Puppeteer review: behind the curtain

I have a deep and abiding love for Monty Python. You might not immediately see the relevance of this statement, but let me put it in context. Monty Python, or rather the animator Terry Gilliam, played with the viewer’s sense of the theatrical, by setting up a stage on which the 2D cutout characters performed for the audience.

Puppeteer, which I was lucky enough to have a one-on-one with at E3, is a wonderful example of a similar theatrical sensibility. Developed by SCE Japan Studio, the entire game is set within the boundaries of the stage, red velvet (or at least velvet textured) curtains, props and all. It’s not without its faults but on the whole it’s charming, eccentric and has an excess of personality.

Rich stage design is a definite highlight

Puppeteer is a side-scrolling platformer for PS3 and tells the story of a boy named Kutaro, who has unfortunately been turned into a puppet by the villainous Moon Bear King, and subsequently decapitated. This sounds gory and gruesome, and okay it kind of is, but in a quirky move, the developers have introduced substitute heads, each with their own unique abilities that you must collect as you progress. Being able to “use your head” so to speak, as a weapon is an innovative way of dealing with enemies, and combined with the magical scissors Calibrus that you must steal from the Moon Bear King, Kutaro has a more formidable arsenal than you would have thought possible at his disposal.

Calibrus can cut through pretty much anything, and the set is a wonderful construction of paper and fabric that demonstrate this on a variety of levels. You don’t just control Kutaro however, your right analogue stick also a controls a sidekick — Ying Yang, a ghostly cat who helps you along the way, finding new heads and examining foreign objects, or the Sun Princess (who I personally found really annoying), both of which also help you collect Moon Stone Shards which grant extra lives if you collect enough of them.

Sadly there are some missed opportunities with the heads — the concept has real potential to be able to break up what can become somewhat monotonous platforming gameplay, but Puppeteer never really seems to push it much further than the odd special move or ability. The heads end up being mostly cosmetic and for those of you who are trophy chasers I’m sure there is probably one for collecting every head in the game.

On many levels Puppeteer is obviously influenced by Little Big Planet — the cutesy handmade look and feel of the characters and levels, the platforming style, and the similarities between the two are obvious. The content is perhaps a little more gruesome but based on the success of the LBP franchise I can see how this style of game would appeal to a similar crowd.

It animates beautifully

It’s gorgeous to look at, ingeniously designed in terms of characters, although the level design while visually appealing is not particularly imaginative. The voice acting is also wonderful. Theatrical and rich, humorous, witty, exactly what you need from a narrator. The characters do go on a bit at times, and this can get somewhat irritating, especially for those gamers who aren’t playing for the (sometimes cliched but still lovable) characters and storyline.

Gameplay wise, it’s a pretty standard platformer, set apart from others mostly by the aesthetic quality, music and quirkiness. On the whole the controls aren’t bad but they could be better and more imaginatively utilised. I avoided using the Move controller to control my sidekicks because it felt clumsy and unnatural for me and I can’t see many gamers embracing this control system. I ended up reverting back to the controller because it was, quite simply, easier.

Verdict:

Puppeteer will delight those who take pleasure in the absurd, the quirky, the theatrical. I love the aesthetics, and only wish SCE Japan Studio had pushed the limits of this game a bit further. It’s not the best game to be released this year, but it’s enjoyable enough to pass the time when you just want some time out without playing something too challenging.

Score: 7/10