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Entering the stage

Flatter Than Earth is a brand new little indie studio. Once Upon a Puppet is their very first game and I think the art-style and 2.5D gameplay were the things that caught my eye. Here’s my thoughts of the game.

Plot

Players step into the shoes of Nieve, a Stagehand who mistakenly took a wrong turn and ended up in the Understage, and Drev, a Puppet. As they clumsily attempt to untangle themselves and make their return to the theater above, they end up unwinding long-forgotten tales and digging up the secrets of the Understage, all while realising that their fates are more glued together than they first thought.

Yes, the plot was interesting and it held together all the way to the end. All the mysteries in the Understage and stories and tales the other characters told. Not to mention the ever mysterious theater above where from everything is dumbed down to the Understage. I personally think the whole story was rather enjoyable, mysterious and heartwarming.

Gameplay, controls, audio and visuals

Players controls Nieve, a Stagehand, and Drev, a Puppet. As the game is 2.5D platformer it is jumping around, collecting items and doing some puzzles. The puzzles were rather easy to unravel and the platforming wasn’t overly difficult either. There are some litte side missions in the safe areas, where players can help others. In Once Upon a Puppet there are collectables around the levels and enemies players must avoid. They’ll kill with only one hit which comes to the controls of the game that felt little bit janky at times, making the gameplay more difficult than it needed to be. And a thing that doesn’t help at all it that sometimes it feels like the checkpoints are too far apart.

Controls were easy to follow in Once Upon a Puppet. Players can move around, jump, push objects, grab on things using Nieve, use yourself as a slingshot, make a double jump, hover in the air, use bow and arrow… there are lots of moves which players will learn as they progress. Nothing overly complicated and I liked it.

Once Upon a Puppet isn’t compeletely voice acted. Well, none of the characters had a voice, only the narrator had voice actor. Everyone else expressed themselves with text. What I liked in the audio part was the music, it was rather mellow that suited the whole visual theme.

The aesthetic was beautiful. Everything looked like it was made of wood or other old theatrical style. I think the game, and all the characters, looked unique and everything complemented each other. But I must say that it was at times hard to differentiate what areas can be accessed and what not, as everything looked too same and cramped. Also, expect lots of bugs and game-breaking glitches. Once Upon a Puppet is also kinda dialogue heavy, but it just shows how much developer has put in the game.

Exit stage left

It is obvious that Once Upon a Puppet is a passion project. It had an unique style overall. I did somewhat enjoy my 5-6 hours with the game and it was a perfect length for a game like this. The concept is good, art style amazing, but the janky controls, bugs, game-breaking glitches and one hit death makes it frustrating to play at times. For sure there were some technical issues here and there, but if you can overlook them I think you might enjoy this meticulously crafted world.

Once Upon a Puppet is available on PS5 (reviewed using PS5 Pro), Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and Windows.

(Review copy kindly provided by the publisher)

SCORE:

3/5

“…the whole story was rather enjoyable, mysterious and heartwarming.”

RELEASE DATE: April 23, 2025
GENRE: Adventure / 2.5D / Platformer
DEVELOPER: Flatter Than Earth
PUBLISHER: Daedalic Entertainment
PLATFORMS: PS5 (reviewed using PS5 Pro)
Xbox Series X|S
NIntendo Switch
Windows

 

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