| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| PlayStation 3 | 5.60 |
| Overall | 5.60 |
|
For most games there is usually a review that sticks out, for the most widely praised game that review is usually a very negative one where the reader feels that the reviewer basically had a stick up his ass when writing it. Well this is my stick up my ass review, wow I should have come up with a better phrase. Puppeteer is a poor side scroller; a well made game but with very simple gameplay. The premise of Puppeteer is very original; you are basically playing a play. The game screen is always bordered by a stage curtain and every level plays out on one screen, as you advance in the level the “set” changes to a new location. You hear the audience gasp as you battle giant monsters, laugh at the narrators jokes, and cheer when the hero Kutaro saves the day. It is all very charming and for the most part looks stunning. All the character models are made to look like they were made for a play, so everything is either stitched together or made with different objects glued together. In terms of concept, execution of the concept and the production value this game is a triumph and it’s really the only reason I am giving it a score in the positive range. Then there is what really matters, how it plays. Puppeteer is about as basic a platformer as you can get as all you will do is jumpover small chasms or easily cut your way through clearly marked areas. The game’s “hook” is Kutaro’s magic scissors which allows you to basically float as you cut objects. The way this works is usually say a smoke stack will release smoke clouds that are cutable so you cut along those smoke clouds up up up to your next area. There is basically no advanced gameplay to this mechanic, later on certain areas require you to stay within boundaries that can damage you or some make you cut at a steady pace to avoid rising lava for instance. Where you can cut is always clearly marked and you can only go in one direction, with no real input outside cutting and navigating. Basically almost no skill is required. There are also pieces of string that boost Kutaro when he cuts it. Once you cut a string you glide across the string and all you do is look out for a danger which either must be jumped over or picking between two paths as one leads to death the other continues the ride. All the danger points are clearly marked meaning you just have to be paying attention, the speed is rather slow and never does the game deviate from this boring formula, they simply get longer in length as the game goes on. We previewed Puppeteer Most of the levels have you playing through traditional side scroller levels where you simply jump over moving platforms and avoid traps. There is one regular baddie the entire game, just one, which is killed by cutting it a few times. New skills are unlocked at later levels which give Kutaro the ability to throw bombs, use a hookshot or perform a ground pound. These abilities work more like dressed up keys than any real gameplay enhancement because every single time the ability is needed it is clearly marked and you may only use it in that way. A bomb is always used to blow up an object with a bomb marker. Levels become a series of linear tasks, jump over this, bomb that, push this, cut that. The backgrounds change dramatically and the story goes on a gigantic adventure through nearly every cliche fantasy setting there is but the gameplay never evolves past the almost tutorial like state. There are 21 large levels, each take about 25 or so minutes to complete (a lot of that is cutscenes though). At the end of every single one is a boss battle. 21 boss battles, that sounds fantastic! It would if they all weren’t variations of the same battle. There are a few types but they begin to repeat and for the most part they feel like extensions of the regular level. They always follow the rule of three to a fault, prepare to follow the same pattern three times with almost no change to it. After 5 minutes of the same actions it gets boring real fast. They all end with a QTE, yes a QTE in a platformer?! Isn’t the entire point of the platformer to be the most pure gaming experience, where it is all about playing, QTEs have no business in them. Puppeteer is filled with hidden items and collectibles as any platformer should have. Kutaro discovers various heads to use, these serve as his life, if he losses all his heads (he can have 3 at a time) he dies. When he is hit the head bounces around as to give the player a short amount of time to recover it. Acquiring the heads is done by interacting with the background through the use of your fairy companion which is controlled with the right stick. Basically just navigate the cursor across the background and press interact on everything that looks interesting to see what it does. Many times you get some gems, other times you discover a new head. Each head has a specific move that is used in a specific spot. The move is purely cosmetic, its a funny action that you do in a spot where that head will flash on the screen; use the head action in that spot and you may be taken away to a bonus stage or given some help through the level. Every single head has a action point somewhere in the game world. There is no thinking required, absolutely no a-ha moment where you figured out use this head at this location, it is all completely telegraphed to you by the game. Every good platformer begins the game by introducing it’s concepts and easing you into using the characters various moves. The first world gives you basic tasks like do a long jump here, learn to fight various enemies and so on. Afterwards the entire game becomes about mixing and matching those skills into increasing challenges where the player needs to think and skillfully navigate the game world. New elements are constantly being introduced to augment those initial skills. Puppeteer got stuck in the tutorial phase and never got out of it. It’s over ten hours of what would be world 1 of any respectable platformer. Maybe the issue is that this game is not for me, it is absolutely made for children. The story feels like a children storybook with very little cleverness that adults can enjoy. There is way too much narrative, this feels like the MGS of platformers. Every level starts with like a 4 minute cutscene. None of it worked for me, I disliked the story, I found all the humor to miss the mark and I did not like what I was playing. Oh and a sort of aside here as I have a 3D TV but I understand most don’t. This game was clearly made with 3D in mind as every few minutes something is flying at the screen for a 3D gag. Well the 3D effect on the TV is terrible in this game, there is almost no pop to it. It blows my mind that they could make a game all about 3D effects and then completely ruin the actual effect on the TV. I am quite baffled at the general scores this game received by the media. Maybe I shouldn’t as stories, themes and production values have been getting more attention than gameplay these days. I understand this is a well made game, there is nothing actually bad with it. Puppeteer is basically an entry level course to platformers, Platforming 101 if you will. I am an advanced student in platformers,I found this game to be incredibly boring. |
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Posted by Dvader Sat, 08 Feb 2014 21:05:47
Sat, 08 Feb 2014 22:22:27
So this game isn't the second coming that it was touted to be?
Sat, 08 Feb 2014 22:45:54
Felt the same way. I fell for the hype, loved the premise, played it for an hour, then never wanted to play it again. This is one I truly do not understand the praise it receives. If I didn't know better, I would think that Sony said: "Hey, website dudes. Give the Puppeteer a good review and we'll give you exclusive info on the PS4!" This game came out just as PS4 hype started to rise and was met with nearly universal praise, and it clearly did not deserve it.
Sat, 08 Feb 2014 23:37:59
Unless the second coming was shit, then no.
Sat, 08 Feb 2014 23:38:30
Leo I need to develop that skill you have where you stop playing games you don't like.
Sun, 09 Feb 2014 15:02:39
You just can't appreciate charming games. 
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