Eternal Life of Goldman Preview: Game Pass Day One

Frame-by-frame animation takes forever. Every pose, every motion, every background element drawn and colored by hand. Most studios abandoned this approach decades ago because it's simply not economical. Weappy Studio didn't care. The Vienna-based developer spent years creating The Eternal Life of Goldman, a 2D platformer that looks like nothing else releasing this year.

At the Xbox Partner Preview on March 26, THQ Nordic dropped two pieces of news: the game will launch day one on Xbox Game Pass, and a demo is already available on Xbox Series X|S. If you've been scrolling past announcement trailers lately, stop for this one.

A Studio That Took the Hard Road

Weappy Studio's previous work includes This Is the Police 1 & 2 and Rebel Cops, games that leaned into management simulation and tactical decision-making. The Eternal Life of Goldman is a complete pivot. Where those games were systems-heavy and narratively grim, this new project channels Saturday morning cartoons and Don Bluth films through a darker lens.

The art isn't just marketing material. Every room, every character, every visual effect was drawn, colored, and animated by hand using traditional frame-by-frame techniques. No two areas look alike. It's the kind of commitment that either signals a studio with something to prove or one that genuinely couldn't imagine doing it any other way.

Gameplay: The Cane Does Everything

Goldman is an old man. He carries a cane. In any other platformer, that might suggest a slow, methodical approach. Here, the cane becomes a multitool for movement and combat that opens up the entire Archipelago.

You can use it to jump higher, hang from ledges, pull objects toward you, create bursts of phosphorous light, and transform it into a shield against enemy attacks. Each upgrade you find unlocks new abilities, opening previously inaccessible areas. It's metroidvania-adjacent, but Weappy claims they've stripped out the backtracking that makes some games in that space feel like a chore. You won't spend hours wandering in circles wondering what to do next.

Precision matters. The game demands skill without demanding memorization. There's improvisation involved, reading situations and adapting rather than dying repeatedly until you execute the exact sequence. That's a tricky balance to strike, and the demo available now on Xbox is the best way to see if Weappy pulled it off.

Story: Killing a God Nobody Has Seen

Goldman arrives at the Archipelago with a single mission: kill the Deity. Everyone talks about this creature. Nobody has actually seen it. Finding and defeating it means digging into the secrets these islands keep, meeting eccentric characters, and uncovering a history marked by tragedy.

The narrative weaves together legends, fairy tales, and myths. It's vibrant and dark simultaneously. Weappy describes the storytelling as favoring discovery and player interpretation over direct exposition. You piece things together rather than having them explained.

There's a confidence in that approach. Games that trust players to understand subtext without hand-holding are rare. Whether Goldman earns that trust depends on execution, but the setup suggests something more layered than the typical "hero saves the world" arc.

Xbox Game Pass Day One

The Game Pass announcement changes the calculation for anyone curious but cautious. There's no need to gamble on a full purchase. You can try the demo right now on Xbox Series X|S, then play the full game through Game Pass when it releases later in 2026.

The Eternal Life of Goldman is also coming to PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC (via Steam). No exact release date has been announced beyond "2026," but the demo's availability suggests the wait won't be too long.

Why This One Stands Apart

Hand-drawn games exist. Cuphead proved the market for them. But Cuphead used rubber hose animation from 1930s cartoons. Goldman pulls from a different era, channeling the lush painted backgrounds and expressive character animation of 1980s and 1990s animated features.

The Eternal Life of Goldman isn't trying to copy a specific style. It's trying to recapture a feeling: that moment when you first saw a 16-bit platformer and couldn't believe how good a game could look. Whether you experienced that in 1991 or 2026, the goal is the same.

Try the demo. If the visuals hook you and the cane mechanics click, this might be one of the best Game Pass additions coming this year.