Puppet Team Review (PC)

I’m positively reassuring my wife that we can do this, when in fact, we can’t do this. Perhaps, if we had spent more time mulling over the mechanics and not establishing who would pull the strings and who would navigate the world, we could have done it. But here we are, on our fifth attempt at a seemingly endless journey, constantly spouting nonsense and false promises that, if we can limbo beneath this electric fence, then we will have what it takes to save the Princess. Mentally, I’ve checked out — and I think she has too. And yet, even with so much going on, I think we’re having a good time. I’m laughing out loud, not necessarily because we’re two incompetent idiots who can’t tackle a small hurdle, but because the situation is preposterous. Maybe, just maybe, that’s why we’ve grown to love it and everything Puppet Team stands for.

It took me a box of Parma Violets and a cask of ginger ale to convince my other half to put Split Fiction out to pasture and focus on an alternate universe. In my mind, it was the easier choice. When I described this alternate world to her, I wound up spearheading ’Octodad-meets-Baby Steps — and that was enough of an incentive to bring her on board, weirdly enough. I gave her a choice: drive a wedge between the star-crossed heroes and take up the puppeteer strings, or spectate the laughable effort of one (me, regrettably) person try and do it all by themselves. With luck, and a slither of pity, she accepted the request and assumed control over the limbs. But boy, I almost wish she hadn’t. At least it didn’t end in marriage counseling.

To Me, to You

Puppet Team is the sort of game you would stick on to rekindle a lost feud between two distinctly different people—an RPG-obsessed veteran, and an agricultural  fanatic who would soon rather sprout crops than an extra set of limbs. Here, it’s almost like a fine line—the middle ground between two worlds. It doesn’t matter if you’re bad at gaming, because quite frankly, it’s a lot easier if you succumb to the challenges and just fail miserably as a duo. Turns out, winning in Puppet Team isn’t really the objective; it’s the journey that you take, as well as the mindless pursuit that makes you feel both deflated and weirdly joyous for each obstacle that you encounter as a team. You fall — a lot. But that’s sort of the point: to witness each other’s lack of competence and patience in a combined effort to understand the task.

There isn’t much of a story for you to ponder at here. Well, there is and there isn’t. To cut to the chase, you have to save the Princess—a key pawn in this world who just so happens to stand on the adjacent side of an ever-evolving sandbox of moving pieces, illogical designs, and almost barbaric threats. It’s your job, as a duo, to pull the strings, with each string taking control over a certain part of the body, and overcome these trials en route to the final hurdle. And if you think that sounds like a walk in the park, then hey — it’s time for a reality check, friend.

2-4-1 Pilot

Completing even the most basic task in Puppet Team is an absolute pain in the backside, but that sort of comes with the territory, I suppose. If you’ve ever been unfortunate enough to slug through the likes of Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy, then you’ll no doubt have a vague idea of how infuriating it can be to execute even the simplest maneuver — like jumping, for example. Here, though, the game doesn’t task you with yeeting a hammer around, but two floppy arms and—you guessed it—two incredibly floppy legs. And it doesn’t exactly reward you for failing to perform these tasks, either. On the contrary, it belittles your efforts, and then scoots you back to the previous area, as if to illustrate your lack of skill in a rather tongue-in-cheek manner.

The good news is, Puppet Team is a tremendous amount of fun to romp through, even more so when it involves both you and your partner buddying up to complete the silliest of challenges, like pogoing in a narrow alley, skateboarding through a neighborhood, hopping across platforms, or scrambling through garbage bags on a sidewalk. Whatever it is that you find yourself doing here, Puppet Team does manage to find a way to elevate that comical value in the most spectacular way possible. Sure, it’s a little gimmicky — but boy, it’s a ton of fun to watch unfold.

Verdict

If I can save the Princess of a puppeteering planet, then so can you and whoever you decide to shackle to your left leg. I’ll level with you — it’s quite the journey, learning how to hurl an incompetent puppet through various hoops and what have you. And yet, there’s a stroke of genius stitched into the formula here—a novel incentive that just feels satisfying to chase, even during the toughest of times. Granted, it doesn’t do much visually, and I’d be lying if I said that it’s crammed to the brim with fascinating world designs and elaborate set pieces. However, where it lacks in graphical complexity, it most certainly makes up for in stupidly entertaining gameplay and co-op-based shenanigans.

It won’t come as much of a surprise here, but if you, too, enjoy couch co-op games like It Takes Two, Split Fiction, and Unravel, then you will surely find more than enough to keep that strange but oddly fruitful relationship as equally ironclad in Puppet Team. It’ll drive you nuts on the rarest of occasions, I’ll admit. But then, perhaps that’s a matter of perspective, as well as the partner who decided to join you for your brief expedition to rescue the Princess. As for my partner—the ball and chain controlling the legs—I’d say, in spite of everything that has happened, our marriage is still going strong. That said, I think a hiatus is in order after that journey. Thanks, Puppet Team.