Jack Holmes Master of Puppets Review (PlayStation 5)

Jack Holmes’ Master of Puppets is a game that stands out for its nice graphics, horror-action gameplay, and atmospheric settings. The game offers a first-person view with interactive items and elements that are highlighted when you hover over them. It includes in-game cutscenes and uses telephones to save the game. The game also incorporates puzzle elements throughout, making it engaging and challenging.

The game is haunting in its appearance of locations, and general movement is limited. Players can use a gun in first person complete with aim-down sights. Candles and other light sources not only help light the way but also add to the cool aesthetics of the game. The game uses a life bar system, and players use med kits to replenish their health. These can be accessed via shortcut items on your d-pad. The menu shows your character’s health percentage and current mood.

Despite some issues, the game really grips you. There’s an inexplicable urge to explore everything and find out what’s going on. A lot of the game has jump scares, chases, weird-looking images, and environmental hazards. The areas and locations are memorable, and the game gets better as you progress further.

However, the game has its drawbacks. The controls cannot be remapped, and there’s no way to see what the controls are. There’s no tutorial offered, and the movement can feel very wishy-washy like your character is drunk and stumbling from side to side. The torch is not very effective, and it can be really hard to see enemies. The game doesn’t make it clear that low-down interactions require you to crouch beforehand.

Players may find themselves getting frustratingly stuck a lot of the time with little to no help with guidance or even a hint as to where to go. You rely on save points a lot as dying results in a game over and you have to load your last save. There’s no feedback on whether you are actually killing or hurting enemies. Interactions require absolute precision otherwise it won’t register, even when it does highlight and the hand cursor shows the game won’t always register your input. You have to go into your inventory to use ammo packs instead of being automatic.

There’s no real reason to replay the game once you’ve completed it. The game pace is slow all around, but the initial hour is really tough as you try and grasp what the game expects of you. Despite these issues, Jack Holmes’ Master of Puppets offers a unique and engaging gaming experience and I ended up really enjoying despite the first hour being really rough, I found the world, the story, and all the encounters intriguing and they really helped propel me through and had me thinking about the game long after I finished playing.