Stickman games are some of the best, free and most imaginative games out there. There are literally hundreds of them so it can be hard to filter through and find which ones are actually worth playing. Here are five games, in no particular order, that are intended to just give you a taste of what stickmen have to offer in the big, wide world of gaming.
5. The Fancy Pants Adventures
This game has become so damn popular I even see it on Xbox live as an arcade game, but naturally this started out as a PC game. Fancy pants adventures takes the world at fast forward and you quickly get into the swing of the sprinting, jumping and somersaulting to the point where you don’t want to slow down because you just feel so cool. It’s colourful, scribbled 2D world of slopes and ledges that’s instantly charming and the agility of your little stickman feels endless as you conquer obstacles like a boss. The early levels feel really reminiscent of games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Rayman but it’s scribbly style drawings and casual, sleek animations mean you can forgive it for any such similarities because it just oozes originality. The soundtrack is great; upbeat but non-intrusive, cartoonish but not childish and it adds a great background buzz to your zipping about between levels. The game features a great story mode where you have to rescue your sister who’s been captured by a band of pirates and that takes up a solid 11 levels, enough to keep you busy but not too much that you get bored and frustrated. If you want more fancy pants by the time the story is over there are also challenges, time trials and unlockable costumes which will provide you with several solid hours of entertainment. Have a go with Fancy Pants here if you think you'll like this game.
4. Stair Fall |
| Fast and furious, stickmen, that is. |
This is a fairly brutal game where the aim of the game is to cause as much damage as possible to an unfortunate stick man, achieved by throwing him down a set of stairs. Don’t worry, it’s only a game, just a hilariously disturbed one. The stickman is basically a ragdoll; very flimsy with basically no tension when you swing him about which helps you achieve maximum air. You can pick up the stickman on any point of his body; legs, head, waist, whatever you want then fling your mouse as fast as possible up, down or wherever you think will hurt the most. Your score is measured by damage done to the stickman with points racking up in the corner of the screen. Once your stickman has slid to an Elvis Presley style finale at the bottom of the stairs you then have the ability to reset him and do it all over again! It’s a delightfully pointless, cruel game that is strangely addictive and educational in the sense you know how NOT to fall down a set of stairs should you ever have the choice. This game is getting on in years but when I think of stick games, I can’t help but think of stair fall. Try and see how much you can injure the poor little guy here.
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| I don't even know... how I got him to do that. |
3. The Classroom 2
The premise of The Classroom 2 is pretty simple; you’re a student who intends to cheat their way through all the upcoming tests at school. The story of this game follows on from the first game but I rate this one here because it’s much, much better. The classroom 2 features interactions between you and a gang of cheaters and the graphics are a lot brighter and sharper. The game is unbelievably difficult and has always left me shaking my laptop screen in frustration as I fail a level for the 15th time in a row. The general idea is that you stay out of the field of vision of your teacher, who patrols the classroom, whilst you attempt to cheat. Your task is to get to one specific person in the room and to hold the mouse button as you copy off their work then get back to your seat, all without being spotted. It sounds simple but it’ll take you many tries before you’re able to crack this game. The humour in it is brilliant and the mocking, whiney sounds that the pupils and teachers make instead of talking is comically reminiscent of those old Snoopy cartoons. The more ‘roleplay’ element additions like a storyline, flashbacks, frequent meets in the bathroom with your new gang and little additional classroom scenes like, the projector breaking and the teacher freaking out, all makes this game a highly fun and original stick game that you can play here.
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| So much... frustration... at this game. |
2. The Hapland series
Hapland is a very unique and very surreal puzzle game that involves trying to free trapped stickmen from rather dangerous situations, whilst a ticking clock constantly reminds you of how long it’s taking you. You solve the puzzles by clicking various objects around the area; changing their state to something else like dropping a ladder down, rattling a pipe, having a stickman eating a carrot then immediately fending off flies as he goes for another carrot… you can see how strange this is going to get already can’t you? It’s that kind of game that doesn’t really give you much indication if you’re doing the right thing or not; sometimes you get results but they’re meaningless, sometimes nothing happens because you need to click it at a particular time or a certain number of times. This puzzle game very much leaves you to figure it out and what makes it even harder is that you’re working in quite a large area with no linear path or pattern to it. The game requires a fair bit of logic to work out the puzzles but it’s only really until you’ve completed them that you manage to see that logic, which is frustrating but intriguing. Hapland has produced several games of the series now and with each addition the graphics get better and the puzzles get harder. If you enjoy weird little puzzles games then you should definitely check out one of the Hapland games.
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| Think it looks easy? It isn't. |
1. Stick RPG 2
Stick RPG the first is, by the way, absolutely brilliant. I’m putting the 2ndone in this list however as, like the Classroom, there are so many improved features and so much retained charm that it is an undeniably superior successor to the cult classic that is Stick RPG. The purpose of the original Stick RPG game was to increase your stats in a very small town area, you had a little apartment and could open a bank account (or rob the bank, or both), get a job and advance in it and also talk to NPCs dotted about the place. Stick RPG 2 has taken all that and polished it up a bit whilst whacking in a whole lot of additional content. Stick RPG 2 also now has the ability to save your game which is a much welcomed feature. Stick RPG 2 starts with you allocating your stats, selecting your ‘special ability’ and then being thrown into a new dimension; a place called Paper Thin City that’s made up of four islands. This city has some pretty hardcore problems though; prostitution, organized crime and drug dealing are a rampant part of the game so it’s definitely not for kids and, generally, this is definitely a game aimed at teenagers and young adults. The first thing you’ll realize about the game is, aside from looking fantastic, its detail and depth. The characters all have dialogue, there’s over ten different employers, plenty of side quests and stats for your character to level up in that helps with things like job advancement, karma rating and whether you get to survive the streets and bars of Paper Thin City. The game is scattered with little Easter eggs that sometimes serve the purpose of advancing on the plot so exploration and talking to everyone is certainly encouraged; just like a real RPG. Upon landing in this new world you’ll probably feel either overwhelmed with the size of the place and the rather intimidating NPCs or excited to grab this place by the horns and get stuck in. Stick RPG 2 is free to play, grab it here but the developer has also released a Director’s Cut. The Director's cut costs $20 (£12) and has some additional features like offline, full screen mode support, cheats, additional content and a full soundtrack. The developer is pretty insistent the game is still free to play but does cite the reason that ‘developers need to eat too’ so you can't blame 'em for that. Gotta give love to the indie games.
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| Your blue-headed avatar won't be smiling for long. |
