DOLLMAKER Review (Xbox Series X|S & Switch)

I used to think that crafting was a therapeutic, almost perfect pastime that could easily soothe the mind and soften the senses for an hour or two between taxing affairs. Yet, having spent a fair amount of time at the workbench in DOLLMAKER, I’m suddenly inclined to think otherwise. As of this moment, I hate—no, loathe dolls, almost as much as I hate the idea of them, in general.

It should have been an easy task—to glue a couple of button eyes to a head, fasten a few strings to the neck, and weave a few threads to construct a flimsy but oddly lovable rag doll. But, when there was a slightly judgmental spectator hawking over each and every stitch, it felt less like a tranquil experience and more of a matter between life and death. It wasn’t just about making a doll for the sake of it; it was about pleasing the maker to ensure that no blueprint was left without a fully functioning prototype. It didn’t matter if I had an idea for a “better” doll. If the surveyor of plushies and pins wanted something to be made in their eye and with their artistic infusions, then that’s all that mattered. I was merely the scapegoat for when things went wrong. And they did go wrong — a lot.

After being dropped into the hot seat with a seemingly harmless doll maker, it came to my attention that it wasn’t an ordinary situation, or even a beginner class in craftsmanship, for that matter. In less the five or six minutes, it hit me like a freight train — that feeling that I was under scrutiny for my lack of competence. The doll maker asked me to create a doll based on one of their designs, and they provided me with a whole bunch of leftover scraps and doohickies to build and to present to the best of my abilities. I had an image, a drawer of crafting materials, and an timer that quickly whittled down the minutes. I knew the situation, and regrettably, I knew the consequences that would hit me if and when I failed to showcase an accurate portrayal of the character. But, I had no choice. I was a prisoner in a macabre game, and the only way that I could ever escape from its shackles was by playing the cards as they fell before me.

The objective wasn’t all that tough to achieve: to take a look at a photograph, and to create a doll that could illuminate its greatest features. If it was just that, then it wouldn’t have been a problem. However, just as I found myself getting comfortable with this newfound freedom of creative expression, the curveballs began to fall like dominos in an adolescent nightmare. The clock began to tick, and the demands slowly started to intensify. It was no longer about creating dolls with two eyes; it was about adding all of the fine details to highlight and capture every core aspect of each photo. Hats, accessories, and a wide variety of outfit options all began to flesh out the material drawer, which gave me more to ponder. If I made just one mistake, then I’d feel the wrath of the creator, and I’d be given more time to spend in a perpetual darkness. The crafting process commenced, and I, bewildered by it all, became a puppet in a dismal dream.

If you’re familiar with Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted, or, to be more specific, the mini-game in which you fumble for spare parts and rebuild the animatronics against the clock, then you should have a rough idea of what DOLLMAKER is all about. Like Help Wanted, the game invites you to work against the clock in a bid to recreate an image with the items and materials at your disposal. The only downside to all of this is that, if you fail to capture the identity of the subject, or mistakenly exhaust your time, then you essentially lose control over your work. The spectator steps in to intervene, and the nightmare begins to unfold under darker circumstances. But of course, you get the idea. It’s harmless doll making with a rather sadistic twist.

Keen observation and swift execution are both crucial for succeeding in DOLLMAKER, that’s a given. As you have the clock against you and an ever-changing selection of designs to weave, the game forces you to think on your feet and to work your fingers to the bone. It doesn’t hold your hand or prod you in the right place, nor does it lather a beacon over the right component to make your job a little less stressful. Instead, it gives you the problem, and it tells you to fashion a solution out of your own two hands. And while this can be an incredibly tedious task, the game does make a habit of feeding you some neat features to keep you coming back for another crafting session.

While the concept itself might be a little simple, the game does feature an unnerving sense of urgency that carries over to most of its gameplay elements. With a sizable series of endless doll-making challenges and a great variety of materials to work with, DOLLMAKER does provide a great tapestry to stitch yourself into. Or at least, it does in its Endless Mode. The Story Mode, however, leave a lot to be desired, with only five or six minutes of action to carve through. That’s right — you can sweep this one beneath the rug in less than ten minutes. And of course, that begs the question: is it worth the price of admission?

Verdict

DOLLMAKER clearly has a brilliant idea on its hands, and not to mention one that has the potential to span dozens of creations and unnerving challenges. That said, due to its disappointingly short Story Mode and its general lack of depth and character development, it does leave a fair amount to be desired. If not for its Endless Mode, then I’d happily give this wild ride a wide berth. But, for what it’s worth, I can think of a few reasons why it’s worth sticking around for, too. Yes, it’s incredibly short, and it would benefit from a few additional pages. Yet, if you can turn a blind eye to its lack of content, then you should be able to enjoy DOLLMAKER for the little things that it brings to the workbench. Heck, I just wish there was more to it.