One of low-budget horror’s most enduring franchises is making the jump to video games in 2023 via the ever-popular asymmetrical multiplayer format. Indeed, Full Moon has partnered with October Games for Puppet Master: The Game. While news of the game is nothing new, as the announcement trailer dropped over a year ago, we do have a new developer vlog that has confirmed a release date for the game’s open beta, which is set for March 2023. What’s more, they have also confirmed a single-player mode, which is part of why it’s coming next year rather than 2022.
Lead designer Drake Kazmierczak and lead audio designer Nicholas Haye discuss the game in the above video, revealing that, in addition to the 3 vs 1 Thief mode, they also have a single-player mode called Toulon’s Journals. This is a sandbox mode that will allow players to complete challenges, fight enemies, earn experience points, and discover the missing pages of Andre Toulon’s journal. Kazmierczak explains in the video that these various journal pages will reveal the backstories of various characters from the franchise.
In addition to the information the creators drop about the game, the video is loaded with lots of footage. It’s worth noting that this is going to be a free-to-play game, so that might explain why it may not look as polished as a AAA title such as Evil Dead: The Game, even though it will feature similar gameplay. As for what to expect? Here’s how October explains it:
“This Free to Play online multiplayer game will celebrate the series’ 30-year legacy. Revisit iconic locations, select from a large roster of playable characters from the movies. Play a variety of online multiplayer game modes, each inspired by the Puppet’s many adventures.”
Additionally, they have a brief synopsis for the 3 vs 1 Thief mode, which reads as follows:
“Ever wanted to flip the standard Asymmetrical Multiplayer Horror Game formula? Where 3 heinous Puppets stalk a lone Human survivor? As a Human, you must steal Andre Toulon’s secrets of reanimation and escape with your life. As the Puppets, you must protect your Master’s secret at all costs! Sneak up on your prey and unleash a pint-sized siege of terror!”
Puppet Master has been a shockingly enduring film series dating back to the original 1989 slasher flick, directed by David Schmoeller. Since then, the franchise has ballooned to include a massive fifteen entries, all with very little box office, driven almost entirely by the home video market. That being the case, a free-to-play video game is a logical next step, much like the upcoming Killer Klowns from Outer Space game, which is also coming our way in 2023.
Puppet Master: The Game arrives in open beta on March 1, 2023, and it can be added to your Steam wishlist as we speak.
