Stick it to the Man (Wii U eShop) Review

Things I want to ‘Stick it to the man’: Facebook, The Kardashians, loud TV commercials, system updates on my laptop when trying to go home, the crazy people on trains that always talk to me, Hugh Jackman, toasters that cook one side more than the other… shame that despite the title, this has nothing to do with this game but we should all rise up and take action on all these listed enemies of freedom!

Anyway… Double Fine over the last few years have proven themselves as an incredibly varied and original developer of games throughout many genres. This is not a game made by Double Fine, it is however made by glorious people at Zoink! The only reason that I mention Double Fine is because this game is so close to their style that both developers deserve to be honoured with mentions. I think you’re now getting an idea of where this review is headed, essentially if you liked Psychonauts then you will be at home here.

This is a game that is more made on its classiness, style, story and humour than its gameplay. While the humour isn’t exactly ‘laugh out loud’ stuff, it is entertaining to say the very least, it permeates everything and gives this title a very unique atmosphere and charm that is rarely seen, or at least rarely seen since the days of the wonderful Lucasarts point-and-click adventure titles of the 90’s.

You assume the role of Ray Doewood in his every day job of being a hard hat tester. The day goes as normal until his trip home gets interrupted when a passing plane loses its package that subsequently hits Ray on the head, you know because it’s irony… because he tests hard hats… yeah I think you get it. It is at this moment that the contents of the package are made a little more apparent. Subsequently you have a new friend in the form of an alien named “Ted” – the notable addition to this event is that Ray now has a big pink, noodle like appendage/hand that stretches out of his head giving him additional physical and physic abilities. From here begins the man hunt by ‘The Man’ for Ray to get back the alien by any means, including being framed for the murder of his girlfriend. This is a return adventure game territory in big wonderful way.

The overall flow of the game is actually handled fairly well from here on – over 10 chapters you will traverse a weird and wonderful world that is filled with a variety of bizarre yet uniquely twisted and likeable characters. By traveling around solving the issues of various people all the while trying to figure out why all these crazy things are happening to you. As you progress using Ted, it is possible to grab onto far away objects to either move yourself to or bring closer, this is to achieve goals you have received from reading the minds of others. From reading the minds of everyone/various objects, you will get the vast majority of the comedy – it’s not all relevant to the main story but it all helps to build a delightful universe. It’s this magical story telling technique that really kept me engrossed, any game that can personally make me fall into ‘the zone’ is definitely doing things right.

With the story pushing the experience along for the most part it is a shame that the gameplay isn’t as highly polished as the writing. It is not bad – I will make that clear – it just isn’t as high grade and is somewhat simplistic at times. The action takes place in a mostly 2D platform style but you can switch levels both forward and backwards when allowed, it does add a slight extra layer (both physically and conceptually I suppose) but it is mostly cosmetic. It can feel like the gameplay is merely a tool to progress the story to the next event rather than being a core piece of the package. It’s not a huge issue however since the game as a whole is not terribly long coming in at around 5 hours for the entire experience. I have said it before and I will say it again, knowing the ideal length of a game (or any event) is absolutely key to how well something can perceived. Being a shorter game works its magic here, it wraps up the entire package before it starts to feel old.

Normally presentation is just a basic formality when it comes to most games but here it is done to set a mood in brilliant fashion. The visuals are gorgeous in a twisted yet unique fashion, it has a visual style that would be right out of an underground comic book from the mid 90’s but pulled into a semi modern 3D world in glorious style. All the charters are presented in a 2D fashion similar to PaRappa the Rapper (never played Playstation? Look it up – very cool) and this is used for great effect all over the place, the check point system where the charatcer gets reprinted is very cool and very special. The environments all have a hand drawn comics book feel but with an extra splash of colour all the while layered with a manner of moving elements in the background to keep it all lively and fresh. Games that build on presentation and not ground breaking technology will never age quite like other titles, this will still look fresh and unique in 20 years time.

The audio is another boat load of talent and style, voice acting is top range with no dull moments to be recalled, it is all done in an over-the-top comical fashion but it all meet the specs for a game like this. Music is equally good in terms of quality with it being both catchy yet not over powering the entire experience. Something developers should be aware of is that a great sound track done right can absolutely set the precedent for the title more clearly than any other element (Mario Kart 8 gets it) and Zoink! Games understand this golden rule. Presentation needs to respected and when it is seen I hope the player understands it, this is a great example for you to observe in great detail.

If you have played this game on other platforms before and are interested in the differences that Wii U brings, then there is only one minor change but it is not one that should make most people consider a re-purchase. The GamePad can be used to select minds to read by pointing it at the TV screen and seeing the world from a slightly different angle, it is not a major addition but a nice touch that at least shows the developers put some time into producing this version. Beyond that there are very few changes do not need to be mentioned but that’s not a bad thing as the game has more than enough given the value to it as it is.

When I first stumbled across this game I was not expecting much. Looking over what is shown on the eShop I was apprehensive and preparing for a disappointing adventure into a game trying too hard to impress with style and humour. What I ended up with was a brilliant title that for the most part has been over looked by most people on other platforms. The gameplay is a little weaker than the rest of the package but beyond that, this is a game that is original in almost every way, it is a great return for the games industry to the days when a game could have real character and charm without needed to resort to a cheap gimmick to grab peoples’ attention. I would assume that is why it has been overlooked for the most part, on the other hand if you do get a chance to grab this I would highly recommend you give it a try as there is going to be something most people will find to love about this.

Rating: 4/5