Colour Gray Games has unveiled Rise of the Golden Idol’s next DLC expansion, which will release tomorrow. “The Age of Restraint” is the third of four additional stories for Rise of the Golden Idol. These four DLCs, which have been released across 2025, aim to add more context and history to the Golden Idol world.
The Golden Idol series is an new star in the detective genre. Each game provides several cases to solve, themed around the supernatural powers of a mysterious golden idol. Cases are a snapshot of a single moment. The player can explore these snapshots to collect words and fill in a template describing the scenario’s events. With only two games under its belt, the Golden Idol series has captured many fans with its delightfully intricate puzzles that require innovative and interpretative thinking.
The second Golden Idol game predominantly focused on a dystopian capitalist era, distinct from the previous entry. So far, the DLC storylines have kept close to this setting. “The Sins of New Wells” followed a detective from the base game investigating the activities of a crime syndicate. “The Lemurian Phoenix” breaks some new ground by focusing on a different country, but is still firmly set within the 20th century.
The Age of Restraint dramatically shakes things up by taking the story to ancient Lemuria. Lemuria is frequently referenced in Rise’s main story. It’s a world we know little about, but we do know their powerful sci-fi technology is closely linked to the Golden Idol’s origins. Unfortunately, the futuristic abilities of Lemuria are a long-forgotten art in the present day.
Colour Gray Games describe Lemuria as an advanced yet alienating world. Concepts such as lying or even spoken language are completely absent in this world. Despite such a futuristic society, I can’t help but wonder if the scenarios explored in The Age of Restraint will lead to their inevitable downfall across history.
The Rise of the Golden Idol: The Age of Restraint releases tomorrow, 16th July 2025, priced at $8.79 AUD. One final DLC for the game will be released later this year. The Detective Pass bundle includes all four DLCs for $26.50 AUD.
About the Author
Wil Bain
he/him
Wil plays every type of game (because he cannot sit still), but tends to favour frantic action and epic RPG's. Outside of gaming, you can find him at the local swimming pool, or visiting the exciting sights of suburban Melbourne.
