Sony Japan’s Puppeteer has made it’s way onto the Playstation, but does it continue the “streak” of PlayStation Exclusives? Find out in our review below.

Puppeteer is a 2013 adventure game developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Studio and Sony Computer Entertainment. It is available exclusively on the PlayStation 3.

General Tiger, the Moon Bear King, and the Sun Princess Pikarina.

THE GOOD: The story of Puppeteer begins with Kutaro the player character who has had his soul taken from the evil Moon Bear King. With the help of the Witch Ursus, Sun Princess Pikarina, and the flying cat Yin Yang. Story and art wise Puppeteer is reminiscent of a twisted 90s Disney Animated film, not that that’s a bad thing. It’s complete with references to fairy tales and modern film epics such as Star Wars, Alice in Wonderland, and Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.

One of the many references in Puppeteer, can you guess this one?

Gameplay is fun and fast, you have to quick on your feet, especially during the gameplay with Calibrus the magical scissors that Kutaro controls during a majority of the game. Along the way you gain multiple power ups such as the Ninja Bombs and Pirate Hook, which adds on to the gameplay. Boss fights usually involve the use of these new power ups, while finishing up with a quick time event that mostly uses Calibrus.

Kutaro, Princess Pikarina, and General Monkey IN SPACE!

Set up like one big play, including calling chapters “acts” , levels “curtains”, and the player being known as “the audience”. Puppeteer knows exactly what it is. Though with a number of inside jokes (innuendo), a bit of bad language, and plenty of dark moments, not every parent will find the game “kid-friendly”, however it’s completely up to them to decide.

General Dog just wants to be loved!

THE BAD: There were cheap deaths a plenty, due to the fast paced gameplay. Especially during one of the chase levels when you had to be precise with your jumps and what not, which was a big pain. Long cut scenes slows down gameplay as well.

The Grim Reaver attacks! (no that wasn’t a typo)

THE UGLY: The art style might be scary for some younger players(Editor’s note: this doesn’t effect the score, just a personal thought).

An example of Calibrus’s many uses.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Puppeteer is a fun, fast paced game with interesting boss fights, but cheap deaths and long cut scenes slows gameplay down a lot. There’s plenty of content to explore and the references are top notch, but the dark moments and bad language might effect a parent’s judgement on the game.