Jack Holmes: Master of Puppets Review: Parts Aren’t Quite There (PS5)

When a private detective case turns dangerous, it’s up to Jack Holmes to solve the case. He goes through a haunted house, a mine, and an abandoned fairground to find his target. However, you can’t help but think Jack is forced through this adventure. Jack Holmes: Master of Puppets does a great job at creating a horror atmosphere with some genuinely frightening enemies, but doesn’t tell the best story.

Every step you take is one you dread, especially because enemies come out from nowhere. Unfortunately, a lack of objective direction and poor UI lets the game down significantly. The trappings of a decent survival horror experience are here, but it’s not as great as advertised. It’s still scary but you are mostly figuring out confusing puzzles and hoping for the best.

Jack Holmes: Master of Puppets is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC for 14.99 USD.

Story – Finding the Client through Danger

Jack Holmes: Master of Puppets starts with the titular Jack Holmes who has been unemployed for a long time. After joining the family business, he is sent to find a client with backup that went ahead first. When Jack arrives, it’s clear that the client has experimented with the wrong things. It’s up to him to brave the worst of the dangers to ensure his client’s plans don’t come to fruition. There is something genuinely wrong and the client should be stopped at the end of the day. But you can’t help but feel the story could be stronger.

It’s easy to tell puppets are being experimented on.

The story gets off to an interesting start as Jack tries to find his way out of the client’s house. You even understand his fear and frustration upon learning things aren’t working out. But the game fails to identify something crucial: why doesn’t Jack just leave? It’s clear during the first stage that Jack is out of his league and he’s just trying to survive. But soon the story turns into a full-on crusade to stop the client even when Jack just wants to be safe.

As the protagonist, it’s easy to believe that you are the only one capable of stopping the horrors. But it’s never established why Jack continues or doesn’t escape when he can. Even his diary points out that he doesn’t want to be here. Unlike other horror games where help isn’t available, it’s clear Jack could always go home. Since the story never addresses that, it feels like Jack jumps into danger for no discernible reason and the story loses its gravitas.

Why does Jack stay when he wants to leave?

Gameplay – FPS Horror with Jumpscares

Jack Holmes: Master of Puppets is a survival horror adventure that delivers on the horror. You don’t have many weapons or ammunition, with limited health packs keeping you alive. There aren’t a lot of enemies, but more than enough to give you trouble. Some are encountered throughout the adventure, while others are unique and formidable. But the threat of getting attacked lingers wherever you go.

There are puzzles to solve and enemies who can’t wait to kill you. As you look for puzzle solutions and answers, enemies come out behind the shadows to attack. Combat is almost inevitable and you can’t run away. But every bullet must count and each missing shot is painful. Dealing with incoming horrors and wondering if you have enough bullets raises the tension, making it hard to take another step.

If you are scared of spiders, this game will push that fear.

The puzzles aren’t inherently hard to solve with enough time and thinking. What makes the game difficult is the lack of direction and explanations. It’s easy to get confused because not everything is pointed out to you. While you don’t necessarily need a detailed tutorial, Jack Holmes: Master of Puppets lacks information to make things easier. In fact, it’s often confusing enough that you struggle to find anything.

Information – The Real Horror

Accessing your inventory in Jack Holmes: Master of Puppets is done with the touchpad on the PS5. But that’s not something you would know even if you access the Options menu in the game. Considering that it’s the only way you can use the health packs you discover, it’s difficult to understand why it isn’t included. This also includes ways to make interactive objects visible or figure out how to use objects like dynamite.

Getting to the mine entrance is difficult.

Part of the fun of a game is discovering things for yourself. But in a survival horror game where healing is almost guaranteed? It makes little sense to never point out the option for healing. There’s also no method to detect what your next goal is or find out what you are supposed to do. The paths aren’t exactly linear and it’s easy to get confused thanks to the atmosphere. If you don’t know what you are searching for, how do you know what to do?

Jack never mentions what his next move is or discusses what is going on in depth. As a result, you sometimes don’t understand what you are supposed to do or what a clue means. This turns the horror away from the creatures and towards the gameplay. Due to the brevity or lack of information, this game becomes frustrating, losing the horrific feelings it worked hard to conjure.

Fighting bosses is fun, but reaching them isn’t.

Audio & Visual – Scary Atmosphere, Deadpan Audio

Where Jack Holmes: Master of Puppets shines is in the environment they create and the enemy designs. This game is detailed enough that the spiders will trigger arachnophobia. Environments are dark even with a flashlight and you never know what’s behind the door. Enemies don’t attack immediately, and the darkness helps to hide your enemies. It’s not hard to be terrified about what comes next.

The audio is a let-down as it’s sometimes hard to tell when enemies appear. The background music shifts when enemies arrive or are present, but it sometimes doesn’t appear until an enemy is obviously visible. Jack’s voice also sounds monotone, as if he’s disinterested in what is going on. Contrasting that with his attitude in his diaries makes it weird that he does not attempt to leave.

Jack Holmes: Master of Puppets was reviewed on Steam with a code provided by TonyDevGame.