Game: Bilkins’ Folly
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam, (Windows) PS4 & PS5)
Developers | Publishers: Webbysoft | Armor Games Studios
Age Rating: US Teen | EU 12+
Price: US $19.99 | UK £16.75 | EU € 19,99
Release Date: October 2nd, 2023
Review code provided, with many thanks to Player Two PR.
Ahoy matey, weigh anchor as it’s time to go adventuring with Percival Bilkins in Bilkins’ Folly.
Revealed at last year’s Wholesome Direct for Nintendo Switch and other formats by Tasmanian developer Webbysoft, Bilkins’ Folly is an old-school pirate adventure. It’s a treasure-hunting puzzle game with a focus on cartography and exploration.
Treasure Hunter
Percival “Percy” Bilkins’ or Percy for short, grew up with treasure hunting in his blood. His Mother, Rosemary, and Grandfather, Winston, disappeared many years ago on a treasure-hunting adventure. Percy and his faithful companion, Drayton, the dog, decide it’s up to them to find Percy’s missing relatives. They set sail on a large wooden ship; unfortunately for Percy and Drayton, the ship gets caught in a storm, and the pair are shipwrecked.
Percy and Drayton are separated when they are washed up on a sandy beach on Lonely Palm Island. Percy must find Drayton and then find a way off the island to continue his search for his missing relatives. After finding a spade and cutting down a lone Palm tree, Percy and Drayton float away to Crabb Island, one of many islands Percy will visit on his quest.
As Percy, you’ll need to find a ship, build a crew, and take to the high seas, stopping to solve puzzles and find clues about where to go.
Bilkins’ Folly is an old-style adventure game where you are given maps to find treasure. Furthermore, you will talk to the many weird and wacky NPCs. At the same time, you explore unusual and lively islands riddled with history and mystery. You’ll also fish and participate in treasure-hunting competitions to earn useful gold, play fun minigames, and dig for many treasures.
Drayton
For me, the relationship between Percy and Drayton, his Dog, is the stand-out feature of Bilkins’ Folly. Drayton is one smart puppy and will become smarter as his bond with Percy grows.
You can pet Drayton, and as your bond with the dog grows, you earn skill points, which can be spent on Drayton’s skill tree, and Drayton will learn new skills to help Percy on his adventure. For example, you can command Drayton using a wheel of commands to jump across gaps in the environment or push an obstruction out of the way, making him a useful tool in Percy’s quest.
You’ll dig up lots of treasure with Drayton’s help as he sniffs out treasure and barks to let you know it’s buried in the ground. I wish my dog Zen were as smart as Drayton. I’d be a rich woman after our daily walks.
Puzzles and Maps
Like most classic point-and-click adventures, you’ll bond with many quirky, weird, and supernatural characters as you complete side quests and follow the storyline. I enjoyed the story, which has plenty of humour peppered throughout the 15 or so hours it takes to complete.
In Bilkins’ Folly, solving logic puzzles rather than item combinations lets you progress. There is a great variety of puzzles which I like. Most of the puzzles are logical, and most offer a challenge. Some puzzles are map-based, so you are given a map and ruler. You can put your cartography skills to use by mapping your steps along the right path to the treasure. Percy even counts out the steps he needs to take when you hold the ZR button. I liked using the ruler on the map and icons to mark where to hunt. It is a fun and unique addition to Percy’s arsenal of tools.
The puzzles are challenging, and while I got stuck on one particular puzzle for a while, I never felt frustrated. There is usually something else you can do in the meantime until inspiration strikes due to how the adventure is structured; you can return to a puzzle later.
Furthermore, no dedicated hint system exists, but quest-specific hints are found within NPCs’ dialogues. So, the onus is on you to pay attention during dialogue sequences.
Visuals and Controls
The pixel graphics are colourful, and I love the 1700s pirate theme and how Percy walks swinging his arms; he has a very determined stride.
Additionally, all the NPCs have very expressive animations and are so bouncy. From the very joyous movement of Drayton with his floppy ears to Percy’s wobbly walk, everyone bounces.
For younger players, it should be noted that some mild swear words do appear in the game’s text.
There is voice acting in Bilkins’ Folly, though it’s not English that the NPCs speak. Everyone talks like the Sims in a simlish-like way. I understand that indie developers sometimes have a small budget for voice acting, and using those options for voices works well in the game.
I did see some framerate issues on the Nintendo Switch, especially when Percy walks up or down; the framerate slows down, and sometimes, he pauses mid-step. It’s not game-breaking by any means, though it does break your immersion into the gameplay when it happens.
Conclusion
Ultimately, Bilkins’ Folly might be the game for you if you’re into adventure with puzzles, pirates, and dogs.
There is certainly plenty of buried treasure to be found and dug up in Bilkins’ Folly. After all, it is the main puzzle mechanic for the entire game. However, for me, Drayton is Bilkins’ Folly furry star, and yes, you can pet him as many times as you want.
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot 