Foolish Mortals Review A Monkey Island–Style Point-and-Click Adventure
Foolish Mortals is a lovingly crafted point-and-click adventure game that channels classic 90s LucasArts charm while telling its own spooky story. Set in 1933 Louisiana on the haunted Devil’s Rock island, the game’s opening hook is delightfully eerie: “Thirty years ago an entire wedding suddenly & mysteriously vanished” along with the Bellemore family’s fortune.
You play Murphy McCallan, a debt auditor seeking this lost treasure… only to awaken a bevy of merry ghosts along the way. The plot revolves around the Bellemore siblings (three protective brothers and their sister Abigail, the ill-fated bride). Those brothers (Xavier, Cecil, Yardley) literally disappear one by one on Abigail’s wedding night, leaving only Abigail behind.
The story is unexpectedly touching (I actually solved the big twist early, but it never spoiled the fun), and has great pacing: all the spooky plot turns are “clever and very well placed… explained adequately without leaving any questions unanswered”.
In short, it’s a horror-comedy mystery that feels like Monkey Island meets a haunted Southern gothic tale, complete with ghosts singing jazz and sarcastic humor. One reviewer puts it best: Foolish Mortals will “leave you with the taste of a great adventure, like the ones we used to play in the 90s and get excited about”, and indeed it hits that nostalgic sweet spot.
Engaging Point-and-Click Gameplay & Clever Puzzles
Gameplay in Foolish Mortals is pure old-school point-and-click simplicity, everything is mouse-driven (left-click to interact, right-click to examine)… yet the puzzles are satisfyingly thoughtful. There are no combat or platforming bits here, just inventory puzzles and riddles. The developers even include a hotspot highlighter and a built-in hint book (Murphy’s Diary) so you never feel stuck for too long.In fact, the game advertises itself as “no deaths, dead-ends, or scares”.
This cozy approach means you can experiment freely without fear of a game over. Still, the puzzles aren’t trivial. Early on you need to make Murphy the subject of a newspaper; while also making sure you complete a gris-gris. One standout sequence has you choreograph ghostly ballroom dancers to solve a problem, it took me a solid 30 minutes of head-scratching, but the “a-ha!” moment was worth it. In short, puzzles steadily ramp up in cleverness (never reaching absurd “moon logic”), and the hint system lets you dial up just enough help when needed. The interface even includes a hidden inventory bar and an island map for fast travel, so navigating the game is a breeze.
Stunning Presentation: Hand-Drawn Art, Jazz Soundtrack, and Voice Acting
Graphically Foolish Mortals is a real treat. The hand-drawn 2D animation and backgrounds are gorgeous with an art style “between The Curse of Monkey Island and Broken Sword”. Indeed, every locale (from decaying Bellemore Manor to misty bayou docks) is richly detailed, and even story moments get beautiful illustrations.
The audio is equally top-notch: Adventure Game Hotspot declares the soundtrack “one of the best of recent memory,” full of eerie drama and sudden crescendos. A highlight is the big blues/jazz song puzzle, a full band tune that really stands out. Everything is fully voiced by a talented cast: AJ LoCascio (from Back to the Future and LEGO Star Wars) plays Murphy, and the dialogue delivery is uniformly strong. Characters like the ghost bride Abigail and the grizzled specter Rackham are “expressive when speaking” and distinct personalities, helped immensely by the “outstanding voice acting all around”. In short, the production values rival those of big-budget games, even as a first-time effort by indie Inklingwood Studios, Foolish Mortals looks and sounds like a pro job.
Long Play Time, Great Value for Adventure Fans
Foolish Mortals isn’t a quick demo; it offers a full-length adventure. Reviewers clock the main story at roughly 10–12 hours of play (HowLongToBeat lists about 11 hours for the main story. For an indie game, that’s excellent bang-for-your-buck. It also comes with optional extras (an artbook, in-game diary, and soundtrack are available in deluxe editions) for a few dollars more.
So who should play Foolish Mortals? If you love classic adventure games (think Monkey Island, Grim Fandango or Broken Sword) you’ll feel right at home with its mix of humour, puzzles, and paranormal Southern charm. Even though I guessed part of the ending early, the emotional pay-off still hit me, this is a game that can make you laugh one minute and feel for its characters the next. Critics are already singing its praises, Steam review quotes call it “truly a masterpiece… destined to become the next modern classic” and give it about a 90% score.
- Nostalgic Story & Setting: A 1930s haunted island adventure full of witty ghost characters and Monkey Island–style humour.
- Challenge without Frustration: Classic point-and-click inventory puzzles (some quite fiendish) with an optional hint system and no dead-ends.
- Stunning Audio/Visuals: Gorgeous hand-drawn 2D art, atmospheric music (including a memorable jazz band tune), and fully voiced characters.
- Great Value: About 10–12 hours of gameplay (you can spend extra time poking around), for roughly $20 USD or INR 880.
In summary, Foolish Mortals is a witty, well-crafted point-and-click mystery puzzle game that feels like a love-letter to fans of LucasArts adventure classics. Its clever puzzles and hint system keep things flowing, while the spooky story and top-tier music/voice acting give it real soul. Whether you’re a hardcore “old school” adventurer or just looking for a cozy puzzle game, this one belongs on your wishlist. I can’t wait to see what Inklingwood Studios does next, they’ve set the bar high with this debut. For me this is genuinely one of the top three games I played this year.
If you found yourself grinning like a pirate and itching for more point-and-click adventures, you might want to check out a few other gems on the blog:
- The Darkside Detective Review Including Fumble in the Dark, a short, sharp pixel-art detective-mysteries with wicked humour and spooky vibes.
- Slender Threads Game Review, a darker, more atmospheric narrative-driven point-and-click thriller for those who like a bit of existential dread with their puzzles.
- 3 Games Like Monkey Island: The Best Indie Adventures You Haven’t Played, if you love the nostalgia of classic adventures, this curated list will have you loading up Steam faster than you can say “three-headed monkey.”
Happy adventuring! There’s plenty more nostalgia, spooky mysteries and pixel-art charm waiting once you step off Devil’s Rock.
This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla
