I'm still cooling down from that huge Marvel triangle-pile so let's write a review of a game that can be completed in less than the run time of two of those films. Stacking!
I'm still cooling down from that huge Marvel triangle-pile so let's write a review of a game that can be completed in less than the run time of two of those films. Stacking!
My History / Toys are me!
My maternal grandparents had a matryoshka doll, and even though it wasn't a primary target for play sessions I was definitely entertained by how smoothly the incrementally smaller figures fit inside each other. I can't remember how many there were, but it was definitely more than three. Five? Six?
Oh, and I was already quite fond of Double Fine when this got announced after thoroughly enjoying Psychonauts a console generation earlier. So the idea of the studio releasing a trio of smaller games to recharge the batteries before diving back into developing the (ultimately rather disappointing) Brütal Legend was amazing.
Stacking was one of these three games, alongside Trenched! (later renamed to Iron Brigade for boring legal reasons) and Costume Quest.
I liked all three of these games as I eventually got around to them, but Stacking definitely stood out for its charm and consistency.
Plot summary / Yer a Wizard Chimney Sweep, Charlie!
Youngest son of an industrial age family of chimney sweeps, Charlie Blackmore, is passed over for forced labour because he is deemed too small. The rest of his siblings is not so lucky and are carted off by the evil baron's henchman.
Regardless of how solid of a social commentary that is, Charlie isn't going to stand for that, so he sets off to rescue them and if it's at all possible other trapped people as well. To make up for his diminutive size he has an extraordinary ability, the power to Stack into another person, taking over control of their body. Basically like Super Mario Odyssey except 6 years earlier and less creepy.
Of course his siblings haven't all been put to work in the same place, and Charlie gets to see all of the grand industrial sights, from a train station to a cruise liner to a zeppelin.
Corner 1: Adventure 8/10 / "There you are! Unlock this gate!"
- 🚀 Youngest sibling, impossible odds, saving your family. Are they familiar tropes? Sure! But it's undeniably an adventure.
- 🚀 You meet colourful characters throughout and get to possess them to use their abilities to solve puzzles.
- 📋 One of the locations is a bit linear though. It has the excuse of being a train, but still.
- 🚀 Youngest sibling, impossible odds, saving your family. Are they familiar tropes? Sure! But it's undeniably an adventure.
- 🚀 You meet colourful characters throughout and get to possess them to use their abilities to solve puzzles.
- 📋 One of the locations is a bit linear though. It has the excuse of being a train, but still.
Corner 2: Smart 7.5/10 / "This is not the Schnitzel Museum!"
- 💡 Charlie is the smallest character in the world, his ability allows him to stack into others but only exactly one size larger than himself. This mostly means children. They can then in turn stack into teenagers and smaller adults, who stack into regular adults. There's probably subtext there, but it sure allows for some clever puzzling.
- 💡 Every level is its own little sandbox with puzzles that all have multiple solutions, side activities to be completed with the various characters strewn around the level and an unobtrusive hint system. It's very well executed.
- 💤 None of the puzzles really require a lot of lateral thinking though. Solutions are varied, but usually pretty easy to read. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but don't expect too much of a struggle if you're already used to the way puzzle games work.
- 💤 Reaching 100% in every location is a delight and basically its own reward, but it would have been nice to have an in-game effect as well. A slightly different ending or something.
- 💡 Charlie is the smallest character in the world, his ability allows him to stack into others but only exactly one size larger than himself. This mostly means children. They can then in turn stack into teenagers and smaller adults, who stack into regular adults. There's probably subtext there, but it sure allows for some clever puzzling.
- 💡 Every level is its own little sandbox with puzzles that all have multiple solutions, side activities to be completed with the various characters strewn around the level and an unobtrusive hint system. It's very well executed.
- 💤 None of the puzzles really require a lot of lateral thinking though. Solutions are varied, but usually pretty easy to read. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but don't expect too much of a struggle if you're already used to the way puzzle games work.
- 💤 Reaching 100% in every location is a delight and basically its own reward, but it would have been nice to have an in-game effect as well. A slightly different ending or something.
Corner 3: Heart 8/10 / "I have the nostrils of a warrior!"
- 💖 Many things can be called charming, but this game oozes charm out of every jaunty pore.
- 💖 The silliness and epicness slowly scales up as the game progresses into an amazing crescendo.
- 💔 To get there you need to beat a somewhat underwhelming final boss though.
- 💖 Every level is made to look like it's constructed of real world materials. So it's no coincidence that the chandeliers in the screen shot look like drinking straws, or like the information booth roof is held up by matchsticks. It gives the whole game just an extra layer of whimsy, detail and (again) charm.
- 💖 Standalone Hobo Island DLC adventure is just included in the PC version these days, rather than purchased separately. (And it's good too. Noncritical, just more Stacking)
- 💔 The game isn't voiced. This is a thousand times better than being voiced badly, and it covers it well by having fun dialogue-insert cards like in silent films, but it feels like something of a missed opportunity.
Those are some solidly high scores. Which I guess is to be expected, considering how often I recommend this game to people.
And a large, almost equilateral triangle. That should be a solid score.
- 💖 Many things can be called charming, but this game oozes charm out of every jaunty pore.
- 💖 The silliness and epicness slowly scales up as the game progresses into an amazing crescendo.
- 💔 To get there you need to beat a somewhat underwhelming final boss though.
- 💖 Every level is made to look like it's constructed of real world materials. So it's no coincidence that the chandeliers in the screen shot look like drinking straws, or like the information booth roof is held up by matchsticks. It gives the whole game just an extra layer of whimsy, detail and (again) charm.
- 💖 Standalone Hobo Island DLC adventure is just included in the PC version these days, rather than purchased separately. (And it's good too. Noncritical, just more Stacking)
- 💔 The game isn't voiced. This is a thousand times better than being voiced badly, and it covers it well by having fun dialogue-insert cards like in silent films, but it feels like something of a missed opportunity.
Those are some solidly high scores. Which I guess is to be expected, considering how often I recommend this game to people.
And a large, almost equilateral triangle. That should be a solid score.
79.67
Ever so slightly better than Star Wars, which still feels weird...
This was fun though, let's see if I can knock out another few smaller games like this.
Maybe get some more regular posting going again.
This was fun though, let's see if I can knock out another few smaller games like this.
Maybe get some more regular posting going again.
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