Meat Puppet

TBH bought this to replace my faulty CD-ROM version from 1997. It works on both Windows 7 and 10 smoothly (although the cutscenes are scaled down). I am recommending it as a nod to anyone out there who wishes to relive or archive this as part of the game they played a long time ago, and never got to finish either due to bugs or slow hardware. The cyberpunk setting and gun-chick with an attitude was part of the appeal of the game, including some nice narratives, interesting enemies and a different take for an iso-shooter. I propose that many would agree the gameplay takes a backseat to the story (as me and many friends/people wanted to see the conclusion to the story) For newcomers and modern gamers, this might not be your cup of tea. For a start the controls could be regarded as horrendous, hit-detection and box issues, unclear mission info etc. Watch the gameplay via youtube, and see the control scheme (which I've written a quick guide) to imagine what it's like to play it - you have been warned.

Meat Puppet is an ancient game from 1997. It's a whopping 27 years old at the time of this review. The game lacks support for any modern gaming display resolutions (or widescreen monitors), hasn't been modernised or updated to run smoothly on modern gaming PCs. Despite this lack of modernisation, it carries a pretty high price tag for such an ancient game. This seems to have been put on Steam as a nostalgia gouge, or just a cash grab to try profit from abandonware. The game was a lame attempt to try cash in on the hype that Syndicate created in 1993, so if you're nostalgic for the weird 1990's hacker/cyber/guns ethos that was booming so well, uhh, try that, because Meat Puppet is just garbage, really. I think maybe it's trying to do too much and from a studio capable of so little, and of course because it was such a flop, the gravediggers at Piko Interactive had a field day exhuming this corpse. It's trying to be a 2.5D isometric platformer (a genre that NEVER worked well), shooter and puzzle game all at the same time... conceptually such a game might work (just look at Deus Ex, that's got platforming and shooting and a million other things in it), but this one was stillbor…

game has a cool William Gibson inspired cyberpunk world and the gameplay is unique.

Meat Puppet is a weird, fascinating relic that’s equal parts cool and clunky. Despite some technical hiccups (like playtime not tracking properly), the game runs fine once you’re in - and what you get is a genuinely unique experience with striking visuals and a strong art direction. There’s something undeniably compelling about its world and overall vibe. Unfortunately, the controls and movement haven’t aged well at all, feeling awkward and cumbersome, and the combat is serviceable at best. It’s the kind of game that begs for a remaster to modernize the controls while preserving its distinct identity. Flaws and all, though, this is a memorable, offbeat experience, and one I wish I had played back in its prime.

We are all meat puppets