Poland-based indie development studio, Gaming Factory, has recently released Puppet House, a puzzle-horror game with a hint of thriller, and it aims to keep you on your toes as you play. If you have an unreasonable fear of dolls being possessed, then this title is definitely for you.

Stepping into the shoes of Rick, a detective investigating the mysterious disappearances of residents of Field Town. So far, your clues lead to one spooky-looking house where Peter Hill, a ventriloquist, used to live. Investigating the abandoned house, you discover are not the only one roaming about; a demonic puppet loves to run around, terrorizing and killing anyone who dares enter the mansion. Now, it’s up to Detective Rick to uncover the occult ritual that brought this little fiend to life and put an end to its horrifying ways.

Each corner you explore presents a new puzzle to solve, but I think most of these could have been made much harder. Some were too simple, requiring very little thought, while others you straight up could guess, not having to revisit previous clues you’d discovered. I like puzzle games to be a challenge – the kind where you need to sit back and think about what you are doing. This was more along the lines of using clues to work out the combination to a safe, or where a lever might need to be placed on the puzzle to activate a mechanism.

I also feel like the story was a bit inconsistent. It initially felt like it was going at a great pace, with plenty to uncover, but the ending felt super rushed. It was almost like an origin story movie, where it starts off telling every detail, but suddenly breaks into an action sequence before ending, leaving you wanting more, and this was much the same. I felt like there was a lot more to uncover, but for obvious reasons, I couldn’t.

It was done. What was there was great, but it kind of just ended. As a positive, the little puppet had me on my toes the entire time, working really well with the horror-thriller thems. I was always wondering when it was going to throw something at me, or when it would lunge towards me with a knife, and it always seemed to come out when you least expected it, really adding to the thrill of this title.

I was surprised by the sound quality of Puppet House. The voice acting was fantastic; the detective sounded genuinely tired and worried as you roamed the house, constantly talking to himself about little things that caught his eye, or shouting at the puppet as it went about its menacing ways. The environmental noises added another level to the game, with light bulbs buzzing as they were about to die, or the tiny footsteps of the possessed puppet as it ran around getting ready to end you life.

As much as it pulled me to the edge of my seat, it really helped to draw me further into the game. The only thing that broke this immersion was the almost constant achievement bell. It’s not really a fault with the game, but it seemed too easy to obtain them, and the sound really pulled me away from the experience.

Lately, I’ve been all about simple controls, and when it comes to games that focus more on the story, I feel like it makes the game more enjoyable. Rather than thinking about what button to push next, you can spend more time worrying about when a puppet is going to jump out and get you.

When all you need to focus on is moving and pressing a button to interact with items, you can really focus on the game and enjoy the smaller things. The only time you need to focus on what to press is when the bloody puppet tries to kill you. It triggers a quick-time event where you need to follow on-screen prompts, and this only adds to the desperation as you avoid becoming the little bastard’s next victim.

The use of graphics that vaguely resemble those of BioShock makes Puppet House so much creepier. You are walking around a dark and eerie house, and the perfect blend of lighting and shadow makes the scenes that much more thrilling. Then there’s the puppet, and although ventriloquist dummies are already pretty creepy, the details on the character model take it a step further, offering the right amount of “Get the hell outta here you little prick.” The only thing that let this down a little is the notes. They can be super hard to read, but this can be resolved by opening them in the menu to re-read them.

Puppet House was an enjoyable title, and the gameplay really draws you in the further you get into the game. While I wish it was a little longer, and perhaps a little harder to make the experience that bit better, the developers did an amazing job with what they had, including the graphics, audio, and controls. What is on offer makes for an amazingly thrilling experience.

Written by: Hayden Nelson