Once Upon A Puppet

About

Once Upon A Puppet is a single player casual platformer game with horror, fantasy and dark fantasy themes. It was developed by Flatter Than Earth and was released on April 23, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Control the strings of fate and embark on a grand adventure with Drev and Nieve. A magical, story-driven 2.5D puzzle-platformer where puppeteering mechanics and a whimsical, theater-inspired world intertwine.

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98%

Audience ScoreBased on 45 reviews

story15 positive mentions

optimization1 negative mentions

Beautiful and unique art style with handcrafted environments that create a compelling theatrical atmosphere.
Engaging and heartfelt story with strong character development and emotional themes, enhanced by quality voice acting and sound design.
Fun and accessible platforming and puzzle mechanics with creative use of the puppet and thread dynamics, suitable for a relaxed, narrative-focused experience.

Gameplay can feel imprecise and occasionally frustrating due to finnicky controls, platforming looseness, and timing issues in certain sections.
Several minor bugs and technical hiccups occur, including occasional crashes, character getting stuck, and dialogue box glitches, which sometimes affect immersion.
Dialogue-heavy narrative segments can disrupt gameplay flow and may feel tedious to players who prefer less text or more action-focused pacing.

story
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
51%
8%
The story of "Once Upon a Puppet" is widely praised for its heartfelt, atmospheric, and visually distinctive narrative, blending theatrical and storybook elements with emotional character development and thoughtful worldbuilding. While some find certain plot points predictable, the overall execution delivers a deep, poignant journey that complements the gameplay and art style. Players appreciate the game's strong storytelling focus, immersive atmosphere, and meaningful progression, making it a standout narrative-driven indie platformer.
- “Once Upon a Puppet is a story-driven puzzle platformer that wears its theatrical identity proudly, presenting a world that feels less like a traditional game setting and more like a living stage production.”
- “Rather than relying on bombastic spectacle, the experience builds its charm through atmosphere, visual storytelling, and a strong sense of narrative purpose, making it clear that this is a journey meant to be felt as much as played.”
- “Narrative progression is woven tightly into gameplay, with story beats unfolding through dialogue, environmental cues, and symbolic moments rather than heavy exposition.”
- “The cut scenes pretty much clear up the story as well so kinda didn't see a point in reading them.”
- “On the plus side: I loved everything about this game: the exquisite 3D graphics, mechanical/physics based solutions to moving on and the basic storyline (though it got laborious reading the novel-long narrative).”
- “A fun but short puzzle platformer with an amusing story.”
gameplay
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
72%
14%
The gameplay is praised for its unique, story-driven mechanics that blend traversal and puzzle-solving through creative use of a thread-based tool, though controls can feel finnicky and movement lacks sharp responsiveness at times. While the puzzles and platforming are simple and engaging, some players note pacing issues, occasional bugs, and a slight decline in challenge as the game progresses. Overall, the gameplay strongly supports the game’s artistic and narrative focus, prioritizing atmosphere and expression over mechanical precision.
- “Great indie adventure platformer with a unique story and gameplay.”
- “This bond is not only emotional but mechanical, as the thread becomes the primary tool for traversal and puzzle solving.”
- “As new abilities are introduced, these mechanics grow more expressive, reinforcing the idea that progress is tied to learning how to 'perform' within the world rather than simply mastering reflexes.”
- “The gameplay is a bit lackluster with controls a little finnicky, but a great purchase if you're in for a cute little platformer.”
- “Movement sometimes lacks the sharp responsiveness found in more mechanically focused platformers, which can lead to minor frustration when repeated attempts are required.”
- “Occasional technical hiccups, uneven checkpoint placement, and the looseness in platforming can detract from immersion, particularly for players expecting tight mechanical challenge.”
graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The graphics are widely praised for their distinctive, handcrafted art style that blends whimsical and somber tones, creating a visually stunning and atmospheric experience. Users highlight the smooth 3D visuals, extraordinary level design, and harmonious integration with sound and narrative as key strengths. Overall, the art style significantly enhances the game's immersive and emotional impact.
- “Every environment feels handcrafted, with a distinctive art style that blends storybook whimsy and somber undertones.”
- “On the + side: I loved everything about this game: the exquisite 3D graphics, mechanical/physics based solutions to moving on, and the basic storyline.”
- “The visuals and sound design in this game are nothing short of inspired.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
57%
The music and sound design are highly praised for enhancing the game's theatrical and immersive atmosphere, consistently complementing the art style and storytelling. Players find the soundtracks beautiful and integral to the overall experience, contributing significantly to the game's high-quality feel.
- “Sound design and music further enhance the theatrical atmosphere.”
- “The music was on point at every turn!”
- “The way the music and sound wrap together with the handcrafted artwork is really quite breath-taking.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game creates a captivating atmosphere through strong visual storytelling, narrative focus, and a theatrical art style centered on puppetry. Enhanced by immersive sound design and music, it offers a heartfelt, atmospheric experience that emphasizes creative expression and storytelling over gameplay precision. Overall, the atmosphere perfectly complements the story, making it a visually distinctive and emotionally engaging journey.
- “Rather than relying on bombastic spectacle, the experience builds its charm through atmosphere, visual storytelling, and a strong sense of narrative purpose, making it clear that this is a journey meant to be felt as much as played.”
- “Sound design and music further enhance the theatrical atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere is very fitting for the story and the art direction hit the nail on the head for a theater with puppets!”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game delivers a heartfelt emotional experience through its sincere portrayal of themes like abandonment, ambition, and self-worth, woven into both its narrative and gameplay mechanics. While pacing can falter during extended dialogues, these moments enrich the emotional depth, making the story feel genuine and immersive. Overall, it offers a wholesome, visually distinctive fairy-tale journey that prioritizes storytelling and atmosphere.
- “Themes of abandonment, artistic ambition, and self-worth run throughout the journey, giving emotional weight to what could otherwise be a simple fairy-tale setup.”
- “The relationship between the two leads evolves gradually, and while the overarching plot follows a familiar arc, its execution is sincere enough to feel heartfelt rather than predictable.”
- “Some pacing issues do arise, particularly when extended dialogue sequences interrupt gameplay flow, but these moments often serve to deepen emotional context rather than stall progress entirely.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The optimization of the game is somewhat lacking, with mechanics and performance that could be improved. However, its artistic presentation and narrative atmosphere compensate for technical shortcomings, making it a worthwhile experience especially at a discount.
- “Mechanics and optimization could be better.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences occasional minor lags and glitches, but they are generally infrequent and can often be worked around easily, resulting in a mostly stable experience.
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is praised for its effective storytelling and growth, with main characters undergoing a tumultuous adventure that contributes to a beautiful and engaging narrative. The puppet-like design and stageplay atmosphere enhance the overall experience.
- “The main characters especially go through a tumultuous adventure telling a beautiful story with some great character development and growth.”
- “The whole vibe of a stageplay with puppets is pulled off very well not only with the aforementioned locales but also the character designs themselves.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the grinding aspect tedious due to repetitive clicking through character dialogues, which can detract from the overall experience despite good voice acting.
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users found some moments of humor, such as the "nieve one," amusing, but overall, the humor was not strongly impactful or well-developed.

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77%Critics’ scoreBased on 3 critic reviews

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Frequently Asked Questions

Once Upon A Puppet is a casual platformer game with horror, fantasy and dark fantasy themes.

Once Upon A Puppet is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

Once Upon A Puppet was released on April 23, 2025.

Once Upon A Puppet was developed by Flatter Than Earth.

Once Upon A Puppet has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players. Most players liked Once Upon A Puppet for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

Once Upon A Puppet is a single player game.

Similar games include The Midnight Walk, The Way, Ori and the Blind Forest, South of Midnight, Neva and others.

Once Upon A Puppet

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