Controversially there is one era of horror titles I appreciate more than the PlayStation 1 era, and that would be the following generation in the PlayStation 2. I understand this is primarily due to my age, and the fact that most of my personal horror experiences were first discovered on this generation of consoles but I think those early sixth generation console horror games captured the essence of those that came before it, usually accompanied by better quality of life changes.

The Glass Staircase represents one such game. Graphically it holds the low fidelity we have come to expect of Puppet Combo titles but has a modernised tank control system and operates on a grander scale compared to his previous games. It is unapologetically a love letter to Resident Evil 1 in it’s gameplay and premise, even down to the door animations, and is heavily inspired with stylistic motifs of Rule of Rose and Clock Tower. I usually try to avoid talking about spoilers in my reviews, however, I believe it is hard to summarise the experience without touching on some of the finer details.

I was impressed initially with The Glass Staircase, as I write this review however after replaying the game a second time, I found a lot to criticise about this title. The Glass Staircase stands out uniquely amongst the Puppet Combo anthology that we have discussed this far. It's premise follows four indentured servant girls who one by one are summoned to perform chores in a desolate mansion with the false promise of freedom upon completion.

Each day one of the girls is selected for freedom by the intercom, urged to take their pill, complete their chores, and be a “good girl”. Helen is first, and although her escape attempt is short, there are several interesting in-game notes to find, and a very effective jumpscare that caused me to mistrust certain mechanics for the rest of the playthrough. Helen’s journey serves as an introduction to the locale, the premise, and the ambiance. Betty is up next, with a likewise, short experience. Tasked to retrieve a parcel from outside, Betty must locate it at the gate but finds herself lost in a maze where she is ambushed by a tall disfigured monster. Another effective jumpscare. Dorothy is up next, and has a slightly longer experience comparative to the previous failed escapees. Dorothy’s playthrough involves more exploration and puzzle solving, and ends with a mediocre end as a chandelier drops and crushes our third protagonist.

Reflecting on the game so far, although unbeknownst to the player at this stage, The Glass Staircase had no genuine threat to the player. A greater threat is hinted at, as seen by subtle ambience events such as footsteps above you, ominous noises, and haunting tension throughout the manor. However, unlike the games that inspired The Glass Staircase, there is no greater threat roaming the mansion, there are no enemies, no combat, no evasion, nothing. These three playthroughs serve to lead up to playthrough-ending three setpieces, each having flaws. The first two although accompanied by effective jumpscares, were too short to truly be effective. The third had the opposite problem, a longer experience that leads us to grow attached to Dorothy but resulting in a mediocre end to her.

The game shines in it’s final act, when we take control of Margaret. Margaret is met with no intercom message and upon leaving her room she finds a rifle and a note, urging her to take care of the threat in the laboratory below the mansion. I didn’t expect this game to introduce combat at this stage, although it is clunky and inaccurate, it serves the game well. I find that oftentimes difficult controls can contribute to the overall experience of horror as it can lead to claustrophobia and tension fighting with the dated controls. Here the criticisms I had previously are subverted, establishing Helen, Betty, and Dorothy’s escape attempts as essentially a prologue and although each didn’t accomplish much, what they did accomplish allowed for progress that helped the subsequent girl make escaping less of a fantasy and more of a reality.

Here we encounter further inspiration from Resident Evil, with a decrepit laboratory, the game once again shines artistically. Margaret has several interesting setpieces. Equipped with a rifle, Margaret would eventually find herself in the laboratory morgue, where she sees a figure in the distance, facing the wall, brandishing a knife. After approaching, Margaret realises it’s Dorothy and a small battle commences. It’s in all honesty a poorly designed battle, you can outrun her simply and she will always miss you if you’re in motion. After a few rounds of your rifle, you dispatch of Dorothy and move on to the main laboratory.

Here another major boss battle occurs, finally revealing the cool design of the monster which I actually really like. The laboratory also looks fantastic, and serves as an excellent backdrop to this battle. Gameplay-wise, the fight plays out effectively the same as the previous. Simply circling the obstacles to gain some distance and firing shots into him, except for a much longer time period. It’s nothing special, but stands out to me, and might be my favorite fight in a Puppet Combo game I’ve played so far simply down to the design of the monster and the unique location. This segment is followed by introducing several zombie-type enemies, asking the player to evade them and make their escape. This section was really fun to me, and I just wish we had more of these kinds of experiences throughout the rest of the game. It unfortunately feels like the game ends so shortly after finally getting interesting, which is a major downside of the experience. Following the escape, we’re met by a stranger and escorted away, assumedly the same man who left us the rifle and note from earlier, but this also feels like a strange writing decision and seems shoehorned in.

The Glass Staircase is stylistically fantastic. Brimming with grandiose architecture, the mansion feels eerily familiar yet unsettling. A makeshift early 1900s laboratory established in this creepy basement is also a very interesting area to explore. However, what strips away from this game is that aside from three rooms in the entire manor, there is NO threat whatsoever. This quickly strips the tension away upon a second playthrough. With the problem of notes which I’ll discuss later, it breaks the gameplay up, leaving an ambitious project feeling stale towards the end of it’s runtime. There are undoubtedly times where the fixed camera angles were obstructive and poorly designed in it’s flow from one scene to the next, which is to honestly be expected of these kinds of titles.

I feel mixed about the game in an auditory sense. The ambiance that accompanies Helen early on is excellent with the ominous piano in the distance. Comforting rain is present with Betty, which is stripped away after retrieving the package, leaving the outdoor maze feeling uneasy. I found the ambience with Dorothy to be underwhelming, a consistent whirring track that fluctuates high and low in pitch repeatedly, no matter the environment. Margaret’s run primarily lacks an ambience but in the event of setpieces we get some excellent scores. I particularly love the laboratory battle, the combination of the desperate groans of the monster with the swelling track just adds a good amount of tension to the event. I love the sound design for the effects in this game, the creaking of metal doors, the crinkling turn of the pages of old journals, and the satisfying menu noises upon interacting with key items.

As discussed earlier notes litter the environment, giving us the most in depth story from Puppet Combo to date. I did read all of the lore, however, it is quite overwhelming and extensive. Resident Evil and other games that inspired The Glass Staircase would use these notes sparingly and rarely surpassed a high word count. Gameplay and cutscenes would usually carry the main narrative, and supplementary lore would be disclosed to the player through in-game notes and files. However, in The Glass Staircase the opposite is true. It’s possible to beat the game, not understanding the compelling story presented here, leaving the game feeling much more generic. I believe I spent as much time reading in this game as I did playing. I can see the majority of players lacking this patience, and it’s something I have to criticise the game for.

It’s difficult to call this game a survival horror game because there isn’t really a struggle of any sorts. Linear puzzles make the experience feel relatively easy to beat in comparison to other games in this genre. I never really found myself feeling like I was trying to survive. Of course, later setpieces with Margaret had combat, but they were incredibly easy due to awkward AI behaviour. The evasion section was the most challenging, but it was too short-lived to feel impactful in any real way.

I read on a reddit forum that Puppet Combo planned on making a Director's Cut of the game with more checkpoints, less notes, a new prologue, and more cutscenes. If this rumour is true I urge Puppet Combo to do so. The game would benefit so much if it’s story can be told dynamically within the game. I also think the idea of having lurking threats throughout the manor across the four playthroughs would be an exceptional upgrade. Actually having weight behind the well-designed manor, the game doesn’t take advantage of the potential it clearly shows, which harms the fondness I have for it. I have to applaud Puppet Combo for expanding his runtime, this is a much longer experience, and I think his take on horror is told exceptionally well in these longer games than the shorter ones we’re used to. There’s a lot of effort here, but a rework or rerelease would vastly increase this games score.