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Shadow Puppeteer (Video Game Review)

Shadow Puppeteer is a new indie game from developers Sarepta Studio. The title presents unique light based puzzles in which players must control a boy and his shadow in order to solve and progress further into the game. The game is reminiscent of titles such as Brothers and Journey, but the game's sloppy presentation will keep the title from reaching the same fame as other indie gems. The game has plenty of issues including some spikes in difficulty, graphical glitches and a poor respawn system. Only the most dedicated puzzle and indie fans will want to try out the game for themselves.

Shadow Puppeteer follows the story of a young boy who sets off on a mission to find and recover kidnapped shadows from a devilish fiend known as the Shadow Puppeteer. The young boy must learn to master both the light and darkness in order to progress through the world and eventually have a showdown with the title antagonist. The game's storyline is told through animation that looks like a cross between Tim Burton's works and the classic Beetlejuice cartoon but the poor soundtrack, lack of any spoken dialogue and poorly animated characters make cut scenes seem to drag on and make players feel uninterested while playing. Shadow Puppeteer doesn't manage to evoke emotions from its characters with body language from its characters, and players will soon find themselves bored and wanting to move on to the next puzzles while skipping cutscenes altogether.

The main mechanic used throughout Shadow Puppeteer is using light and objects in the environment to cast shadows on walls and allow the boy's shadow to progress further in the game and reach an item needed to help the boy progress through the level simultaneously. Puzzles in Shadow Puppeteer are pretty smart and will have players feeling accomplished with each bit of progress made in the game, but poor camera control and forced respawns make solving puzzles much more difficult than need be. The game also tends to have a few puzzles that feel a bit more difficult than anything else throughout the game's campaign, but all players will experience the game a bit differently, and this may not even be an issue for experienced puzzle gamers.

Shadow Puppeteer also does a good job of boss design in the game that utilizes both the boy and his shadow in order to defeat these enemies. The battles are few and far between in the title, but they offer some of the more interesting puzzles, since it typically takes more than casting a shadow on a wall to reach a higher platform and a lever in these encounters. Camera and other presentation issues creep into the boss battles however, and players will become just as much or even more frustrated when facing off with some of these dangerous foes throughout the game. Shadow Puppeteer manages to be an average game even without much combat, but some battles feel forced and not very well executed.

Shadow Puppeteer
can be played solo, but working together with another player or a friend can make the game an even more enjoyable experience. Shadow Puppeteer is very difficult to play in solo games due to poor controls and the previously mentioned presentation issues. Multiplayer in Shadow Puppeteer is much more akin to that seen in games such as Portal 2 than Journey, meaning careful planning and communication is often vital in succeeding in solving a puzzle. Some players will still attempt to brute force their way through the game in the single player campaign, but most players shouldn't expect to get very far playing the game this way.



The presentation featured in Shadow Puppeteer is very poorly executed. The game features choppy animations that completely take away from the game's carefully designed characters that are created with gothic themes and dark color palettes. The game does feature a dark and spooky appearance that works well with the primary theme of working with a shadow that has a mind of its own, and the game arrives just in time for October and the Halloween season. Some very average themes and sound effects don't do much for further immersing players in the spooky environments though.

Shadow Puppeteer is an average at best puzzle title that has a decent sense of progression and some fairly smart puzzle designs, but that's about all this title has. Players will need to work together with others to solve the game's sometimes complex puzzles, since solo mode is so poorly incorporated into the game. Some gamers will love the aesthetic design choices in the game, but choppy animations, poor camera angles and shadows that tend to confound more than look nice on the background drag down what could have been a very fun title. Shadow Puppeteer is out now for PC on Steam.

Shadow Puppeteer is now available exclusively for PC on Steam. Shadow Puppeteer is rated T by the ESRB for Violence. For more information on the game, check out the official Shadow Puppeteer website.

Game Features:
  • Local Multiplayer 1-2
  • Play with Your Shadow
  • Light Based Puzzles
  • Colorful, Cartoon World and Characters
  • Achievement Support

Game Information:
Developer & Publisher: Sarepta Studio
Available exclusively for PC (reviewed)
Release Date: September 29, 2014

Score: 5.5 out of 10


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