Spend five minutes with Puppeteer and you will fall head over heels in love with it. It's astonishingly creative, gorgeously rendered, and thoroughly entertaining on every level. You might be looking for something new for your PlayStation 3 and be tempted to pass it up due to its cute cover art. My advice: DON'T. If you haven't yet heard anything about this game, do yourself a favor and just go buy it right now, so you can savor every surprise, every fantastical sight, and every belly laugh it has in store for you.

I don't think I've ever been to a puppet show in my nearly thirty years of life, but after playing Puppeteer, I fear that the concept is now completely ruined for me. Every single bit of this game, save for the introductory publisher/developer screens, is part of a puppet show. The illusion of a stage show is kept marvelously intact throughout all seven acts of the experience, and the result is an incredibly immersive experience -- you may have to occasionally remind yourself that this is actually a video game. Each and every model, be they characters or sets, looks like it's made of either wood or fabric. Characters move just like puppets, albeit string-less ones. As you progress through each "Curtain," sets periodically switch out in abrupt, almost mechanical fashion. Aesthetics aside, Puppeteer is still an incredibly unique, creatively diverse, and completely beautiful game.

Puppeteer features perfect sound design. The acoustics match that of a huge auditorium with a raucous crowd that is hardly too shy to collectively gasp, shriek, and applaud on cue. And all puppet shows need a narrator -- preferably one with a posh English accent and a willingness to go way, way over the top. In fact, all of the voice acting is goofy and completely over the top, even when the dialogue veers into self-aware territory. The only voiceless individual in the entire production is protagonist Kutaro, and oddly enough, that goes a long way in endearing the player to him. Rounding everything out is an exceptionally charming orchestral soundtrack that seems as if it's really being played by a tiny band sitting just out of camera shot.

Puppeteer's story is classic fairy tale material with a wicked, wicked dark streak -- just like all good fairy tales are. A beautiful and benevolent goddess ruled the Moon Realm until she was overthrown by her favorite servant, Little Bear. Using the Moon Goddess's moonstones and her magical scissors, Calibrus, he became the tyrannical Moon Bear King, lord of Castle Grizzlestein. But one must be prepared to protect the throne once it is acquired. So the Moon Bear King takes it upon himself to spirit away unsuspecting little boys in the middle of the night and transform them into Grubs, his twisted little guard puppets. One night, the Moon Bear King finds himself in the possession of a little boy named Kutaro. Instead of transforming him into a Grub, the Moon Bear King rips off and devours Kutaro's head before hurling him out of his sight. Luckily, Kutaro finds help in the form of Ying-Yang, the Moon Goddess' cat, who has already used several of his lives in the defense of the realm. Kutaro is able to remain animated as long as he has some kind of head, and before long, he ends up stealing Calibrus and finds himself on a quest to depose the Moon Bear King and return the Moon Goddess to power.

Puppeteer is a platformer first and foremost. Kutaro's primary goal is to go from place to place. As you explore to the very ends of the mystical Moon Realm, you'll face a number of platforming and combat challenges, as well as a handful of simple puzzles and hidden-object searches. It's all really great fun, and the story never lets up, even when you're in the act of playing it. Never has an inanimate world been so alive; I won't spoil any of it. All you need to know is that it's a pleasure of kaleidoscopic proportions. Oh, and it plays really great, too -- so there's that.

Platformers constitute the genre that typically contains the greatest level of challenge. Puppeteer is more concerned with ensuring that you can finish the game. While the level design is superb, there are more and greater rewards for making progress. That being said, completionists will find themselves combing over each and every Curtain for hidden Moonsparkles, bonus stages, and heads.

Certain aspects of Puppeteer's gameplay are a bit difficult to wrap your head around. In particular, I'm talking about Kutaro's companion, which, regardless of who it is, controls independently of our hero via the other analog stick. This companion is hugely important to the gameplay, as he/she is integral in finding hidden areas and manipulating the set behind Kutaro. This is a must; it's how Kutaro is able to find the many heads he can use over the course of his adventure. It's difficult to poke around the environment and engage in precision platforming challenges at the same time; though you don't always have to do both at once, you will be tempted to. Having a second player fixes this, thankfully.

Being a headless puppet isn't as bad as it seems. Kutaro is capable of carrying three heads at a time, and can switch between them at any time. If he is hurt, he loses his head and is given a short period of time to retrieve it. If he fails to do so, the head is lost, and he must switch to another. But heads do more than simply keep Kutaro alive. They imbue him with special abilities. These are a joy to look at, though they only really affect the environment, and even then, only when certain puzzles call for certain heads and powers.

Puppeteer has something that most platformers generally avoid messing with: combat. Since Kutaro is in possession of Calibrus, he can snip away at his foes and, to an extent, the world around him. When a Grub is cut up, a balloon containing the soul of an abducted child rises from it. Severing the string that links the soul to the Grub body releases it and sends it back to Earth, which is a gratifying little touch. Calibrus is also useful for extending jumps and transporting little Kutaro around each stage. As long as Kutaro has something to cut, he will remain suspended in the air; and if he cuts along certain seams and stitches, he will be rapidly shuttled across it. Boss fights are memorable and clever, though they often end with quick-time events.

Puppeteer is $39.99, and I don't know why. Of all the games that sell at full-price, here is one that truly warrants the extra expense. But no matter. The reduced price point is just one reason among several, several others. Whether you're an adult, a child, or something in-between, you owe it to yourself to play Puppeteer. Smiles guaranteed.