Puppet House to open later this year

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Campy survival horror with puzzle elements in ventriloquist's mansion coming to PC, PlayStation and Xbox

There's something kind of inherently creepy about ventriloquist dummies, who are made to look like they're alive even when they're not. But when they ARE alive, that's when things get really creepy, especially if they're homicidal psychopaths, like in the upcoming campy survival horror adventure, Puppet House. 

The previously quiet Field Town has recently been beset with a series of unexplained disappearances. Each case leads to the deserted mansion of the deceased ventriloquist Peter Hill, with disturbing newspaper reports of "mysterious screams emanating from inside the house." As Detective Rick Evans, you decide to tackle the investigation, only to realize that the answers are far more terrifying than you imagined. It seems that a "freak ritual" turned the ventriloquist's old wooden puppet into a demonic, soul-stealing killer that is now "hunting down anyone who dares to enter the mansion." It's up to you to brave the dangers of the old manor to uncover its many "dark and gruesome secrets" that may best be left forgotten, and possibly even rescue anyone left alive. To succeed you must solve the house's many puzzles and seek out any tools and clues needed to help unravel the mystery of this accursed place. But even if you do, living to tell the tale will be a challenge in its own right, as you must deal with the "evil force" that "relentlessly hunts those who trespass." 

Presented in first-person, free-roaming 3D, Puppet House is designed to be "thick with the atmosphere of tension and fear" as you wander its "dark corridors where the shadows of the past intertwine with the present." And yet this is a story about a killer dummy, after all, so it's delivered very much tongue-in-cheek, its "sense of unease .... perfectly balanced with a touch of B-movie horror humor that evokes the charm of classic 80s and 90s horror movies and games." So yes, players can expect "over-the-top scares and a killer puppet antagonist that's as creepy as it is absurd," but instead of a continual fight for survival, it will play out like a "campy horror with challenging escape room elements." You'll need both your courage and your wits about you to overcome challenges that "require you to be not only clever but also logical," with potentially "dire consequences" for every poor decision. Along the way, you'll also want to keep a sharp eye out for notes and newspaper clippings, as well as "old memorabilia" that will shine new light on the "mysterious history of the house and its owner."

While no firm release date has yet been announced, Puppet House isn't far off, expected to be launched on Steam, GOG and Epic for Windows PC, along with console versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series, sometime later this year.