Stick it to The Man

Stick It To The Man is a gorgeous game. It's made to look like it is created from cardboard, paper and stickers and pulls it off wonderfully. I found myself looking at parts of the art wondering if maybe they did make the set pieces from actual materials instead of digital graphics. The gameplay is very simplistic, but yet creative. Peeling layers off the background is fun. The gameplay is pretty fun too. Sneaking past bad guys can because frustrating in a few spots, but you get it in a few tries once you figure out there is one path that will get you past, and only that path will work. The voice acting is pretty good surprisingly and the script is well written. For a budget game, this one proves it's worth.

Stick it to the Man! is an adventure game, using 2D puzzle-platforming as the vehicle for its clumsy humor. You'll solve puzzles by reading people's minds, and manipulating them into thinking about a certain item that you can use somewhere else on the chapter. It's certainly not a hard game, with it nicely structured levels, always subtly guiding your way, never proving frustrating. It's been said to be "Psychonauts" spiritual successor. While I have not played Psychonauts, I've played other Double Fine games, and the influence is clear! While the game mechanics don't seem to take the spotlight, they're very well conceived, and fit very well with the game's theme and aesthetics. It was one of the more enjoyable games I've recently played! Presentation This is probably the highlight in this game. Everything from the visuals, to the music and the voice acting is awesome! It's a very colorful game, done in 2.5D. This is achieved by making every sprite like a cardboard cutout. The levels are then set in layers. While the game is mostly 2D, you can sometimes walk back and forth, discovering some charming details that would otherwise be blurred. The character design is also great. While everyone looks silly, their designs clearly shows their personality, coupled with the problems you'll solve and the voice acting... It's good. The music is mostly jazz (it reminded me of the bebop soundtrack in Grim Fandango, maybe a bit silly at times) with a bit of sci-fi synth thrown in, at times. I really liked it, and it's certainly something that not only fit the game, but it's also something I'll listen to after I'm finished with the it! (You can get it here: http://stickittotheman.bandcamp.com/releases with a PayWhatYouWant model) The sound-effects Also fit well with the cartoony style. Never felt out of place, so that's good. The voice-acting was also great! Reinforcing the characters and the overall feel of the game, and was mostly well done! There were a few characters that felt a bit inconsistent, but nothing too major. Also, you can rewind and fastforward their speech, making the voices even sillier, with a higher tone, if you're in a hurry. It's these details that make this game so enjoyable, honestly! The game's writing is great as well! It's not anything deep, as you can imagine (although it does hint at some major issues, in a very lighthearted way), but it's certainly funny, if you're into this kind of humor. General Structure The game's divided by chapters, each with its theme, set of characters and puzzles. You can always go back to previous chapters through the menu, so you don't need to worry about missing an objective and being blocked from going back. This is something I very much appreciate! I hate being blocked for apparently no reason. Most of the chapters also have some achievements. Most of them are just a guide to silly characters that were more well hidden. It's a good use of them, to be honest! There are a couple of them that were more skill-based, if you're into that. But the Stick it to the Man! is a very laid-back game, and it never really tests your skills or patience. Each level has lots of checkpoints, and you'll never lose any progress. The worst that can happen is you being sent a few meters back, but you never lose items or conversations. Each level is about 20-40 minutes long. It felt just the right length for me. I played each chapter in one sitting, sometimes 2, and it never felt too short or to drag on. Also, since the levels can be fairly long, walking back would be a pain. As such, they've implemented a sort of fast travel system. Once you reach a certain point, a pipe open up, and you can go back instantly (and go forward once again). It's a very comfortable game to play, as weird as it sounds. It's never frustrating, you're unlikely to walk around back and forth pointlessly, it's not punishing... just a nice, funny experience, overall. Mechanics Basically, you're hit on the head, and an alien just happens to casually get into your brain. When that happens, a giant floppy pink hand grows out of your head, which only you can see. Nah, of course you're not crazy! It's alieeeens. Anyway. This giant hand gives you the ability of reading people's minds, and materialize their thoughts. As freeing as it sounds, it's a very "linear" game. They'll only think of things you need, of course. When you encounter a character, you'll learn about their problems, and then have to find the solution, somewhere. The game's is very similar to a point n' click. However, while the solution aren't too obvious, at first (since they're very non-sensical -- in a good way!), you can easily find everything by walking around and getting more items. If you have more than one, you'll store them, and can switch between them with the mouse-wheel. If you stay put, your character will also say something about the item, leading you in a general direction. There are also very subtle environmental hints, so I doubt you'll get stuck. So yeah. You'll walk around the level, speaking to the characters and reading their thoughts, often leading to some very peculiar situations, as you solve their problem in funny ways. Again, it's not a game you'd play for the mechanics, but they're still very well put together! They fit with the theme, and even amplify it, never proving a nuisance, unlike other games in a similar style. It's very well designed! It's pretty hard for me to get more to talk about. The game is very good, but it doesn't seem to do anything that jumps out at you. Everything just seems to fit together brilliantly, to me. For an adventure game, the 2D platforming certainly helped, against the traditional Point n' Click style Usually, games like this opt for the point n' click genre, rather than 2D platforming. As a result, their movement system is also very clunky and slow, going around the screens, taking seconds of waiting at a time. Stick it to the Man! avoids that entirely, by giving you total control at all times! It makes the game incredibly better, in my eyes. It's not that I have anything against Pn'C games, but I usually find myself frustrated when I have to walk back and forth very slowly, simply to try a random combination of items. This game, however, makes movement faster, and every scene seems to have some little detail that makes the walking around even more enjoyable. Lack of punishment There are games that benefit from being punishing and challenging. This is not one of them, and the developers recognized it very well. It's not that there isn't any challenge. There certainly is (mostly by being chased around the guards -- which people didn't enjoy very much!), but even if you "fail", you don't lose progress, and the more challenging sections are short, just keeping things varied. The puzzles keep moving you forward Last point I want to make. You rarely have to backtrack to solve a puzzle, at least to the point of annoyance. You'll usually gather items as you go, and use them either very near the place, or further ahead. On the times you do have to go back, the solution are clear, and there's usually an easy game to get back. Again, the point of the game is to present you with a silly story and character interactions, and it does that very well! Conclusion I don't have anything else to say, honestly. I really, really enjoyed the whole way through. It's on the short side, but it's certainly worth it. If you like Double Fine's games (the Stacking and Grim Fandango particularly coming to mind -- And Psychonauts for most people), give this one a go! I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Even if you don't... if the description sounds appealing, I still recommend it. It's just a very good game!

I love this game because it has its own personality, and games rarely have that these days, fitting in to whatever mold set out by its predecessors. This game breathes its own life with its quirky characters and off beat comedy. But it also has those moments of platforming bliss where you're panicking as you're slowly being cornered by everyone, and you finally solve the puzzle, and everything falls into place allowing you to progress. It's this kind of gameplay that sets this game apart from all the others. Apart from that, the visuals and sounds are pretty good, contributing more to that distinct personality I was talking about. Overall a pretty darn good game!

Stick It To The Man has a very weird, quirky artstyle that will involve old Nickelodeon cartoons of the 90s. The game itself wastes no time flexing its creative muscles and poking fun at its own ersatz brilliance ("...wow, I forgot much jumping there was in these kinds of games..." when the character repeatedly jumps up platforms at the beginning) by way or humorous irony and very well done papercraft/cartoon visuals. The voice acting is top-notch. If someone told me that just 20 minutes into the game I'd be high fiving talking hands with a giant hand floating out of my head, ripping a pirate skeleton's arm off and giving it to a dog named heart, which you then have to lure back to a mechanized version of yourself...a place where your girlfriend lives/takes care of your happy-go-lucky heart-dog, I would have instantly thought it was a Double Fine game. And yet it still has the same kind of production quality. Very fun, creative game that will; definitely surprise you. I was taken aback by the quality of the cinematic, humor and gameplay, and I think you would be too. The whole world is absolutely beautiful and makes you want to sit back and marvel at it all. Final verdict: 8.5/10.

Not many people have played this, but being one of those who has, it is a great game. The story is excellent, as well as funny. You play as a guy who's life was simple and perfect. Until, he comes in contact with an alien being. This alien being has the power to read people's mind as well as steal thoughts or objects in the form of stickers. It is a great game and it should last you a good 20 hours.