PuppetShow: Mystery of Joyville
4.1
5
45
45
Beautiful graphics
I keep buying the PuppetShow series of games primarily due to the beautiful graphics. The hidden object scenes are not to challenging nor are the puzzles. But it is a long play game well into the 6-8hr length and worth the purchase.
December 19, 2011
Sequels are important
I played Lost Town [which is the sequel] first, so when I played this, I was stunned that the graphics are pretty dated. It's not that it's bad, it's just that Lost Town's graphics really blew me away, so the standards were set high.
That being said, that means they improved, did they not?
And there's something nice about retro graphics. :)
Anyway, they set a nice base plot for the story, and the characters touch the heart [e.g the love/devotion of Felicia's dad]. I must say, this ending is much better than Lost Town's, but this one ended abruptly.
Also, it's probably because I've played Lost Town first, but the challenges here are way too easy. But it's fine by me, because it makes for a relaxing play. :)
The sequel only got better, so I encourage the hesitant customer to get both this and Lost Town. [Am unsure about the third installment as I've not finished it yet, but I am sure Puppetshow will not disappoint me.]
December 16, 2011
Cool!
I liked that game a lot. For the challenge, the grapics, the storyline. Everything! I you want a game that you will not necessarily finish in 1 day, this is a good one (unless you are just like me and just can't stop playing until it's finished! lol)
November 19, 2011
Puppets gone mad
This game has really nice graphics and a good storyline. The HOs are pretty good, but the puzzles are very easy. To me this is your basic HO with a little adventure thrown in. I purchased this after playing the demo for the 3rd in the series as I enjoyed that one, so I wanted the whole storyline experience.
Although the storyline is good and continues throughtout the sequels, this game for me is only ok. I prefer much more interaction and this just doesn't have much.
Playing time was very, very short, but again it is pretty much just a HOG.
Sorry can't recommend unless you really like just HOGs or you are new to HOGs.
January 22, 2012
Simple But Elegant Game
GAME COMPLETED SEVERAL TIMES
What a treat it is to be playing Mystery Of Joyville again. The GRAPHICS are simply beautiful ? bright, colourful, exquisitely detailed. Even the ?ugly? scenes look wonderful.
Compared to the later PuppetShow games, Joyville is very simplistic, and very much a HO GAME. There are HOGs everywhere you turn, and each LIST is full of items such as ?4 clocks?, so you get to stay put for quite a while. There is some INTERACTION, but it is not indicated on the list, only by sparkles.
The PUZZLES were delightfully simple; in a couple of cases I was waiting for the catch! For me to call a puzzle easy, it must be very simple indeed.
Some of the appeal of this game is, in fact, its simplicity.
The story is simplicity itself. You are asked to investigate the disappearance of a young boy. His family inform of a rash of disappearances from the town that seem to be connected to the old puppet theatre. So you investigate the theatre.
I liked that there was NO MAP, NO HINT outside HOGs, NO VOICEOVERS, NO VIDEO CUTSCENES. I?m not saying I?d want all games to go back to that quieter game style, but it is nice for a change.
I also love the way animation is implied by a series of stills.
I got a real buzz out of replaying this little gem.
April 27, 2013
Good game!
I really like this game. I love the dark storyline and the graphics are really great. It is a fairly easy game so it won't take you very long to get through it, which might put some people off. It does end rather abruptly, but knowing there was a sequel this didn't bother me too much!
If you are looking for a game with a relaxed pace and interesting storyline then this one is for you!
November 30, 2011
another great ers game
I have bought all the puppet show games and have not been disappointed. They are all fun and enjoyable to play. Hope to see another one soon. Great fun.
August 12, 2012
Great game
I truly enjoyed playing this game. The graphics are great, the story line flows well and the mini games were fun to play. I didn't want the game to end. I played the Lost Town and couldn't tell you which I liked better. I will be purchasing all the PuppetShow games.
December 4, 2011
Not for me
Based on the reputation of the PuppetShow series, I was enthused to play this game. I thought the graphics were nice and the story line was a great idea with the potential for a great game, but it never took off for me. To be fair, there were a couple of interesting moments and I did play it to the end, but mostly I just wanted it to be over.
The main issue for me is that almost the entire game play consists of moving from one HO scene to the next. I don't think it's fibbing to say that perhaps 90% of the locations you visit have a junk pile HO scene; and at least one location had two of them. Some of the HO scenes were challenging in the way the items were hidden, but the puzzles were very easy and required almost no thought.
There are no diaries, maps or journals in the game. There is basically no back tracking, and game play is forward moving and linear. Inventory is small with mostly obvious uses, and the game is full of sparkles everywhere. Gamers who love puzzles or adventure and figuring things will likely be very bored and disappointed.
Once I got over my disappointment about halfway through the game and realized it was just going to be HO scenes, I relaxed with a cup of coffee and played casually and just tried to enjoy it for what it is. From that perspective, I think this is perhaps an excellent game for casual gamers who want to play a HOG with very easy puzzles and without much adventure.
I've read the sequels are different and more challenging, but at this point I am quite hesitant to continue with the PuppetShow series.
April 29, 2012
Could be more challenging
I played also the other "Puppet Show"-games, and I find this one too easy. The game has many hidden-object scenes, but they sparkle. The "hints" work only for theses, but otherwise, you get a lot of clues. So if you are used to HOG, you should be able to finish this game in about 2 hours. Nevertheless, the graphics are very nice and the story is interesting. If you would like more challenge, I would recommend the other two "Puppet Show"-games.
December 6, 2011