Puppeteer

pro

An immaculate presentation of endless creativity set in a world so beautifully crafted it just might set your heart on fire. Those were my initial thoughts as the credits rolled and the adventure of Kutaro in his search for the moon stones came to an end. Puppeteer is 7 acts of vibrant colors, fun gameplay and solid mechanics wrapped in a story that is both self-aware and referential. The narrative is for the most part a stroke of genius where storytelling and banter merges and flows effortlessly through the entire game. More than anything Puppeteer is an original game so detailed and polished it's hard to tell what more it could've been. It is all presented as being a stage act, complete with intermission and an active audience that laughs, oooh's and awww's as the story unfolds on stage.

pro

It is a beautiful and sharp looking game. I would even go as far as to recommend trying it out in 3D. No color scheme is off limits and every act contains exciting worlds of various themes. Most of these look absolutely gorgeous. The attention to detail can be overwhelming with all the things happening in the background as characters and environments live their own lives. Some of these are part of the story, and some can only be triggered by you. The transition between sets is a fun, good looking detail that I never really got tired of. Watching the stage twist and turn and pieces falling into place in order to set the stage is highly amusing and cleverly done.

pro

The story is narrated through excellent writing and good voice overs. You will meet a host of quirky and original characters on your way, and they are all distinguishable and unique. They join you for shorter or longer times, some across the game, some through several acts and some just pop in to say or do something crazy never to be seen again.

pro

Puppeteer strikes a fine balance between difficulty, progression and mechanics. Some might look for a tougher challenge, but I think most people will find that it hits the sweet spot. It is a very solid platformer and the abilities you are given to traverse levels and defeat enemies are easy to get into, but a tiny bit tougher to perfect.

pro

Puppeter's boss fights are fun, really engaging and at times completely hilarious. They usually follow a predictable pattern of how you go about doing things, but the way they are presented and played is damn near flawless. The personalities of the characters you battle plays a big role in this, and from a gameplay perspective it's great. I even found myself forgiving the quick time events.

con

Puppeter comes off as a very confident game. Maybe too much for its own good in terms of narration. Sometimes there is just too much talking that doesn't necessarily uphold the overall quality of the writing, and that can quickly get annoying. Some of the cutscenes are a minute longer than they really need to be to tell the story.

con

Vibrant and dynamic scenery is good, but sometimes there is so much going on with things flying around, exploding colors and moving parts that it becomes impossible to distinguish what hurts you and what doesn't. Suddenly you find your head rolling away and you have no idea why.