A Point and Stick Adventure

    Stick it to the Man is a modern take on the classic point and click adventures of years past, aiming to deliver a strong narrative intertwined with simple but charming gameplay. Although the genre might be old, Stick it to the Man mangaes to be anything but; combining simple platforming with endearing characters, a hilarious dialogue and even an art style to put more expensive games to shame.
    You begin as Ray, a hard hat tester working diligently until the end of his shift on what appears to be a normal day. As you begin this chapter, it serves as a perfect example of how much was done right with the game. You gain almst immediate control of Ray, who moves with the Circle Pad, and head home after a long day of work. The level of thought put into the game is impressive, as is the fully voice acted dialogue, and on the way home Ray remarks he forgot how much jumping was required to get to his house. This clever fourth wall breaking and hilarity is found throughout the whole game, in every character you meet in order to make this a very charming experience.

    Once arriving home, Ray experiences a sudden hit on the head which changes his life; when he wakes up he finds a large pink "spaghetti arm" sticking out of his head. This arm can be controlled by the right circle pad, and is used to collect stickers from around him, manipulate the environment and even read the minds of others. The visuals perfectly suit this playstyle, as the world and characters are all flat cutouts of cardboard, with thumbtacks sticking out of the buildings to make travel easier with your spaghetti arm. Stickers can be found on the environment itself, or by reading the minds of others, where their thoughts can be turned into reality.
    Reading the thoughts of others will be your most used tool, since you usually need to manipulate the people with stickers in order to gain more stickers, and exit the level. Their thoughts are usually humorous, and the characters are almost all memorable, impressive since there are so many, most with relatively short screen time. Included in the characters are minions of The Man, your major enemy throughout the game. The Man's servants provide a stealth factor, as you struggle to slip past them undetected. Near the end of the game they can be particularly troublesome, but it is a minor annoyance overall.
    The story itself is a good time as well, you'll come out after around 5 fun filled hours. This may seem particularly short, and you would be right, but the game is enjoyable enough to be worth it. The game manages to condense pure fun into the whole experience, and you will be entertained the whole time. After finishing, there isn't much to do, unless you are dedicated enough to go back and read tye minds of every single character. It leaves a little to be desired, but the game is good enough to mostly make up for its length.
    Stick it to the Man manages to combine classic gameplay mechanics with a creative world, a humorous plot and pure creativity, and emerges a winner. One of the most fun to play games on the Wii U, despite its slightly short story, this is a game which will work its way into your heart and never let go.


Review copy provided by Ripstone.