Folly of the Wizards is one of those games that immediately told me not to take it too seriously — and then quietly surprised me with how much depth it actually has. I went in expecting a goofy little roguelike with slapstick spellcasting and chaotic dungeons, but the more I played, the more I realized it’s doing a lot more than just making fun of itself.

You play as a disaster-prone wizard apprentice in what is essentially the least competent magical cult imaginable. The game leans into that tone hard: spells misfire, enemies look like they were designed by someone fueled entirely by caffeine and chaos, and even the “elite” wizards you meet are equal parts powerful and insufferable. It’s genuinely funny in a way a lot of comedy roguelikes aren’t — it doesn’t rely on constant jokes, it’s just naturally unhinged in its worldbuilding.

The actual gameplay loop is surprisingly strong. Each run gives you access to a massive pool of relics, tomes, and scrolls — more than I expected, honestly — and this is where the game really finds its identity. Relics give you passive boosts, tomes change your elemental attack flavor, and scrolls add cooldown spells that feel game-changing when used right. I found myself experimenting way more than I planned to, trying to discover goofy-but-powerful combos that turned my clumsy wizard into something resembling a threat.

I also liked that your social choices actually matter. The wizards you meet aren’t just set dressing — you can flatter them, annoy them, befriend them, or challenge them, and those interactions shape how your run plays out. I wasn’t expecting a relationship system in a game that looks like a magical cartoon meltdown, but it works and adds personality to every run.

The procedural dungeons are solid, if familiar, but the variety of biomes helps with the pacing. Knowing there are 22 bosses and multiple endings kept me motivated to keep pushing farther. Some runs really feel like you’re scraping by with duct tape and prayer, while others make you feel like you accidentally became a god because two relics interacted in the dumbest, most beautiful way.

If there’s one thing I’d caution players about, it’s that the game really embraces its silliness — which is part of its charm, but might not land for someone looking for a more serious or mechanically tight roguelike. For me, though, the tone made failures more amusing than frustrating. When my wizard got roasted, exploded, bullied by a master mage, and flattened by a boss all in the span of 30 seconds, I laughed instead of groaned.

Folly of the Wizards is the kind of roguelike that succeeds because it knows exactly what it wants to be: funny, chaotic, mechanically flexible, and endlessly replayable. It’s lighthearted without being shallow, and chaotic without being sloppy — a tricky balance that a lot of humor-driven games don’t pull off.

If you want a roguelike that lets you experiment, laugh at your own incompetence, and occasionally feel like an accidental genius, this one is absolutely worth your time.