[b]Puppet Show: Souls of the Innocent[/b] (IHOG)
[i]Review from June, 2010 updated after replaying Steam version in May, 2019[/i]
Years have passed since the events at Joyville, and our old enemy has resurfaced at last. Can you stop her cruel plan before the Souls of the Innocent are lost forever?
Options include separate sliders for Music and Sound, plus Full-screen and Custom Cursor. Choice of Regular or Expert Mode.
This is one of the very early IHOG's, coming out in early 2010, just seven months after [i]Joyville[/i] was released. Not surprisingly, the gameplay and interface are very similar: No map, no journal, no hints during the adventure portion and a fan-out inventory that we need to click on.
We have a lot more locations to explore than we did in the first game, and -- at times -- a LOT of to-ing and fro-ing! As a matter of fact, just when I was getting irritated with the trekking, lo and behold, a shortcut appeared!
[b]Story:[/b]
Nice bright colors belie the sinister plot. This game was nevertheless not as creepy as the first one was for me. It was even more sinister in some ways, but somehow less so, too. I was feeling a bit of a disconnect, despite the environmental graphics. Like [i]Joyville[/i], we learn a lot via journals and notes. The cutscenes are short, and there are no voiceovers, so I really missed having more interaction with the story. This is understandable considering the time frame that these came out, however!
[b]Hidden Objects and More:[/b]
The hidden object scenes have some light interaction, and will sometimes (but not always) have multiples of the same object on your to-find list. These scenes range from slighty to super-cluttered. Each scene will be visited twice - sometimes close together, sometimes far apart.
Just as a side note, there's one HOS where the interaction is to change the lighting, adding a lovely depth to the scene and definitely adding interest! I love how handled it!
You will occasionally need to write down solutions for the (skippable) puzzles, but as they're not super-complex, you should be able to remember most of what you need.
I have to say that my favorite part of the game was the graphics. Some of those scenes are just fantastic, and I was amazed by the great detail that went into the hidden objects, themselves.
[b]Bonus Content:[/b]
Integrated Strategy Guide, which is available at any time. The Extra Content button on the Main Menu remains locked until you complete the main story, and you'll have to play the Bonus Chapter before these become available:
[list]
[*]4 Music Tracks
[*]5 Wallpapers (1024x760 I think)
[*]Screensaver
[*]11 Concept Art (can be saved to computer)
[/list]
[b]Bonus Chapter[/b]
We have quite a few new locations to visit, and some of the scenes we've visited before have zoom-in areas that weren't there during the main game. I wasn't sure what we were investigating until the very short ending sequence, which shows us the actual ending of the game. Missing this tiny bit of information really doesn't change anything, but the gameplay was still fun, so definitely worth playing the extra chapter.
[b]Verdict:[/b]
The PuppetShow series is a great example of how hidden object games have changed over time. Although [i]Souls of the Innocent[/i] is still HO-heavy, this second game has more of an adventure feeling to it, and with a lot more locations to visit. I would've liked to see a more-immersive style of storytelling, but that is entirely personal preference - I love having a lot of story to my games! This is a very good game, which I recommend to my IHOG-loving friends.
