Hello Puppets! VR

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Escape a burnt-out kids' TV studio where the puppets have turned evil.

Platforms: VR, PC
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (83% of 280 reviews); rated 4.3 of 5 from 46 ratings on the Meta Store
Length: 2 to 4 hours
Players: 1
Controls: VR headset with tracked motion controllers; played standing (SteamVR or Rift).
Made by: Otherworld Interactive
Released: 2019

Not on iPhone or Android. Hello Puppets! VR is on Steam, PC and VR. It is not in the Mobile part of the site you came from.

Get it on Steam Meta Store (Rift, PC VR)

What frightens You break into the burnt-out studio of Mortimer's Handeemen, a cancelled 1980s children's show where eight people died in a fire, and its hand puppets have come alive and want you; the store promises pop-out scares in the dark between puzzles, lightened by the swearing puppet Scout stuck on your hand.
Content: jumpscares, strong language, blood, a hanged body.

Hello Puppets! is a VR horror-comedy in which one of your hands becomes Scout, a sarcastic talking puppet. Together you must escape the burnt-out studio of a forgotten children's show whose puppets have come to life and turned murderous, through puzzles and jump scares.

About Hello Puppets! VR

Hello Puppets! is a virtual reality game from Otherworld Interactive, the studio behind the mobile VR horror Sisters. It first came out on the Oculus Rift in December 2019 and arrived on Steam as Hello Puppets! VR in October 2020.

In 1986 a fire destroyed the studio where Mortimer's Handeemen, a failing knock-off of a famous puppet show, was filmed, and eight people died, including its creator. You play a college reporter who breaks into the ruin to see whether the rumours of a haunting are true. Inside, the show's hand puppets have been brought to life by a spell gone wrong, and they have plans for you.

Your one ally is Scout, a foul-mouthed puppet stuck on your own hand who is, in her words, only slightly less evil. You talk to her, solve puzzles with her and can switch into Puppet Mode to see the studio from her height. She remembers how you treat her and reacts to it. The game moves between calm puzzle rooms and sudden scares, with grinning puppets lurching out of the dark.

The tone mixes comedy with horror, so it is less relentless than most VR horror, but the scares are real and the studio is full of blood stains, body bags and stitched-together puppets. It suits players who liked the friendly-turned-sinister mascots of Five Nights at Freddy's or Amanda the Adventurer and want them in VR. A later game, Hello Puppets: Midnight Show, is a flat-screen prequel.

How to play Hello Puppets! VR

Buy it on Steam for SteamVR headsets or on the Meta Store for Rift and PC VR.
Set up a standing play space and start the game with your motion controllers.
Talk to Scout, the puppet on your hand, and listen to her hints.
Explore the burnt-out studio, picking up and using objects to solve puzzles.
Switch into Puppet Mode to reach places and see clues only Scout can.
Get away from the evil Handeemen puppets when they come for you.

Screenshots

Hello Puppets! VR screenshot: a skeletal puppet master in a top hat leans over a stage above a row of grinning puppet heads

Hello Puppets! VR screenshot: the stitched puppet Scout in a dark room beside monitors showing a giant staring clown face

Hello Puppets! VR screenshot: a cardboard cut-out of the dog puppet Rosco in front of the ruined Main Stage sign

Tips

How you treat Scout changes how she reacts to you, so answer her with care.
When stuck, try Puppet Mode; many puzzles need her view of the room.
Play standing with room to turn; some scares come from behind.
Read the posters, tapes and papers around the studio for the story of the fire.

Questions

Is Hello Puppets! VR scary?

Yes, though it mixes in comedy. It has pop-out scares and evil puppets in a dark, burnt-out studio, with blood stains and body bags, broken up by Scout's jokes and calm puzzle rooms.

Can I play Hello Puppets! on Quest?

Not as a standalone Quest game. It is sold for PC VR on Steam and the Meta Store's Rift section, so a Quest needs to be linked to a PC.

How long is Hello Puppets!?

Reviewers put the campaign at about two to four hours.