Once Upon a Puppet is set in a fantasy land where living puppets called "actors" and magical hands called "stagehands" work together to create theatrical performances. Unfortunately for the land, the king has gone mad after a personal tragedy. He is attempting to destroy the past by tearing the theater to shreds, sending all of the props and sets in ruins to the land below. This tragedy causes a puppet named Drev and a stagehand name Nieve to be bound together with magic threads. The only way for the duo to escape its new binding is to find a way to stop the king and save the land.

At its heart, Once Upon a Puppet is a 2.5D platformer. The core mechanics are very easy to pick up and play, with your standard complement of jumps and climbs. Nieve and Drev are bound together by magical threads, quite literally a living hand-and-puppet duo, and that gives them some advantages when exploring the land. Some of these are obvious, such as Nieve being able to pull Drev higher into the air when he jumps. Others involve taking advantage of the fact that you have two different characters at once, such as Nieve being able to "tug" on Drev while he's trying to pull a box to give some oomph to his movements and let him pull heavier boxes. In the preview build, we also came across additional thread that the duo used to upgrade its skills, unlocking the ability to perform a powerful slingshot maneuver so they could zoom across the area in specific context-sensitive spots.

The puzzles in the preview build were built around combining the various skills. There was standard 2.5D platforming, where you had to hop across various objects in the environment to proceed. Other times, you had to reposition boxes to climb on them. One timed puzzle required players to turn a crank in the environment and then quickly dart over to a slingshot anchor to send yourself flying into an open door before it closed. Most of the puzzles were basic, but this was also clearly the tutorial area, and there's plenty of room for growth.

Of course, there are enemies in the environment. These include Junk Monsters, which are sentient piles of trash. There are also puddles of all-consuming black slime that devour any creature that comes close. Within the preview build, these enemies are obstacles rather than a being you can actually fight. The duo has no real ability to stop its attackers, so it needs to dodge and maneuver around them to avoid being killed. Some of the puzzles ask you to figure out how to perform complex tasks without drawing attention, such as sneaking past a sleeping Junk Monster or luring them far away enough from a slingshot point so you'll have time to properly use it.

Once Upon a Puppet's preview build shows a 2.5D platformer with plenty of potential. While we only experienced the basics, it's clear that the gimmick of a puppeteer and puppet working together can open up some involved and complex gameplay mechanics. The core platforming felt good, and the world and premise are interesting enough that I can't help but be curious about where the developers are going. I look forward to seeing more from Once Upon a Puppet as it approaches release later in 2025.