How many games let you play as an older hero? Usually, we’re put in the shoes of lively, attractive young adults, high-energy teens, or, at times, a well-worn father figure. Still, what about a more mature man swinging a cane?
That’s exactly who you control in the platforming adventure The Eternal Life of Goldman, created by Weappy Studio and published by THQ Nordic. And if the idea of an elderly character makes you picture someone slow, fragile, and limited, you’re missing the point—because the cane isn’t just for show. After all, it’s a video game.
If that immediately brings Duck Tales for the NES to mind, then you’re right on target. The game pulls from older inspirations while adding modern touches. This isn’t simply a cane; it’s a flexible device made up of three swap-in components: the handle, the tip, and the cane itself. When the old man collects fresh parts, he unlocks new moves—bouncing included—plus a hook that lets him latch onto floating platforms, or, in the case of one boss, seize its tail and knock it out by stunning it.
That upgradeable cane clearly has a lot going for it, even though the game won’t be a strict Metroidvania. Expect challenging, accurate platforming alongside smooth exploration, but without the usual requirement to backtrack. Instead, the design revolves around a central hub branching into distinct, connected areas that you progress through in a more straightforward, linear way.
And the settings are genuinely stunning. The visuals make a bold first impression, with every frame painstakingly hand-drawn to capture the feel of a classic animated movie while also delivering the momentum of a traditional platformer. Cuphead is the closest reference point, though the controls and gameplay here are far easier to get into.
At Gamescom, I was shown the opening stretch from the announcement trailer (above) and got to try a portion of the opening level. The camera twists and darts as it follows a monkey-like creature through what looks like an extremely muggy jungle, then into a dangerous cave packed with hazards and collapsing floors—something that feels very Indiana Jones. As soon as the jungle and its inhabitants burst into flames, the elderly hero arrives, and the scene transitions smoothly into actual gameplay.
From there, the gameplay stays in familiar territory: hopping between platforms and experimenting with strategies for crossing progressively wider gaps, paired with a touch of light puzzling. Still, woven into all of that is a real sense of fun.
It’s clear a major amount of work went into this. Development began in 2017, and the team is roughly 25 people. Building such a carefully crafted visual identity takes time, and the result pays off—there’s a strong level of care in both the foreground and the background, creating a lively jungle filled with motion. The developer does say outright that no AI was used during creation, which is unfortunate that it needs to be explicitly mentioned, but then again, it’s 2024.
Come for the visuals, but hang around for the deeper ideas. The elderly protagonist isn’t included just as a joke to watch him smack enemies with a cane. Instead, it’s a chance to explore themes of life and death through ancient storytelling—specifically Greek, Jewish, and Mesopotamian folktales. In this short preview, I didn’t get much time with the narrative itself, but I could sense its promise, and it reminded me of books such as Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea or Jonas Jonasson’s The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared. There are already thoughtful details, like checkpoints shown as phoenixes—clever, yet still obvious, and perfectly matched to the game’s themes.
The developer also confirms that, on the road toward a confrontation with a deity, you’ll run into unusual enemies, nightmares, and marvels, all wrapped in a twist that lands on the existential side of things. That’s the element that has me most intrigued. The Eternal Life of Goldman seems set to be an intergenerational platformer, blending both classic and contemporary gameplay and visuals, supported by a narrative that encourages reflection. I’m looking forward to jumping in.