Puppeteer (PlayStation 3) Review

It is a dark night, with only the light of the moon visible, and nefarious Moon Bear King has captured the souls of all nearby children just so that they can act as slaves for his every whim. Kutaro, one of the boys strangely transformed into a puppet, finds his head is not only yanked from his body, but also rapidly consumed, yet his body still functions as before. From that unusual concept stems a truly magnificent game, though, and the 'missing head' element works to introduce an intriguing gameplay aspect whereby Kutaro can collect all manner of other heads to act as 'energy' (being hit makes him lose a head - rather like Yoshi losing baby Mario in Yoshi's Island or Sonic the Hedgehog shedding his ring collection upon impact with an enemy - with only a brief moment given to quickly recapture it before losing it forever, and losing all heads results in a game over) and offering up special abilities that can be triggered when given the right cue whilst wandering around (thus a keen eye is required).

Running and jumping are the key elements, as with any platform outing, but rather than funky manoeuvres likes back flips or wall jumps, Kutaro acquires a pair of magical scissors quite early on, called Calibrus, and these act as the main form of fun throughout. Slashing away at enemies before snipping their evil souls from their body, leap a little higher into the air to reach different routes, cross large expanses by cutting various objects and/or material types to gain traction and keep moving quickly along. It is all highly inventive and thoroughly engaging.

The head element is also very impressive, as it adds a multitude of special moves to little Kutaro's initially very limited repertoire and makes for a unique experience for the entirety of the magical adventure. Adding to the magic is the spectacular voice acting for all characters, and special note should be given to the narrator who does an amazing job of bringing everything to life.

Whilst playing along the graphically gorgeous settings, all switching like set changes in pantomimes, coming complete with audience 'ooh's and 'ahh's, plus applause and screeches at the appropriate times, adding to the already superb atmosphere built up, there is a little helper by the name of Ying Yang (although this character changes from time-to-time, but still serves the same purpose) who is controlled using the right analogue stick to uncover new secrets, special items, new heads for Kutaro, as well as various other 'collectible' elements that all get totted up en route to the finish in order to open bonuses.