Plot: What’s it about?
Ray Doewood is just an ordinary guy, at least until a mysterious government canister drops from the heavens and lands on his head. As expected, Ray comes to and discovers he has special powers, but not the kind he dreamed of. Instead, he has a weird tentacle-like arm sticking out of his head. While the new appendage is odd, Ray is able to use the arm to both travel around and read peoples’ minds, so not a bad addition. But not all is well, as Ray’s situation has become known to The Man, who is shrouded in mystery and wants Ray taken down. So now Ray is on the run, with The Man’s shadowy forces in hot pursuit, but will his new powers be enough to keep him out of trouble? Stick it to the Man is an adventure game in the classic sense, so you’ll solve puzzles, listen to a lot of dialogue, and explore your surroundings. In truth, this seems crafted from the Tim Schaefer school of adventure games, which is high praise indeed. The exploration is via a Metroidvania style system, which is always a welcome touch, so be ready to collect items and revisit previous areas. This never comes off as tedious thanks to the game’s great sense of humor and good reward pace, so Stick it to the Man does a lot right here.
If you want a good adventure game, you need a good story and of course, good dialogue. Stick it to the Man has those in spades, especially in terms of humorous dialogue and characters. The game involves some very off the wall characters, but they’re not just there to be silly or to shock you. As insane as the crew of folks you’ll run into can be, they all have a role in the grand scheme of things, without question. The writing suits this band of misfits to perfection, with a sense of humor that is just a little dark, while also slapstick in nature. The humor is prevalent within the game’s puzzles as well, which is excellent news. I found the puzzles to be well thought out and sensible, but also quite amusing. The game doesn’t hand hold you to the solutions, but if you use some brain power it will all makes sense. So the puzzles aren’t frustrating at all, but you do need to think at times and sometimes build a chain of smaller puzzles to solve a larger one. If I had to sum up the tone of the game’s overall humor, it would simply be fun and memorable. The developers have fully crafted a world that seems alive with a host of characters you won’t soon forget. I will say that while I had a fantastic time with Stick it to the Man, once you’ve seen the adventure once, the replay value isn’t that high. But the trip is certainly worth taking, so Stick it to the Man is highly recommended.
Video: How’s it look?
The game has a cartoon inspired graphic design and it looks awesome. The visuals really stand out from the crowd, with a unique and very memorable approach. The game has a deceptively simple visual design, with a lot of attention to detail and small touches to pick up on. I love the off the wall character looks, while the various levels have a fun, detailed texture. Not many games can boast this kind of unusual, highly effective visual design.
Audio: How’s it sound?
I have to say, I loved the music in this game. The soundtrack is perfect for the tone and content of the game, it fits so well and really enhances the experience. Not to be outdone, the voice work is top notch as well. Even the most minor characters are well performed and that is crucial here, as the dialogue is one the game’s best elements. The voice work brings that dialogue to life in hilarious fashion, so every joke is done justice. Overall, the audio in this game is simply superb and really shines, especially in the music and voice work.
