Over a year ago Full Moon announced they would be partnering with October Games to create a video game for their classic “Puppet Master” series. Lead designer Drake Kazmierczak says this project started out as a fan game around 10 years ago. So it has certainly been a journey to painstakingly develop this free-to-play game.
The “Puppet Master” films focus on a group of murderous puppets created around World War 2 by Andre Toulon. Each has their own special ability and with over 12 films in the franchise, their motives for murder have been known to change. Sometimes they are just bloodthirsty killing machines, other times they are violent anti-heroes.
A new developer vlog for “Puppet Master: The Game” has confirmed a release date for an open beta in 2023. Originally it was slated for 2022, the delay is due to the addition of single-player mode. While this is primarily an asymmetrical multiplayer game, there will now be Tulons’s journals. Which is a sandbox mode where you can complete challenges, fight bad guys, and earn XP. All while finding the pages of lost pages of Toulon’s journal. These pages are written by Nat Brehmer, who wrote the book “Puppet Master Complete: A Franchise History,” so saying he is familiar with the franchises’ lore is a huge understatement.
The journal pages act as an audio log that you can discover in the game’s different environments. Finding one will allow a player to hear Toulon’s voice as he talks about his history with the puppets. Many of these pages give more backstory to these iconic charcaters. These journal entries can be listened to while you play or outside of the game once they’ve been unlocked.
Kazmierczak also confirmed in the vlog that developers are working on adding bot support for the open beta. This will give players the choice to play “Puppet Master: The Game”’s modes as either a solo or a co-op experience. But if you cannot wait for the open beta in March, October Games will also be hosting closed beta sessions. Announcements for those will happen in their official Discord server. In the meantime, you can help out by wish listing the game on Steam.
“Puppet Master: The Game” is set to launch its open beat on March 1st, 2023. Check out the vlog and game’s official announcement trailer below:
