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Genre: Adventure Developer & Publisher: Inklingwood Studios Released: November 5, 2025 Requirements: OS: Windows 10 or higher Processor: Minimum, 1.8 Ghtz; Recommended, 2,6 Ghtz dual-core Memory: Minimum 2 GB RAM; Recommended, 4 GB RAM Graphics: Video card with at least 512 MB shared VRAM & OpenGL 2.0 support Storage: 8 GB available space
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By flotsam Inklingwood Studios As a perceptive person said about this game (not me, I stole it), “you only have to see a screenshot to know that you have to play it.” But don’t take our words for it. Take a look up above, and then come back and try and tell me it’s wrong. Foolish Mortals is everything that is good about this type of point-and-click adventure. Whilst we will get more into the weeds as we work through this review, as a general proposition there is arguably nothing that needed tweaking, let alone reworking. On that basis, feel free to just go and play it. Or read on for a more fulsome analysis. The game casts you in the role of Murphy McCallan, an auditor cum treasure hunter in 1933, newly arrived at a small island off the coast of Louisiana. Devil's Rock it’s called, and the fact that the taxi drops you off short of the town of Deadnettle and won't go any closer is probably not a good sign. What unfolds is a lavish tale involving ghosts and broken hearts and treasure and murder and black magic, as well as a shrunken head called Ted, a granny goldfish, and a supernatural pistol duel. Not to mention a platypus phobia and ‘fishy’ puns. Murphy finds himself the key player in the goings on. Unwitting at first, he is very much witting down the track, a result of what he learns and what he discerns about himself. He unleashes a spook-fest and then sets out to resolve it. Growth is such a good thing. Characterisation is a highlight. Murphy might be the centre of things but the plethora of characters he will encounter (more than 35 apparently) all hold up their end of the bargain. They are expressive and loquacious in equal measure, as well as witty and incisive and excellently voiced. Be they corporeal or otherwise, grown up or not, all are worth your adventuring conversation. The story is equally engaging. It seems what it is until it becomes something different. Elements are unfolded by different characters, aspects are narrated by Murphy. Your appreciation will be enhanced by your willingness to chat, so be sure to speak to everyone fulsomely to get all the detail. We have already established that the game world is a vibrant and detailed place to be. The hand-drawn backgrounds are gorgeously elaborate, vividly colourful and chock full of stuff. Much of it you can look at, some of it you can interact with, and certain bits and pieces can be taken. Save for the characters each screen is predominantly still, but what motion there might be accentuates the nature of the particular scene or possibly a key element in the puzzling. Along with the sound-effects and the ambient sound, at all times a dynamic impression was conveyed. The soundtrack helped too. Regular readers will know I have a complicated relationship with soundtracks, often turning them down or even completely off. I did turn this one down, but not so much that I couldn’t discern its varied orchestral tones, be they understated or dramatic, moody or frenetic. As an underpinning to my adventuring it worked extremely well. Turning the volume up or down on things like voice or soundtrack isn’t unusual but I can’t recall a game where so much was customisable. As well as the usual culprits (e.g., auditory streams, subtitles), there is the capacity to turn on save game recaps, turn off timed puzzles, and determine how often you get a dynamic hint. I did turn off the timed puzzles and can imagine on reflection where that might have come into play, but the dynamic hint slider I left alone. What that controls is how long it takes Murphy to wander around without progress before he will ponder out loud about what he could do next. Which I suspect you will need. This is a big game with more than 75 separate locations, and things can change after the first visit. You will go back and forth, by both design and just cos you’re stuck, and Murphy saying something like “I should go back to the beach” can reduce a whole lot of frustration. How much is up to you, so you can slide the hint bar up or slide it all the way down. And even then, you are in control. Hit the H key and regardless of your settings, Murphy will pontificate. The hint might be specific or general, but it will certainly provide a focus for what's next. Yet if that isn’t enough, your journal contains a far more detailed stepped solution to everything that might frustrate Murphy. So regardless of how tricky or obvious the solution, help is readily to hand. Whilst I dipped into the journal a few times, the H key was my go-to hint. Whilst there are a few outright puzzles (and very good they are) the bulk of the conundrums are inventory based. A fair degree of my stuckness was not having found the necessary item, or not being able to discern the relevant usage of one or more items. There are a lot of these conundrums and a lot of items (over 100 say the makers), and the ability to have Murphy say “there is something in the basement that might help” made a difference. Which isn’t to say that I didn’t relish solving things myself, and experiencing that little frisson of excitement when I did so. I reckon I did about 80% on my own, and I loved it. That I wasn’t hopelessly stuck because e.g., I hadn’t gone back to the place where there hadn’t been an item I needed the last time I was there suited me. Feel free to backtrack un-aided, but know help is at hand should you want it. You can save at will and you have seemingly unlimited save slots. It’s largely point-and-click although the keyboard will pull up shortcuts to certain aspects (e.g., the map). Said map will enable you to fast travel between locations, double clicking will jump Murphy to an exit from a scene, or cause him to run within the scene. Space bar reveals hot-spots, which will again assist your exploration. There are at least 10-12 hours here, and more depending on your hint usage. If I could change anything it would be that I wasn’t limited to playing on my laptop. Certain items weren’t obvious on the basis of the small screen and my aging eyesight. Plus the visuals demanded a widescreen format. None of which is the game’s fault. I reckon it’s a classic in waiting. I played on: Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Intel I7 Ultra, 2.2GHz Intel Arc 140V GPU, 16 GB 32 GB RAM Windows 11, 64 Bit
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