At least once per console generation a developer will latch onto the concept of puppets and stage shows, with past examples including Puppeteer, The Gunstringer, and Dynamite Headdy, along with traces of cardboard stage-like level design also found in the likes of Little Big Planet and Fable Heroes. It’s a set-up that always generates a buzz. A heady mixture of the grandeur of the theatre, the allure of the spotlights, and the thrill of being centre stage. If the name of this game didn’t give it away, it’s time once again for an adventure spread across literal stages.
Taking the form of a side-scrolling platformer with puzzle elements, Once Upon A Puppet begins with the introduction of stagehand Nieve – a floating hand, who’s a dab…hand…at weaving. After creating a new outfit for The King, she finds herself thrown into the ‘understage’ wasteland – the resting place of everything The King declares worthless. Suffice it to say, the flippant fiend was not impressed with Nieve’s fine needlework. It’s within this wasteland that Nieve meets Drev, a wooden puppet adorned with a lopsided candle. An incident leaves the two intertwined, with Nieve left pulling the strings. Together they journey through the ‘understage’ – a world populated by harmless scavengers and friendly castaways, enemies formed from scrap, and more besides. Guiding their way is The Oracle, an elderly former playwright. She also narrates the cut-scenes, with remaining dialogue being text only – of which there’s a lot to wade through, with even minor NPCs spouting a paragraph or two when approached.
You’re free to run around the side-on viewed environments with Drev blessed with the usual actions we’ve come to expect from a typical platformer star, such as double jumping and the ability to pull objects. Over time, more actions are introduced, such as being able to fling Drev through the air, fire projectiles with a bow, and swing from hooks. Everything interactable is coloured neon blue, and button prompts also appear when near. While combat does feature, it takes a backseat until the final chapter – making it a case of avoiding enemies until then, some of which explode upon contact. Fortunately, checkpoints are frequent – which also makes the number of minor glitches tolerable, with Drev occasionally clipping through scenery.
The combat system being on a temporary hiatus also means no boss battles until the final curtain. In their absence, larger scale puzzle sequences known as ‘fractured stages’ feature. Here, you’re tasked with reassembling a large stage by moving statues into their correct marked locations, adjusting stage lights, yanking around scenery, and so forth. One entails forming silhouettes by lining up objects perfectly, while another has you relocating statues via an underground lift. Progress can be tricky, forcing you to simply roam the environment looking for an overlooked switch, or a statue that hasn’t ‘clicked’ into place.
There are a lot of instances throughout where I wished the camera were a bit closer, or a location better lit. Often, the camera is zoomed out to give a full view of an area, even obscuring Nieve’s finger pointing hints, and many environments are shrouded in darkness. The controls can be finicky too, requiring Drev to be stood in exactly the right spot to interact with something.
A chapter typically sees our duo indulge in a spot of platforming, double jumping across platforms, moving blocks into place, flipping switches, rotating wheels, and lowering bridges before mixing things up with a set piece. When a new ability is introduced it’ll be used heavily throughout that chapter, appearing only sparingly thereafter. A good example is the stage where the bow and arrow are introduced. It’s laden with targets to shoot – mostly for puzzle solving purposes – but after this, the bow is seldom used, making way for the latest ability. Frantic chase scenes, a spot of stealth, and one tower climb scene based on precision platforming feature to help induce variety while making each chapter feel unique. There’s just enough variety to keep things interesting, and that’s despite some areas being reused, albeit with minor makeovers.
The lavish presentation is able to justify the £24.99 price tag. It’s a nice looking game, with each chapter having a theme, and on the rare occasions the camera is zoomed in you’ll notice intricate details within the backgrounds. Drev can equip different costumes, while other collectables include shards that populate a stained-glass window scene, and 3D props that can be well hidden. The music, while not inherently bad, does become a little tedious as it’s played on short loops throughout each 45-minute (approx.) chapter. Upon completion chapters can be revisited, each featuring a tally of missing collectables, helping to extend the replay value.
During its final moments Drev casually mentions that it’s a shame his newfound abilities weren’t available earlier in the adventure, and it’s hard not to share that sentiment. Once Upon A Puppet is built on the foundations of other puzzle platformers before it, such as a heavy reliance on moving blocks into place, before gradually introducing a handful of unique abilities based around the duo’s puppet strings. It’s the well-designed ‘understage’ locations that are doing most of the heavy lifting, helping to propel the story along until the final curtain call. It’s also within the final chapters that everything, finally, comes together, showcasing the developer’s true vision. Before this, it can feel as if you’re simply going through the motions.
It’s also an experience peppered with minor frustrations that, when combined, diminish some of the magic conjured by its theatrical setting. The number of glitches certainly does not help either, becoming more prevalent over time. Fingers crossed a patch is imminent.
While this review may seem overly negative, there is enjoyment to be had here, meeting the downtrodden citizens of the ‘understage’ and figuring out its trickier puzzles while overcoming the more platformer-focused challenges. Nieve, Drev and The Oracle are likeable, while The King has an air of mystique, making him one of the more intriguing villains of late. Ultimately, though, I was often left wondering if its puzzles were genuinely tricky or whether they were simply badly implemented. It was probably a bit of both – and that’s your cue to only approach Once Upon A Puppet if you know full well that it has strings attached.
Flatter Than Earth’s Once Upon A Puppet is out 23rd April on PS5, Xbox Series and PC. Published by Daedalic Entertainment. A Switch version is also planned.