Stacking

It’s sort of amazing that a company could find an idea like the one explored in Stacking and make it work at all, let alone so well. Stacking presentes a steampunk meets Charles Dickens style world populated entirely by Russian matryoshka dolls (the nesting dolls that sit inside each other). That idea not only gives the world the rich character it so enjoys, but also facilitates quite ingeniously the game’s main mechanic.

Stacking mixes inventive gameplay with a charming visual style to produce an outstanding puzzle-adventure.

Stacking might not be the longest downloadable title, nor is it the best. It is, however, the most fun I’ve had playing a single player video game this year. Amid all the blockbuster FPSs and survival horror titles, a game about playing dolls has captured my attention and become my favorite single player title of the year so far. Its charming story and environments combined with compelling puzzles makes this a title well worth your time and money. Playing with dolls is awesome after all.

Stacking might not be the longest downloadable title, nor is it the best. It is, however, the most fun I’ve had playing a single player video game this year. Amid all the blockbuster FPSs and survival horror titles, a game about playing dolls has captured my attention and become my favorite single player title of the year so far. Its charming story and environments combined with compelling puzzles makes this a title well worth your time and money. Playing with dolls is awesome after all.

What Stacking lacks in challenge though, it more than makes up for in charm. It’s a game that encourages you to mess around by leaping into a guy with a white glove and just smacking people in the face, and one that has no shame about featuring an army of noble hobos or a woman who farts potpourri. It may not be a very long game, but it is that rare breed of adventure that never frustrates while it lasts, and will keep you smiling like very few others.

Stacking pushes you to explore these alternate solutions, because without doing so the game is over far too quickly. This ultimately makes the game feel unfocused, like the product of a massive brainstorming session, but expertly solves the genre-wide issues associated with interpreting a designer’s logic, rather than logic itself. This is why it’s clear Double Fine had fun making this game – and it’s why you’re going to have fun playing it.

If you approach Stacking simply as an adventure to complete, you'll find it to be very short and easy. You can plow through the story in just a few short hours, and the built-in hint system can remove even the slightest bit of challenge from the puzzles if you choose. But to look at Stacking this way is to miss most of what the game has to offer. It's not just an adventure game with a number of well-designed puzzles to solve, though it certainly is that. It's also an enchanting and imaginative world that encourages you to remember what it was like to play around for the sheer fun of it, without being constantly focused on goals. Like the beautiful dolls who populate it, Stacking is an elegant creation, the pieces fitting together to create something that's much more magical than the sum of its parts.

Yet Stacking doesn’t strike us as a game focused on difficulty. It’s a game for those interested in creativity, humour and fun - a toy box full of variety and imagination that rewards playfulness and exploration. It’s a shining example of how downloadable games can go beyond our measured expectations and impress in the ways the big boys, restricted by their massive budgets, often fail to do. With Stacking Double Fine have done more than enough to earn your 1200 electrocoins. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to encourage them to make more games like this.

Uiterst charmant en stapelmaf puzzelplezier dat zelfs volwassen thema's als kinderarbeid en economische depressie niet schuwt. Neem er wel de korte speelduur en het gratuite hintsysteem bij.

Stacking ist nicht frei von Macken, gerade die Kapriolengeschichten hätte man sich sparen und stattdessen mehr Haupträtsel einbauen können. Doch die Idee mit den Matrjoschka-Puppen: herrlich. Die grafische Umsetzung: zu jeder Sekunde stilsicher. Die Kammermusik: ungewöhnlich, aber ungewöhnlich gut. Unterm Strich bleibt wie eigentlich immer bei Double-Fine-Produktionen etwas Besonderes, das unsere Aufmerksamkeit mehr als verdient hat.

Stacking — яркая логическая «песочница» для детей и взрослых. Задумка неплоха — благодаря низкой сложности и обилию альтернатив ублажить и «казуалов», и «хардкорщиков». Однако это тест скорее на усидчивость, чем на смекалку, и после разгрома Барона особого смысла в дальнейшей возне нет.