Once Upon a Time

In A Juggler’s Tale you play as Abbie, a circus marionette whose strings inform not only the narrative but the gameplay as well. Strings extending beyond the top of the screen, Abbie cannot pass beneath any obstacles above her, such as tree branches. Figuring out a way passed such obstacles form no small part of the puzzle-solving aspect of the gameplay. Tree branches may be frightened off with fire from a torch, for instance; but how to keep said torch burning while traipsing through the rain may require throwing it from one shelter to the next using Abbie’s juggling skills. Simple puzzles like these complement the equally simple platforming and stealth sections where one must avoid the gaze of bounty hunters hired by the circus she has fled.

There are a few interesting wrinkles which develop out of these simple mechanics, such as using the fact that other characters are also marionettes to your advantage, and trapping them with their own strings; but the gameplay for the most part remains simple, and is there primarily to carry the player seamlessly through the narrative.

The story is narrated in rhyme and Shaun Lawton as the narrator does an excellent job of carrying the oft-awkward couplets, delivering them at first endearingly, then with an air of the unhinged as the plot progresses—and all may not be quite as it first seemed. The themes of free will and destiny are never deeply explored, but the puppet theatre setting nevertheless retains the charm of a child imagining characters in a storybook living their lives outside of the story for which they exist—or perhaps even trying to escape it.

But of even greater charm is the aesthetic and sound design. In addition to the masterful narration, the gentle guitar strokes and soothing piano music—as well as an amusing musical number as bandits march to a folk song—complement perfectly the rich, warm colour palette; swelling to the required menace as the narrative requires and the colour palette is drained of its warmth to be cool and unsettling.

Abbie’s journey carries her through autumnal farmland and forests, rainy villages and turbulent seas; each with its own unique atmosphere, but each flowing seamlessly in and out of one another—connected by brief intervals in a puppet theatre. Cardboard set dressing, here and there, also breaks the naturalism of the aesthetic in an intriguing manner.

A Juggler’s Tale is a short, sensuous experience and for what it lacks in substance, it makes up for in style, and never outlives its welcome