The Puppet Master

Humans are attracted to puzzles and the unknown, which is why we enjoy adventures and mysteries so much. On the other hand, the adventure stops being fun when danger enters the equation, because very few people would put their well-being at risk just for a cheap thrill. Hence, this is why video games are such a success, because they provide us with vicarious thrills and virtual adventures.

The Puppet Master is a top-down puzzle game in which your goal is to make it to the exit door safely and without getting stuck along the way. It may sound simple on paper, but the gameplay is quite engaging and challenging, not to mention innovative in certain ways. Even so, there are still some issues you have to deal with, plus the fact that the game looks a bit rough.

In essence, your goal is to use clones in order to make it over or around the obstacles, because your characters do not have the ability to jump or do anything else. Thus, you have to switch from one girl to the other and use this gimmick to solve puzzles. The first thing you have to take into account, on the other hand, is the fact that you can only make the switch if you have a direct line of sight to the clone in question, which is the greatest challenge of them all.

The other tricky part is that sometimes you’ll have to do everything on the move, including switching from one character to the other. Thus, it’s vital that you move quickly and pay attention to the environment, although that’s easier said than done most of the time. Positioning is vital as well, because you often need to place all the clones in the right place for everything to work as intended.

Lastly, probably the annoying thing about The Puppet Master is that there’s usually just one way to go about things, which means that you are not allowed to come up with your own strategies. This is not a huge problem, but it severely hurts the replay value. Even so, you can get a lot out of the game after only one playthrough, despite the lack of multiple puzzle solutions.

All things being equal, The Puppet Master could be improved in a manner of ways, but it’s a decent game even in its current form. Thus, it should be a nice experience for those who do not back down from a challenge and can cope with basic graphics. You can support the developers by voting for the game on Steam Greenlight.