Fairy Tale Mysteries: The Puppet Thief

About

In "Fairy Tale Mysteries: The Puppet Thief," players explore a series of fairy tales to uncover the truth behind a stolen puppet. As a detective, they'll interview characters, gather clues, and solve puzzles to progress through the story. The game features popular fairy tales such as Cinderella, Aladdin, and Ali Baba, with a darker and more mysterious twist.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Fairy Tale Mysteries: The Puppet Thief screenshot

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 154 reviews

story34 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

The game features a simple and fun hidden object gameplay that is easy to navigate, making it suitable for casual players.
The story, while straightforward, has an intriguing premise involving an evil puppeteer and offers a decent atmosphere with good voice acting.
The game includes a bonus chapter and achievements, providing additional content for players to enjoy.

The game is very short, with a playtime of around 2-3 hours, which may leave players feeling unsatisfied.
Many hidden object scenes are overly simplistic, leading to a lack of challenge and engagement for experienced players.
The graphics and overall presentation feel dated and muddy, detracting from the overall experience.

story
96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
60%
4%
The story in this hidden object game is generally perceived as simple and lacking depth, with many players noting its disjointed narrative and underdeveloped characters. While some found the blend of folklore and magic intriguing, others criticized it for being forgettable and not engaging enough, especially for those accustomed to richer storytelling in similar games. Overall, the game offers a light, entertaining experience but may disappoint players seeking a more complex and cohesive plot.
- “The story itself is a mix of folklore, magic, witchcraft, and a journalist/detective story - the genre most Artifex Mundi games also delve into.”
- “You get to talk to the famous Grimm brothers as well as other characters, travel to several locations, solve hidden object scenes, solve puzzles, and play mini-games which are all blended into the story.”
- “Very nicely animated, great storyline, and the most excellent voice acting I have ever heard in a hidden object game.”
- “The story was an awful mess.”
- “The story won't keep you engaged and neither will the drab and boring colors that you have to look at.”
- “A lot of the story and what you're supposed to do to advance further in the game doesn't make much sense whatsoever.”
graphics
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
66%
8%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the striking artwork and well-executed visuals that fit the game's dark aesthetic, while others criticize the dated and blurry backgrounds, as well as inconsistencies in the art style across different environments. Overall, the graphics quality is seen as decent but hindered by issues like pixelation at higher resolutions and a lack of widescreen support.
- “Lovely artwork.”
- “The story was good and the graphics were of very good quality.”
- “Great game, great graphics.”
- “Even visuals are clearly dated and unrepresentable.”
- “- dated and muddy background graphics”
- “Sadly enough, the game has quite bad voice acting and the blurriness of the graphics is an eyesore.”
music
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
65%
15%
The music in the game is primarily composed of a few ambient tracks that blend well with environmental sounds, creating a fitting atmosphere. While many players appreciate the soothing quality of the music, some find it repetitive and ultimately detracting from the overall experience, leading to mixed feelings about its longevity. Overall, the music enhances the game's aesthetics but may become tiresome over time.
- “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- “The music seems mostly to be just 1 or 2 tracks, but I like the ambient music of this game. There are some environmental sounds mixed in, like the wind blowing, and I feel like the music fits the aesthetics of the game perfectly, unlike the music in Demon Hunters which grated on me.”
- “+ Nice background music that fits the atmosphere.”
- “The best part was probably the hidden object scenes despite the repetition of scenes and objects to find, but I could only do them on mute due to the repetitive music which detracted from the experience. I will be deleting it.”
- “It still keeps all the same commonalities of HOGs (hidden object puzzles, casual pick and choose puzzles, color matching, tile puzzles), but it actually has fairly good voice acting, better than average animation for a HOG, and a music loop that suits the mood (although you will likely get tired of it).”
- “The music seems mostly to be just 1 or 2 tracks, but I like the ambient music of this game. There are some environmental sounds mixed in, like the wind blowing, and I feel like the music fits the aesthetics of the game perfectly, unlike Demon Hunter's music which grated on me.”
gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
64%
21%
The gameplay is characterized as a classic hidden object puzzle game, involving item collection and mini-game puzzles, reminiscent of titles like "Demon Hunter: Chronicles from Beyond." While it features a darker tone compared to other fantasy-oriented games, some players find it too easy and the overall experience too short, despite the straightforward item-finding mechanics.
- “Especially since the gameplay is a very typical classic hop game where you "find and use items", then "solve mini-game puzzles and hop".”
- “It reminds me a lot of Demon Hunter: Chronicles from Beyond, in terms of the style of art, the gameplay, etc. It even shares that darker tone that a lot of the other more fantasy-oriented hidden object puzzle games don't have.”
- “Eh... it's a decent game but I found it to be too easy and the storyline/gameplay far too short.”
- “The gameplay is the standard one (hidden object scenes, puzzles, items to find) but at least, it's easy to find the items needed, even in the hidden object scenes, compared to the sequel.”
- “Especially since the gameplay is a very typical classic hop game where you 'find and use items', then 'solve mini-game puzzles and hop'.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
33%
17%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a grim and spooky tone, enhanced by fitting background music and the inclusion of diary entries, which add depth to the experience. However, not all games in the series utilize these atmospheric elements effectively.
- “The general atmosphere is really grim and spooky.”
- “The background music fits the atmosphere perfectly.”
- “Diary entries add an extra layer of atmosphere that enhances the experience.”
- “That said, the general atmosphere is really grim and spooky.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is primarily delivered through the voice acting, which many players found hilarious, often causing them to miss dialogue due to laughter. However, some players expressed a desire for more comedic elements to balance the serious storyline.
- “The voice actors were so funny that I couldn't hear what they were saying from laughing.”
- “I wanted something funny from a serious story.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game has low replayability, with players noting that it is easy to complete and offers simple achievements, resulting in minimal incentive to play again.
- “The replay value for the game is low.”
- “Easy achievements, easy to beat, relatively low replay value.”