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Judgement: Recommended
View review on Steam
Don't let the thumbs up mislead you: “The Jester and the Madman” has its flaws but my reasons for recommending this game are a bit deeper than just “I enjoyed playing it”. So bear with me and read the full review before deciding whether you should try this game or not.
When we start the game, we get a warning about “J&M” being the second episode of Rick Moreton’s adventures. Despite a short recap in the beginning of the game, I decided to finish the first episode, titled “Curse of the Old Gods” (Steam, 2017)… And that’s the main reason for the thumbs up. “J&M” is better in every aspect: better UI, better graphics, better puzzles, etc. This shows that the developer is improving his skills, and I really want him to continue his journey until he delivers us a (not-so-hidden) gem.
Now, let’s get to the game itself. The core mechanic is point-and-click so if you’re a fan of this genre – no reason not to try the game. There’s no pixel-hunting (huge plus): more than that, you can use UI (or RMB) to show you every interactable point of each scene. But don’t worry, some of these objects are just for the lore and atmosphere so you won’t be left in the situation where you don't have to use your brain.
Speaking of brains, let's move on to the puzzles and mini-games. I really liked them. They’re diverse in both form and intelligence needed to solve them but none are beyond your capacities if you follow the story. I was stuck a couple of times but managed to get through, so you can do that as well. But if you’re desperate, the developer wrote a guide that can carry you through (not to the good ending but, at least, to the end of the game), you can access it from the game. Honestly, not a fan of that decision as it prevents main puzzles being discussed by the players and, thus, reduces the number of times it’s mentioned online, but I can understand that: at least no one will be frustrated by being stuck and drop the game because of that. There was only one mini-game I disliked. And one mini-game is fine but failing it can be confusing. I’ll talk about them in comments.
In-game story is nice. It doesn’t add anything revolutionary but it delivers on its promises and doesn’t have loose ends. There are two characters (farm-lady and gas seller) who are pretty random and are there just to deliver unexpected results but again, ok, minor issues. We have two playable characters now, I liked that addition, but Rick is, of course, in the main one. And, as said in the description, it’s connected to the Lovecraft world – again, if you’re a fan, you’ll be glad to stumble upon some references.
Music. It’s there, it doesn’t sound off, it follows the story. Though nothing will likely be included in your playlist. But I didn’t want to turn it off even when I was stuck in some areas so it fulfills its purpose. Again, there was one mini-game where I’d prefer to have one additional sound.
Finally, to the part, that some may find controversial: using AI in voice-over and images. Let me keep it short: I understand their usage when we’re talking about a solo-dev (with some help with the music). There’re tons of overpriced asset-flip games on Steam and I have no idea how someone can rate them higher. Of course, AI generation brings all its flaws with it: voice lines are different in tone within one character, there’s not much emotion in them, images of characters are slightly different when used in different scenes. But if you hate AI voices, you can mute dialogues and just read the text. As for images – they don’t feel too off. Anyway, the game is about story and puzzles and not about taking screenshots to be hung in the Louvre. Graphics overall is up to your liking, I’ll just repeat that it’s much better than in the first episode (and still has a room for improvement).
I’ll end with price/quality ration. For me, it’s excellent. For $5 you get about 4 hours of gameplay. It took me about 4.5h to beat the game, and if you’re smarter than me, you may finish it in 3.5h. Plus I don’t think you’ll be able to get a perfect score in one go so it has replay value for those who are eager to have 100% of achievements. Regional prices are also available.
Well done, keep going.
When we start the game, we get a warning about “J&M” being the second episode of Rick Moreton’s adventures. Despite a short recap in the beginning of the game, I decided to finish the first episode, titled “Curse of the Old Gods” (Steam, 2017)… And that’s the main reason for the thumbs up. “J&M” is better in every aspect: better UI, better graphics, better puzzles, etc. This shows that the developer is improving his skills, and I really want him to continue his journey until he delivers us a (not-so-hidden) gem.
Now, let’s get to the game itself. The core mechanic is point-and-click so if you’re a fan of this genre – no reason not to try the game. There’s no pixel-hunting (huge plus): more than that, you can use UI (or RMB) to show you every interactable point of each scene. But don’t worry, some of these objects are just for the lore and atmosphere so you won’t be left in the situation where you don't have to use your brain.
Speaking of brains, let's move on to the puzzles and mini-games. I really liked them. They’re diverse in both form and intelligence needed to solve them but none are beyond your capacities if you follow the story. I was stuck a couple of times but managed to get through, so you can do that as well. But if you’re desperate, the developer wrote a guide that can carry you through (not to the good ending but, at least, to the end of the game), you can access it from the game. Honestly, not a fan of that decision as it prevents main puzzles being discussed by the players and, thus, reduces the number of times it’s mentioned online, but I can understand that: at least no one will be frustrated by being stuck and drop the game because of that. There was only one mini-game I disliked. And one mini-game is fine but failing it can be confusing. I’ll talk about them in comments.
In-game story is nice. It doesn’t add anything revolutionary but it delivers on its promises and doesn’t have loose ends. There are two characters (farm-lady and gas seller) who are pretty random and are there just to deliver unexpected results but again, ok, minor issues. We have two playable characters now, I liked that addition, but Rick is, of course, in the main one. And, as said in the description, it’s connected to the Lovecraft world – again, if you’re a fan, you’ll be glad to stumble upon some references.
Music. It’s there, it doesn’t sound off, it follows the story. Though nothing will likely be included in your playlist. But I didn’t want to turn it off even when I was stuck in some areas so it fulfills its purpose. Again, there was one mini-game where I’d prefer to have one additional sound.
Finally, to the part, that some may find controversial: using AI in voice-over and images. Let me keep it short: I understand their usage when we’re talking about a solo-dev (with some help with the music). There’re tons of overpriced asset-flip games on Steam and I have no idea how someone can rate them higher. Of course, AI generation brings all its flaws with it: voice lines are different in tone within one character, there’s not much emotion in them, images of characters are slightly different when used in different scenes. But if you hate AI voices, you can mute dialogues and just read the text. As for images – they don’t feel too off. Anyway, the game is about story and puzzles and not about taking screenshots to be hung in the Louvre. Graphics overall is up to your liking, I’ll just repeat that it’s much better than in the first episode (and still has a room for improvement).
I’ll end with price/quality ration. For me, it’s excellent. For $5 you get about 4 hours of gameplay. It took me about 4.5h to beat the game, and if you’re smarter than me, you may finish it in 3.5h. Plus I don’t think you’ll be able to get a perfect score in one go so it has replay value for those who are eager to have 100% of achievements. Regional prices are also available.
Well done, keep going.
Review posted on 16/11/2025, 06:38:00.