Puppet Nightmares

So I'm actually doing my first reader request with this one, as one of my readers suggested it to me via email.  I'd never heard of this game and he described it as a browser-based Pokemon-like RPG.  He said he'd played it off and on for years, and he actually helped tremendously with this review.  The game is called Puppet Nightmares, and sure enough, it's a browser-based game similar to stuff like Neopets.  Although, as I had played Neopets a long time ago, I sort of expected the same bland, boring gameplay.  As you may have guessed, that changed as here I am actually writing the review.

To start off, the game has a story.  Your brother has disappeared and your only clue is a new "game" that recently popped up managed by a creepy old man.  You find yourself able to enter this mystical game and it is played using Soul Puppets.  Through the story, you'll learn of the various mechanics of the game from combat, buying and using gear, items, and skills, unlocking puppets and buying eggs for those puppets.  But the player I talked to was far more advanced in the game, so I got some info off him as well.  The game has LESP's (Limited Edition Soul Puppets) that you can obtain by buying credits (the in-game currency) using money or old ones can be randomly obtain through Token's.  These LESP's are their own creatures, even if based on another.  They have their own skills and unique artwork, as well as some possessing passive skills that can generate items.  The game is accessible via F2P for the most part, while P2P definitely has some perks, it's not like a F2P player is entirely locked out.  Most games nowadays have "Free" and "Bought" versions of currency, but PN actually doesn't register the difference.  You spend money on Credits or earn them doing various tasks like voting for the game or winning a certain number of battles, either way Credits are Credits and can be spent on those same bonuses.

Of course, after wandering around you don't really see much, so how does the combat play out?  Well you start with a team of 3 puppets, each one with their own unique stats, weapons and skills.  The standard puppets you need to purchase their skills from a shop, but LESP's and other non-standard puppets like enemy puppets unlock them automatically when they reach the required level.  You create teams using a Formation that gives bonuses as well as determine what move ranges will effect them.  Then you select your team of creatures based on whatever criteria you like.  You mainly attack until the enemy stops moving in the beginning, but later on you'll begin considering team synergy, especially if you go PvP Hunting.  While I wasn't able to see it for myself, apparently puppets only get 5 skills of their own from levels 1-50, but from what my reader says, the last 50 levels (max level is 100) you can actually learn enemy skills (he says it works like Smeargle's Sketch from Pokemon).  This means you can further customize your creatures to use skills that maximize on their potential or to help cover a weakness.  So in later levels of PvP, battles between two of the same puppet may not play out like the same old battle as one may cover a weakness to fire while the other may focus on skills with drain or healing.  As he put it, "This puts Pokemon to shame because you can freely train any creature you like."  In the screenshot he provided, Harmony is an Enemy creature that he liked and got through Enemy eggs in the Credit Shop.  They aren't extremely powerful, but he still uses her competitively because of how much power you get in being able to customize through gear and extra moves.  He says she's one of his best healers.  So it truly does give you the power to train what you want unlike Pokemon's broken meta where people use the same old builds even though they have over a thousand creatures.  Not only that, but teamwork in your party also plays a huge role.

As mentioned briefly above, equipment also comes in a very wide variety, so the same exact axe may not be the same exact axe.  Their stats can be tremendously different, they can come with a lot of different components that change how they are used from different stats or status inflictions.  In the shop after I began, I saw two bows that were identical but the stats were wildly different.  This is actually quite normal, people often shop around and will pick up high varieties of gear to then sell in the Auction House.  So even through equipment, you can further build on a specific puppet's strengths or cover weaknesses by finding the right items for the job.  The customization by end game makes PvP far more complex than stuff like Pokemon could ever dream of.  All of this creates a perfect storm of gameplay as you tweak and balance your favorite team, buying items from shops and players, fighting PvP to learn skills (apparantly the skill learning isn't barred in competitive play so you can learn WHILE competing... or find a player willing to "tutor" you).  Regardless, with so much to do from collecting, breeding, selling, crafting, PvP, PvE, the amount to do here is nearly endless.

Since I wasn't able to put in the time for the game, I asked my reader to help gather some screenshots of stuff I couldn't access like the higher level battles and skills.  Since he brought this game to my attention and went out of his way to help me showcase it, I'll be using the link provided to me by my reader so if you sign up, you know you'll be helping him and not me.  So if you want to try out the game for yourself, go ahead and click here to sign up.  Puppet Nightmares

Also, I'd like to thank those who have been reading my blog and if anyone else has any requests, feel free to email me at sinfulhavenentertainment@gmail.com.  I can't promise I'll always review the games on here, but I'll certainly check them out.