Spells of Gold is more of 'what if' than 'look at this', which is a shame really. Just as we thought there couldn't possible be room for another RPG on the PC, Oxygen pop up with the idea of having a thriving world with fluctuating economics. Had we been given a central index of towns and their import and export prices then we may have been talking about a different game, but what is also needed is a stronger, more involving plot to keep the player interested and eager to get to the next step. Instead, just as you're digging in to find the best sale prices, you become distracted by a whole other table of play opportunities involving RPG levelling-up and pinning down the plot. There have been efforts to make robust play structures come together, but with a deft hand for detail. The problem here is the different options of trading, levelling up and following a plot just don't get along with each other, more of a row between neighbours on a street than a happy-go-lucky village. So in the end you just chase round each section as the game dictates it, meaning a frustrating and ultimately confusing time. Shame.​