The Eternal Life of Goldman Steam Demo Review
Verdict: Play
Goldman has stunning hand-drawn art and smart boss design, but unskippable cutscenes hurt the pacing.
The Eternal Life of Goldman might have the best hand-drawn art seen in a demo this year. Frame by frame, every room looks different, and the Metroidvania Platformer underneath it is worth experiencing. It also has some of the most annoying unskippable cutscenes in recent memory. Both things are true at the same time.
The Eternal Life of Goldman is a Metroidvania platformer with some of the best art seen in a demo this year. Its mini-boss design escalates well and the core movement stays interesting throughout. Unskippable cutscenes and visual clutter are real problems, but the demo is free and worth trying.
Pros
- Exceptional hand-drawn, frame-by-frame art
- Varied rooms and strong visual identity
- Mini-bosses that test learned mechanics
- Equipment switching adds problem-solving depth
Cons
- Unskippable cutscenes up to five minutes long
- Visual clutter causes navigation confusion
- Golden Jewel system feels underdeveloped
- Story framing kills pacing repeatedly
Art Direction
It is genuinely hard to overstate how good this looks. Every room in the Platformer is hand-drawn and distinct. The warm firelit interior with chandeliers and baroque architecture looks nothing like the volcanic landscape with fire crystals and twisted stone columns, which looks nothing like the lava-lit cavern with worm creatures and hanging mask balloon enemies.
The overworld map shows islands like Fort Elephant Heel and the Lighthouse across a painted aerial view. Each location has a visual identity that communicates tone before you arrive. This is an Indie Adventure that has put serious creative work into its world, and it shows in every screen.
Boss Design and Mechanics
The mini boss design is where the game earns the Play verdict on a mechanical level. They are not just health sponges. Each one tests what the mechanics have taught you up to that point and requires applying that knowledge under pressure.
The standout section involves the wormy boys. They look like a cross between a worm and a baby, ugly-cute, with different types behaving differently and requiring you to figure out how to interact with each one. Then a special Boneme boy arrives as the mini boss. You dodge attacks and pull fire crystals off him with the Hook Handle until he goes down. Using the Hook Handle to extract crystals from a boss while avoiding its attack patterns is exactly the kind of escalation that makes a Metroidvania feel like it has been building toward something.
The equipment switching adds a problem-solving layer throughout. Multiple loadout options are visible in the HUD, and switching between them to handle different situations keeps the Platformer sections interesting beyond pure execution.
Two Real Problems
The art clutter is the first issue. One section had a note on a door that blended into the background. Significant time was spent going back over already-cleared areas before it was spotted. That is not a skill issue. When environments are this visually dense, readability requires active design decisions to separate interactive elements from decoration.
The cutscenes are worse. Scenes involving a sick boy in a hospital frame the whole Adventure as a story being told to this child. They are unskippable and run around four or five minutes each. One hit at a point where interest in the story had fully evaporated. For a demo trying to show off what makes the Metroidvania worth playing, losing five minutes to mandatory narrative framing is a serious structural problem.
Verdict and Availability
Steam sits at 80% Very Positive from over 900 reviews, and that rating reflects the experience accurately. If unskippable story framing is tolerable, this is an easy Play. If it is not, go in with your phone ready to fill the gaps.
Seventy minutes in and the demo was not close to finished. Some reviewers have logged over three hours. The art alone is worth seeing, and the wormy boys alone are worth reaching. No release date or price is confirmed yet, but it is free to try on Steam right now.
Developer: Weappy Studio
View on Steam
Watch the video review: YouTube
Tags: Metroidvania, Platformer, Indie, Adventure
Related Reviews
- Cardboard Cowboy: A first-person shooter where the Wild West is made of cardboard. Boxing-glove melee enemies, a whip that swings you acro
- Tied to the Beat: Tied to the Beat has a smart concept buried under visual noise. Skip it for now.
- Muri: Wildwoods: A gentle, visually appealing platformer that lacks challenge for those who need more than casual exploration.
- Outbound: Outbound is a relaxed camper van builder that looks lovely and plays nice, but lacks threat.
Browse all Steam demo reviews