Also On: PS3
Publisher: Ripstone
Developer: Zoink!
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: T
Humor in video games has long been a dicey proposition. I know Iโm not the first person to say that, but it bears repeating. After all, โfunnyโ is arguably the most subjective term there is; what one person finds hilarious, another may find terribly stupid or annoying. I mean, if there are people who donโt think Portal 2 is funny (Iโm not saying it isnโt, but odds are good thereโs someone that deluded out there), then itโs understandable why games generally shy away aiming for the funny bone.
As youโve probably guessed by now, Stick It To The Man is a funny game (or, at least, it wants to be one). Considering its genre โ adventure and puzzles, with a little bit of platforming thrown in for good measure โ this should hardly come as a surprise, as adventure games have generally been the exception to the whole โgames arenโt funnyโ notion. Not only that, the game was penned by Adventure Time writer Ryan North (who is also responsible for one of the funniest things ever, the webcomic Dinosaur Comics), so itโs got a good pedigree from that perspective, too.
So, does it succeed? Again, that comes down to subjective notions of funniness, but as far as Iโm concerned, for the most part it it does. I mean, itโs no Portal 2, but if thatโs the standard, then nothing would be. Stick It To The Man has a nice mix of jokes, ranging from (among many, many other things) oddly specific fortune cookies, to the main characterโs job being a hardhat tester, to a lobotomy-loving ghost, and more often than not, they stick.
Of course, even if the game was the funniest thing ever made, the jokes wouldnโt matter if the gameplay sucked. Thankfully, developers Zoink! realized this, and made sure that one of the gameโs funnier aspects โ the fact the main character has a giant pink hand sticking out of his head โ also worked as one of the key game mechanics. You can use the hand to read peopleโs thoughts, grab important puzzle pieces, and jump up and down to particularly hard to reach places. Even if they missed out on the opportunity to incorporate the Vitaโs touchscreen capabilities into that mechanic, considering how well it all works, itโs hard to complain too much.
On a similarly positive note, the graphics are fantastic, if a little dark at times. Much Tearaway, Stick It To The Man looks like it was pasted together with pieces of paper โ though, at the same time, it looks nothing like Media Moleculeโs GOTY candidate. Stick It To The Man inhabits a darker, murkier world, but at the same time, one thatโs still vibrant and alive in its own twisted way.
Which is to say: Stick It To The Man may aim to make you laugh, but itโs the gameplay and the graphics that make it worth a purchase. If it were just a funny game, Iโd say people should pick it up at their own risk (i.e. if you think Dinosaur Comics or Adventure Time are irredeemably stupid, you may have some issues with it). Because itโs fun regardless of whether you share its sense of humor, however, thatโs what elevates it to being one of the PS Vitaโs best games of the year.