PuppetShow: Fatal Mistake – Review

When you received an urgent message from your university professor, you knew that something bad had happened! Travel back to your university and join forces with the professor’s assistant, Natasha to rescue the professor from his mechanical kidnappers. As his star student, can you live up to your potential in PuppetShow: Fatal Mistake?

The PuppetShow series has its peaks and troughs and this latest sequel falls somewhere in between. On one hand, the storyline about a kidnapped professor is far from original and the mechanical puppets aspect starts to get a little tiring. On the other hand, exciting, action-packed sequences that happen every so often are effective in maintaining the thrills and the player’s interest in the game.

The gameplay is fashionably predictable. Still, not all gameplay elements in PuppetShow: Fatal Mistake are recycled. There are few clear attempts at delivering creative twists on familiar concepts, whether that be through hidden object scenes or mini-games. Although the game remains fairly easy to complete for most of its run, these minor imaginative flourishes make the game noticeably more entertaining.

AMAX Interactive sticks to their signature visual style in PuppetShow: Fatal Mistake, which is by no means a bad thing. The visuals are artistically designed, expertly drawn, and richly painted. Special effects and cutscenes are smooth and engaging, and so are background music and voice-overs. Unlike many hidden object adventure games nowadays, I like how PuppetShow: Fatal Mistake does not just focus on one color hue, but plays with the full color spectrum. This allows each scene to be significantly different from one another, while glued together by a cohesive aesthetic.

I completed PuppetShow: Fatal Mistake in less than three and a half hours and the bonus chapter in 45 minutes or so. The Collector’s Edition feels more like a “nice to have” than a “must have”, it includes a strategy guide, wallpapers, concept art, soundtracks, videos, screensavers, replayable hidden object scenes, replayable puzzles, achievements, and collectibles.

PuppetShow: Fatal Mistake has few thrilling moments, but ultimately is just another standard installment in this classic hidden object series.