Puppet Combo is perhaps the best-known dev in the indie horror scene. Their brand of horror is retro slasher at it’s finest; low-poly PlayStation one VHS static, and gratuitous gore. Their games are brutal, kinetic, and self-aware in a campy, fun way. But that doesn’t mean they’re not scary. Puppet Combo are masters of the jump-scare as I’m sure anyone familiar with their games is well aware of.
Their footprint in the genre is felt if even by the size of their catalog alone. Ranging from bite-sized demos to fully furnished releases, they have something to scratch the horror itch of any variety. As such, I want to curate a list of what I think are Puppet Combo’s hardest-hitting, feature-rich games.
5. The Glass Staircase
The Glass Staircase is perhaps Puppet Combo’s most esoteric game to date. It could make this list on that merit alone, but its tight gameplay, fixed camera angles, and dreamy atmosphere are what make it worth mentioning.
You take control of several young girls trapped in a remote plantation-style mansion. You follow orders given to you via loudspeaker as you navigate the building and surrounding courtyard areas. There’s some thin story to be pieced together via notes and exposition, and it tells a story that is a little wider and more complex than the majority of Puppet Combo’s entries.
The gameplay is an homage to the classics, with tank controls and fixed camera angles. It reminds me somewhat of the original Obscure game, with parallels being multiple controllable characters and a weird, large building to explore. That’s not to say it doesn’t feel distinctly Resident Evil, which it does.
When compiling the list of best Puppet Combo games, The Glass Staircase secures a spot for its unique premise and a surprising amount of restraint shown in its scares. If you’re looking for more of a slow burn, check it out.
You can buy The Glass Staircase on Itch.io, here
4. Murder House
From here on out, you’ll be seeing more standard Puppet Combo fare; young adults in disgusting environments being chased by sadistic killers. With a name like Murder House, what were you expecting?
Murder House follows a news crew who are rolling a documentary on deceased serial killer Anthony Smith, who dawned a pink Easter bunny suit and sickle for his killings. They break into his house for footage, but as you might expect, said killer has returned from the dead.
You must sneak around the house, dodging the killer and solving puzzles to escape. The game is fully voice-acted in fantasticly cheesy fashion and the story is straightforward but surprisingly developed. Murder House feels like perhaps a more straightforward rendition of The Glass Staircase, as they both feature tank controls, fixed camera angles, and the basic premise of “escape this freaky house”
Check this one out if you’re looking for a straightforward 3rd person thriller that’s a great starting point for Puppet Combo Games.
You can buy Murder House on Steam, here Playstation here Xbox here, and Switch here
3. The Night Ripper
You’ll find The Night Ripper on many a list of Best Puppet Combo Games.
The Night Ripper is an enigmatic killer who stalks the shadowy and decrepit alleys and seedy city streets. He appears nightly on the news as reports come in of more and more prostitutes murdered.
Naturally, Rachel, our protagonist, is not at all worried about this as she finishes up her night shift at the diner and must head home.
You must navigate the admittedly immense and labyrinthine city while avoiding the Night Ripper who relentlessly patrols the streets. It’s terrifying to be walking down a dark alley when suddenly a beaming pair of headlights turn the corner behind you in pursuit. What ensues is a kinetic game of cat-and-mouse for the duration of the experience.
Eventually, you get off the streets into a condemned building where the chase gets even more intimate. Puppet Combo manages to never let off the tension, and the shock of the ridiculous killer closing in on me has stuck with me years after having played it.
The Night Ripper makes the list of Best Puppet Combo Games as it exemplifies all of Puppet Combo’s strengths. You’ve got a retro atmosphere, a ridiculous and unrelenting killer, moments of quiet between explosive jump scares, and tension that never lets up.
You can feel the DNA of The Night Ripper in the last two games on this list. Check this one out if you’re looking for something frantic and relentless in its tension.
You can buy the Night Ripper by signing up for Puppet Combo’s Patreon, here
2. Stay Out of The House
Stay Out of the House is Puppet Combo’s latest offering, which I wrote a review of here.
Drilling down to the best of the best now. Stay Out of the House easily makes this list. Despite a clear warning in the title of the game, you do not in fact, Stay out of the House. This of course leads to your immediate capture and likely death.
Patrolled by a murderous, burlap sack-wearing killer and his…mother? You must sneak about, manage your inventory and resources, and discover an escape route. Stay Out of the House flirts with elements of the Immersive Sim genre as you have a more tangible connection to the environment around you. You can open up shortcut pathways, move chairs around to reach higher areas, snip cords of security cameras, and toggle lights to help your ability to sneak.
You start near a safe room on the 2nd floor which is used as your base of operations. From here you’ll make short forays about the house to collect resources and build out a mental map of the area. All of this is done while dodging the killers and managing resources along the way. It’s an awesome gameplay loop, and the tension/reprieve of going to-and-from the safe room is sure to evoke feelings of the classic Resident Evil games.
It’s easy to give Stay Out of the House a spot on the list of best Puppet Combo games for its complex, intimate design. It forgoes bombastic jump scares for endless tension and the slow-burning dread of sneaking around the house.
Check out this one if you’re looking for a more refined and tightly-paced thriller where careful planning beats running for your life.
You can buy Stay Out of the House on Steam here, Playstation here Xbox here and Switch here
1. Nun Massacre
Snagging the #1 spot of Best Puppet Combo game is none other than Nun Massacre.
You could say that Nun Massacre walked so Stay Out of the House could run, and I wouldn’t disagree with you. The Immersive Sim DNA is felt here too, in it’s careful resource management, it’s tense, stealth-filled gameplay and it’s maze-like giant church to navigate.
But I think what elevates Nun Massacre to another level is it’s atmosphere. You play as a parent who receives a distressing letter from their child who attends a religious boarding school. Why you would ever send your child to such an evil-looking building is beyond me, but either way, you go to investigate. The boarding school is immense. With multiple floors, hidden passageways, and vents to climb around in you feel like a rat in a maze. It’s huge and disorienting, unlike the tighter design of the mansion from Stay Out of the House.
What ensues is gameplay that very much inspired Stay Out of the House. Your child is nowhere to be found and a murderous nun stalks the halls, knife at the ready and eyes streaked with blood. You sneak around and solve item puzzles while juggling limited inventory space all while dodging the terrifying Nun.
There is some backtracking needed as you collect items or collect the appropriate tools to open up vent grates. This just adds to the tension. As it takes time to build out a mental map of the boarding school, and you learn which paths to take and which to avoid.
There’s something to be said about spending time getting to know the game world you inhabit. It allows the atmosphere to sink in, tension to build, and jump scares to be extra effective. Ultimately, this is what makes Nun Massacre so memorable.
The gameplay might be a little lighter than Stay Out of the House but the tone is much darker and the atmosphere is relentlessly gothic. There is an air of mystery here that I think is unmatched in other Puppet Combo games. This means the story is similarly obtuse, but with just enough to feel complete by the end. Speaking of the end, there are multiple endings to chase after as well.
You can buy Nun Massacre on Itch.io, here, Playstation here, Xbox here, and Switch here
To Summarize
Each of the games on this list highlights Puppet Combo’s mastery of the horror genre. There’s something here for everyone. Be it the slow burn of The Glass Staircase, or the relentlessness of The Night Ripper.
But if you want to play the best Puppet Combo game, I wholeheartedly recommend Nun Massacre. Check this one out if you’re looking to experience a pulse-pounding game of cat and mouse set in a gothic nightmare. This is Puppet Combo firing on all cylinders.
If you’d like to read a list of the best 5 games from another powerhouse indie horror dev, Chilla’s Art, check out “The 5 Best Chilla’s Art Games Ranked”
