The Phantom Fellows

A darn funny point and click that's kinda reminiscent of The Frighteners. It stars a fella named Oliver who has a spiritual connection with a ghost named Englebert Picklebender. The two of them run their own business, The Phantom Fellows, where they go around solving problems and exorcising ornery spirits from properties. They do so with gusto, and much goofy dialogue. Adventure game players who feel the pressing need to click the Look icon on everything, be aware! Almost all objects on a single screen are clickable with a witty description (ie: "Out of all animals, horses are easily the most farted on.") and I honestly don't think I've played another adventure that featured quite so many hotspots. The Phantom Fellows also serves up a really neat trick of using Englebert as an in-game tipline. Whenever you're stuck, you can ask him what to do next, and he'll parse out the tips in an easy-to-follow manner that kinda resembles one of Sierra's old hint books, minus the need to wear 3D glasses. This wonderfully eliminates the eventual problem of "oh crap, I'm stuck after endlessly failing at combining items in my inventory; guess I got to go online for a walkthrough." The closest thing I can compare it to is Sophia Hapgood in Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, but honestly, Sophia was pretty garbage at serving as a tipline in comparison to Englebert. As far as critiques go, the most I can say is that there's a LOT of reading in The Phantom Fellows, and it approaches visual novel levels at moments, especially during one of the in-game days where the puzzles give way to interviewing people, Ace Attorney-style, and all you're doing is travelling between NPCs and asking questions off of a checklist. Oliver's wacky musings on everything also get a tad old by the endgame, as there are a lot of moments where he babbles in cringe to Englebert and whoever else will listen. Some of this should probably be cut down for The Phantom Fellows 2, as we don't need quite SO many instances of him pausing in conversation to deliberate on the zing of the pun he just delivered. And that's my other critique - the game ends on a note that very clearly promises a sequel, and I wanted more resolution! That said, The Phantom Fellows is clearly a labor of love that worships the altar of Sierra and LucasArts, and channels their spirit (harhar, how appropriate) very nicely. If you dug Roger Wilco or Guybrush back in the day, you'll dig this!

I'm not sure about this one. I tend to really like point and click games, but this one is definitely one of the weaker I played. I played through 4 out of 7 days, and I'm not sure I will play the rest. It's kind of funny (for the most part, sometimes the dialogue goes on and on and on....) but the puzzle design and the quite frankly bafflingly bad UI, does sour the mood. The puzzles are a mixed bag, there are several ways to solve some puzzles, and that's always nice but quite often it's the worst kind of moon logic that would make the "Goat puzzle" in Broken Sword tell them to take it down a notch. And no, I don't think making self aware jokes about moon logic makes it any better. That the UI is just garbage, doesn't exactly help either. It's extremely unintuitive and clunky, right clicking to cycle what action you want to perform while having one of your actions being the last inventory item you clicked on is just bad design. There is also nothing indicating what is interactable and when you are actually clicking on the thing you want or not. Can be especially frustrating when you move a inventory object obscuring much of the screen and trying to click on the correct spot. Most of the graphics is really nice, with huge chunky pixles, a bit like The Last Door, (but the inventory items looks kind of bad) and the synthwave soundtrack is great. I want to like it more, but having played a ton of much better point and click games, i'm not sure i can recomend this, The puzzles is one thing, but when you are fighting the UI it does make for a pretty bad experience.

If there was ever a game that should be made into a TV show or movie, it's this one. It has totally original humor and characters with the kind of sharp, clever banter and natural chemistry that shows and movies would kill for nowadays. Honestly it's probably the best written dialog I've ever seen in a game, indie or AAA. Cannot believe the entire game was by 1 person, it's so good on so many levels - 10/10

Only 20 minutes in and already find the dialogue EXTREMELY annoying. These developers are trying way too hard to be funny. The main characters comment on everything. Their jokes are corny and very longwinded. They argue like a married couple instead of a pair of old friends. There's no such thing as a straight answer in this game. It's as though the writers were a bunch of shut-ins not used to human contact. And they just wanted to share all the HILARIOUS jokes they built up over the months they were working on this game. Funny dialogue is cool, but not at the expense of all else. Even when you try to quit the game, the narrator argues with you for a minute before it will actually close out. The other problem is that nothing is labeled. So you just have to walk around and click everything. And when you do, you'll get more HYSTERICAL dialogue like "that feels like a door." The tutorial tells us that pixel hunting is part of the fun of the game and reminds you to click on everything you see (because they wrote funny descriptions and don't want you to miss any of it!) The problem is that this is a pixelated game so it's very difficult to tell what is an object and what is just scenery. It takes up a lot of time doing this. But not to worry. More funny dialogue is on the way! Going to try to play the game all the way through, but so far it's a bust.

This is my new favorite adventure game. It's super funny. The characters are unique and original and they respond to things in the most unexpected and funny ways. I found myself clicking on everything in every room, as both characters, just to see what they were going to say. You get a different response for every single thing in the game it's awesome. There's a lot of little almost hidden things to find and do, like you can talk to the stars to make a "wish" which I found by accident. There's easter eggs and little scenes to be found everywhere. The more you look, the more you find. The puzzles are fun, they feel a part of the story. The dialog hint system was great, you can get just what you need to keep moving forward. Each day in the game is a really fun story that unfolds and there wasn't a weak spot, the stories are all fun, funny and interesting in their own ways. Once you can travel around town you run into characters from before and it feels really cozy. The soundtrack is a gem. Retro synth vibes, really fits the whole feeling of the game. Probably the best point and click adventure game I've played. It's rare that something can make me laugh like this game did. I'm looking forward to the next one!

This was NOT my cup of tea. Felt like a less funny and interesting copycat of Darkside Detective.

I loved this game! I honestly did not know what to expect since I do not have the best track record with adventure games (mostly played on the 80s and early 90s). But the fact that this game has the aesthetic of the 80s (pixelart, synth music, neon glow, etc) with the updates of the modern age (likes GUI, works on the Steamdeck) makes it all the more awesome. I am amazed that one man made pretty much the whole thing - hats off to Paul Korman for the snazzy writing, music, art, and programming. This is a great one to enjoy this winter with a cup of your favorite whatever to enjoy together. Highly recommended!

Updating this after completion: What a delightful little love letter to the golden age of point and click adventure gaming. Fun, cute, funny game with some adult humor that doesn't get TOO raunchy and interesting mechanics. There are a few points where I wish it was a bit more clear on what I needed to do next (or just how to do it), but having an in-game hint system with Englebert helps a lot! I am so excited for the sequel!

First off, don't let the pixelated graphics turn you off to this very much well made point-and-click adventure game. I've played plenty of games in this art style and while the artwork isn't high definition the story and humor make up for it in spades. Really, Phantom Fellows is actually pretty funny, and I found myself chuckling at some of the jokes and references to adventure games and the adventure game community. You play as a lovable fool and his dapper ghost friend...sidekick...whatever as they solve hauntings and just make asses of themselves. I wasn't quite sure what I was in for, but I'm so glad that I gave this one a shot. Well worth it in my opinion.

Wow, what a game. It really blows my mind how much content the dev was able to smush into an incredibly playful (mostly), zany, humorous adventure game. It has quite a bit of dialogue, but the banter back & forth between the protagonist & his “dead” sidekick is really worth the read. Lots of great sarcastic wit and Easter eggs/classic references to keep you entertained for literally hours…and hours. I was able to get it to work on Steam Deck too, which is a huge plus. Looks like there’s the possibility of a sequel as well…very exciting! Honestly—it’s one of the best adventure games of 2024, so at the very least—check out the demo if you haven’t already. 🙌🏼