The Lady Puppet

The Lady Puppet is the last game made by Oldpat (renow author of Karma Flow) released for the event Seasons of RMN IV. Mind that this is a demo released for the event, and not a complete game, but it can be considered the first chapter of a bigger story that, I am sure, every player will want to see completed to learn and see the big picture.

But let's start from the beginning: it may be a cliche' but the protagonist has amnesia and wakes up in a wood, all alone. Her name is Lailah Reah, and she's a quite and cheerful young girl that finds herself in this strange world.
Now, how is this place so strange? Simply because everyone, including her, has strings attached to them, just like puppets. The place is a dark land called Clawhill, and seems that there some dangerous creatures lurk in the darkness waiting for their prey, and these are not just the crocodiles of the local fauna...


Lailah uses her possession ability to scout the area!

Luckily Lailah is contacted through a radio by a mysterious masked woman, the Lady Puppet of the title. She wants to help Lailah, but probably there is more involved in her presence, even if it looks like she is another victim and a prisoner of Clawhill too, even if a special one!

Oh, I forgot to say that Lailah is not the only person trapped here, and during this scenario she will meet many others... but sadly most of them are dead! But not everyone! And this is where the fun starts! Yes, because Lailah can collect some dolls that let her summon and control the persons they rapresent (like... puppets! Yes!), others instead summon items like ladders that can be extremely useful to reach some inaccesible locations. But here's a question... what about Lailah's doll? Uhm play the game to find out...

Ok, let's say you are not convinced, but then how is this game? The Lady Pupped is a sort of mix between survival horror and puzzle game: there is absolutely no way in which we can fight against the enemies (at least in this demo, our playable characters are all non-combatants), and the only option is to run away (but using stealth to effectively avoid the hostile creatures is better of course!).
Then there is the puzzle part: there are some places that require moving boulders to create a passage (the cave version of the classic puzzle with crates!), other puzzles that require finding and use the right item at the right time and place, and so on.

Apparently is al pretty simple but the "summoning characters" through dolls is the most interesting thing: you can evoke a character (there is also the option to evoke it without taking control but in this case I do not get the reason why I should that... taking control i always useful!) selecting a nearby place where he/she will appear (hint! This let also spawn a character on a upper level or a nearby room, so take advantage of this if you can!). Each character has his/her own skills and abilities, some are faster and other are slower, but as long as you have the doll, he or she is effectively immortal and if killed can be revived without hassle.
But the real question is... wah what about Lailah's doll? She is effectively the only mortal playable character, so pay attention to the life bar and heal if necessary, or her journy will end prematurely with a sad Game Over.


See you later, alligator!

Now, the aestetic: The Lady Puppet is a game that looks good thanks to the POP! Horror resources (that I admit to like very much), and some extremely well made edits and custom characters for what concerns the main cast. The busts of the varous actors of this story are also original art and well merge with the rest in creating a dark, grim story and enviroment that is more mysterious than horror, even if there is still some parts with violence and some gore, even if for the most part is relegated to pixels. Red pixels, clearly!
Mapping is quite good even if I found many places to be quite cluttered with obstacles and impediments, but this may have been made on purpouse, since clear large and open areas would make escapes too easy!

Music and sounds are pretty good (I liked how the sound of the steps is different depending on the surface Lailah is walking on) and what I liked most are especially the eerie sounds made by the creatures that sound like some kind of Goth/Darkwave singers (that sings like some possessed dolls)! I also liked how the music (that is eerie and disturbing) changes suddenly when Lailah is spotted.

What I especially liked of this game is that the chase sections, unlike many other horror games, are all optional! Yes! If you are good with stealth you can avoid every single enemy. Anyway to complete the game it's necessary to risk and explore almost every corner of the map (not entirely true, some parts just hold bonus items, diaries and consumables that are not mandatory to finish the game, still it is a good thing that there is no empty room or dead end!). I admit I had to revisit some places because I did not explored them fully and I missed some important things/items.

Another thing that I liked was the balanced difficulty, the game is not exactly easy but it can be completed without any frustration, since I found some of the hardest puzzles to be optional (but rewarding!), so if you do not want to collect every single item you can probably complete the game without sweating, even if don't expect this to be a walk in a park! It's easier than other Oldpat's games that require stealth(Karma Flow and Psyche Locke), but in a good way: enemies behaviour is more believable and even if they are unstoppable killing machine you can survive the encounters if you are quick to act!


But of course! And now, the final verdict, or...

The Final Puppet!
This game has a nice balance between puzzles and horror, difficulty is also well balanced and if you think this is too easy, remember that it's just the first part of a longer game. If you find it too hard, please go and play Hello Kitty Online, ok? No, really, you may not like the genre but it cannot be denied that this is a very polished game (I just found a bug: you can destroy webs that block the passages, but only Lailah can cross these paths, the other characters will behave like the webs were never removed!) with excellent art and good mapping and lightning.

It's a game that requires two EXs: EXplore & EXperiment! I admit I had some difficulties figuring out the right sequence of actions and the items I had to use, since the game just gives some hints. Well maybe it is me that I should have read more carefully some dialogues, but I think also that is important the order in which you visit the locations (for example I opened the first part of a path after getting the first doll, but I needed the second doll to unlock the seconds half, and I wasted a lot of time trying to figure out a solution).
Oh speaking about of time it took me about an hour to complete, but I explored every single corner of the maps (that are not many but still...).

The story... hehe I purpousely did not say anything because I don't want to spoil much, it's good even if it starts "in media res", so we have no real beginning and no real ending, and there is much left unexplained (but during the adventure you will find some diaries and messages that will tell something more). Another reason to wait for a complete game! The characters are charming and the game world is interesting and mysterious.

Yes, mysterious! This is an important part because the desire to learn more, and uncover the secrets of Clawhill will inspire the player to explore and solve the puzzles. And the mechanics are also fun, so... this is a a 4/5... for now!
I mean, this is a promising beginning but I expect much more, and I am looking forward playing more of it. Approved!