In his free time, police officer Rick enjoys exploring houses allegedly haunted. His latest pursuit, however, sounds more like a case for the boys back at base. Screaming has been heard coming from an abandoned house once belonging to a late ventriloquist. If that wasn’t enough, the last person brave enough to investigate never returned. This isn’t so much an unsolved mystery but a potential crime scene! Instead of getting a squad of door-kickers together, Rick chooses to investigate on his own – and off the clock too. Although this set-up isn’t exactly watertight, it does successfully provide a sense of intrigue.
After scouting the outside of the ramshackle property and finding a way in, it isn’t long until Rick stumbles on an eerie ventriloquist’s doll, which much to his surprise, is alive. This murderous toy appears at scripted moments, often commencing a QTE sequence as you try to get away. As they scurry back into the shadows, they regularly leave previously locked doors open, allowing you to progress. While the doll never speaks, it soon becomes apparent that they’re leading Rick somewhere, with this 3 hour (approx.) first person adventure set within the titular dilapidated house, the structures outside, and eventually away from the property.
Although the script is fully voice acted, there is a certain hokeyness to it all. Rick has a gruff voice which the vocal artist is clearly ‘putting on’ rather than using their natural voice. It also commits the sin of having dialogue that doesn’t match up with subtitles, with words occasionally substituted for others. One thing that’s conveyed well though is Rick’s dislike for the doll, becoming increasingly infuriated with its attempts to maim. It’s almost to the point where the main objective of finding the missing person is put on the backseat.
While Puppet House has dozens of puzzles to solve, with most rooms containing at least one, few can actually be considered as bona fide brain teasers. Scattered around are not just creepy illustrations of the ventriloquist and his doll, but also puzzle solutions – more often than not discovered before the puzzle itself. Padlock combinations, safe codes, lever settings, fuse box configurations and more are often found jotted down in nearby rooms to where they’re needed, with Rick taking a photo of each note to add to his notebook. As puzzles are unique, it’s usually obvious which solution relates to which puzzle. There’s even a shooting range puzzle…with the solution etched into the woodwork. The only possible way to become stuck in Puppet House is if you happen to overlook something, which due to the game’s linear nature is quite unlikely – the larger outdoor area not withstanding.
As there’s no combat here (aside from the QTE events) you never need to worry about restoring health or creating save points – it’s pretty straightforward in that regard. Indeed, if you’re going into Puppet House expecting the doll to be AI controlled and activated by noise and line of sight, then you’re in for disappointment as it’s the developers pulling the strings. Later though Rick can take damage from traps that appear within the property, prompting a checkpoint reload.
The storyline, then, is doing a lot of heavy lifting. It’s compelling enough to see the battle through until the end, with a couple of revelations along the way – and it certainly helps that this is a fleeting experience, easily beatable in one or two sittings. The pacing is both surprisingly and pleasingly swift. It also helps that Puppet House is reasonably good looking. A few years behind the times perhaps, with inconsistent texture work to blame, but still quite appealing in places, with a respectable amount of detail. Rick occasionally has access to a torch, which lights up the environment realistically, making a big difference from trying to navigate using moonlight.
In addition to falling short when it comes to puzzles, Puppet House isn’t a particularly scary horror game either. On one hand, it’s refreshing to see that it doesn’t rely on stuffy well-worn horror tropes. On the other, the actual ‘horror’ elements here are tame and mostly focus on the creepiness of the doll in general. The achievement names are also quite ‘jokey’ which doesn’t suit the sinister tone the developers were obviously going for. While I didn’t feel that my time exploring the titular abode was wasted, it didn’t exactly leave my nerves shot and my brain frazzled either. It’s competently enough put together to warrant a look, but only if you’re seeking a more casual entry into the horror genre.
Gaming Factory’s Puppet House is out 24th October on PS5, Xbox Series and PC.