While the game is relatively short and offers limited replay value overall, players can explore its replayability through six different endings, providing some incentive to revisit the story.
- “The story also has replayability, as there are 6 different endings to achieve.”
- “The game offers a variety of choices that significantly change the outcome, encouraging multiple playthroughs.”
- “The game is actually really short to beat, and the replay value is close to none, even though there are slight differences in the story.”
- “Once you finish the game, there's little incentive to play through it again, as the changes in choices don't significantly alter the experience.”
- “I found the game enjoyable, but after completing it once, I felt no urge to replay it due to the lack of meaningful content variations.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly when it comes to uncovering every secret.
- “It's tedious.”
- “Long story short, it is very tedious and annoying to find every secret.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the game's dialogue, noting that it is well-written and often wholesome, contributing positively to the overall emotional experience.
- “The dialogue is actually quite good and wholesome at times.”