It is a truth universally accepted that puppets can be quite alarming when removed from the context of theatre. Their soulless eyes, fixed expressions, and uncanny resemblance to living things make them practically gift-wrapped for the horror genre. Cinema has been particularly enamoured with the concept, stuffing creepy dummies into everything from the Ealing anthology Dead of Night, to the Anthony Hopkins starring Magic, right through to the entire oeuvre of James Wan. Hell, there’s even a multi-film series dedicated to the idea, in the form of the Puppet Master franchise.

By contrast videogames have been slow on the uptake, only really using dolls as spooky set dressing and occasional jump scare fodder (e.g. Until Dawn). Indeed, there hasn’t really been a fully-fledged, puppet themed horror game yet, with Five Nights at Freddy’s serving as the closest we’ve ever gotten. 

Perhaps the industry has been reluctant to use these archetypes because their whole uncanny-valley gimmick wouldn’t be nearly as effective in pixel form, where everything (even the humans) looks that way by default. Or maybe it’s because they don’t work as enemies that you have to fight, what with their diminutive stature and slow mobility. Either way, it’s fair to say that – as far as videogames are concerned – puppets have been the perennial bridesmaids, constantly playing second fiddle to the likes of ghosts, zombies and even plain-old psychopaths. 

Well it appears that Kindly Beast- developers of the popular Bendy series – has taken note of this gap in the market, having dropped a new episodic release that couldn’t be more puppet-centric if it tried. Aiming to do for Howdy Doody what their previous title did for turn of the century animation, The Showdown Bandit puts a nightmarish spin on yet another beloved children’s pastime: namely marionette shows. Think of it as a nightmarish version of Woody’s Roundup from Toy Story 2 and you’re in the right ballpark. 

You play as the titular outlaw – the protagonist from a discontinued black and white television program – who has recently awoken from a deep slumber to discover that his studio has been abandoned by its human overlords and plunged into post-apocalyptic disarray. As you wander through the corny cardboard sets, surrounded by towering cameras and massive furniture, it becomes apparent that something terrible has happened in your absence. There’s a chilling silence hanging in the air, cryptic messages are etched into the floorboards, and ominous figures lurk on the border of your periphery. It’s a wonderfully chilling introduction, reminiscent of the opening moments of 28 Days Later only with Cillian Murphy recast as a cowboy puppet. 

Eventually, you happen across the rest of the gang, who inform you that the workshop is under siege by an ominous force known as ‘’the stringless’’. For context, these are featureless marionettes who are not bound by any wires, can go anywhere they please and do whatever they want. They come in a wide range of terrifying shapes and sizes, from the vanilla originals, to arachnoid variants and even zombies that must be downed by headshots. With this menacing hoard now threatening to overrun the studio, the showdown bandit must reassume his gunslinger persona and come out of retirement to save his friends. 

Right off the bat, it’s a gripping premise and the game makes a tremendous first impression with that eerie prelude. Aesthetically the whole thing is gorgeous presented, due in no small part to the characterful art direction that lends each and every room its own distinct flavor. You can easily get your bearings in this labyrinthine world, because everywhere is so damn memorable – from the ghoulish graveyard, to the rustic crossroads, right through to the rickety mine. What’s more, these locations are very authentic in terms of how they lovingly recall the cheesy sets that might appear in one of those old serials, albeit with a deliciously dark makeover. 

Speaking of which, praise is certainly due for the expressionistic lighting effects, which cast an oppressive gloom over proceedings. The dev team has found ingenious ways of staging things and placing their restricted light sources in exactly the right spots, so that they can get as much mileage from them as possible. A swinging lantern might momentarily reveal a huge pile of disused puppets and a shadow cast from a spotlight can tease an upcoming encounter. It’s all very impressively done, both from a technical and creative standpoint, like you’re navigating through playable concept art. 

The same affection has gone into designing the enemies too. Echoing Tim Burton doodles by way of the wild west, they all have clearly defined visual identities that are simultaneously unsettling and endearing. If you remember the movie 9, then that should give you a decent idea of what to expect, as you’ll be facing-off against wooden puppets that have had their limbs replaced, and sentient balls of string with needles for legs. Not only do these foes look the part, but their weird animations and haunting sound effects help to further reinforce their individual personalities, resulting in truly striking antagonists that you won’t forget anytime soon.  

You can also tell that a lot of care has gone into crafting the in-universe brand of the Showdown Bandit, with well-observed little details like the kitschy breakfast cereal tie-in and the fictional memorabilia that is scattered all over the place. In fact, the theming is generally fantastic across the board, adding a sense of cute novelty to otherwise generic mechanics. For example, the twitchy banker acts as your save point, attack cooldowns happen when you reel in your cork gun, and even level transitions are presented in a quirky way. In short, there’s charm to spar heree. 

Which is fortunate, because the actual gameplay leaves a lot to be desired. The developers inexplicably conceived of this as top-down, point-and-click adventure, a choice that is counterintuitive to virtually all of the mechanics they’ve bothered to include. In particular, it runs firmly at odds with the stealthy approach you are supposed to take for the majority of your playtime. After all, sneaking is an action that requires the utmost precision, timing, and dexterity: three things that are denied when you only have partial control over your character’s movements. 

You see, in order to get the bandit moving, you have to click where you want him to go and then impotently hope that he arrives at that destination in one piece. The problem being that the route he decides to take will be unpredictable at best and downright suicidal at worst, with the avatar often waltzing straight into an enemy’s line of sight for no apparent reason. He’ll insist on doing this even when there’s an alternative way that would be much safer for him, and I can’t count the number of times I took damage because I didn’t expect him to veer off in a certain direction. 

The only sure-fire to prevent this from happening is to set closer waypoints so that he can’t get confused. But at that point you might as well be in direct control of him anyway! I mean, what’s the point in this being a point-and-click game if I’m expected to micromanage every step of this motherfucker’s leisurely-paced stroll? 

And boy oh boy does he take his sweet time getting anywhere. This game could give The Man of Medan a run for its money in the ‘’unbearably slow-walking’’ department. I’m not sure if it was just a clumsy way of artificially increasing the tension, but it really starts to get on your nerves after a while, especially when you’re replaying the same instakill section for the tenth bloody time! 

It also makes back-tracking a royal pain in the ass, as you’re forced to watch as the bandit sluggishly ambles from one end of the map to the other. This wouldn’t be so bad if you uncovered more shortcuts or if the levels interlocked more closely, ala Resident Evil or Castlevania, but more often than not you’ll just have to retrace the exact same long-winded path, with nothing really changing or being added along the way. It’s deathly dull! 

Outside of the stealth, there is an obligatory combat system that feels tacked on and lacking in any nuance. Essentially, you have a gun that can only be used when standing on a specific pressure pad, which will allow you to enter into an over-the-shoulder perspective. From there, you will have the opportunity to gun down oncoming enemies, in what amounts to a glorified shooting gallery.

However, because you can only do this at predetermined spots, when there’s an enemy stood directly in front of you, it might as well be a QTE for all the difference it makes. You don’t have to strategically position yourself, think about conserving ammunition, or even worry too much about aiming. Player agency is totally stripped away and it’s more a case of ‘’if there is a pressure pad, then you simply must use it to progress’’. To clarify, I’m not averse to this game having a combat mechanic per se, but why bother if its going to be this half arsed?  

Towards the end, there’s also this bizarre on-rails segment that comes completely out of nowhere. It’s quite disorienting and you receive no instruction on what you’re actually supposed to be doing, not to mention the fact that every time you go through a loading screen you randomly emerge facing in the wrong direction. It’s frustrating to the point that it almost singlehandedly killed my enthusiasm for the rest of the game. Someone on the team evidently thought it was worthwhile though, because upon completion of the episode you’re rewarded with the ability to replay it as a bonus mini-game. What a treat! 

At least one positive element of player interaction is that there are a lot of cool secrets to find in the environments – such as extra costumes and hidden Easter eggs. Some of the optional puzzles are pretty fun too, as they are tricky enough to be meaningful, without ever crossing the line into being annoying. Still, that’s not nearly enough to hang an entire game on.  

As it stands, the Showdown Bandit is sadly built on shaky foundations that barely manage to hold up for just one episode. It gets by purely on the strength of its delightful visual style and clever theming, but if Kindly Beast want this property to be sustainable in the long run, then they are going to have to make some big changes to the gameplay. Because my patience was wearing thin after just 2 hours. 

The Showdown Bandit is out now for PC.