Review by: Danielle Riendeau

Like Costume Quest before it, Stacking is a fantastic example of a small, quirky downloadable game done right. A Double Fine production through and through, this title swaps “CQ’s RPG-lite” gameplay for new wave adventure, complete with an innovative interface, bizarre art style, charming humor and a gently silly storyline.

You play as Charlie Blackmore, the tiniest little guy in a family of Russian matryoshka nesting dolls that must go off and rescue his various brothers and sisters from a life of child labor. The offbeat narrative works perfectly with the early 1900’s art style and bizarre world, where every character is a nesting doll.

Charlie, being so little, has a distinct advantage – he can “stack” into dolls that are larger than him, gaining their unique properties and powers when he does so. It’s as easy and natural as pressing a button once you’re behind an appropriately sized character – and you can stack up to several sizes bigger than Charlie, making for a hilariously wobbly spectacle.

This central mechanic works perfectly, acting as both your means of exploration and your interface with the game world. Stacking takes many cues from its LucasArts and Sierra forebears, in that much of the gameplay involves story-based puzzle solving – you’ll gather clues to the solutions by talking to characters, examining items and rooms, etc. Here, instead of giving you an inventory screen, all of your tools and abilities are available through the characters in the world. Some dolls have unique traits (like a little boy who throws up on command, or a saucy seductress who can distract other dolls), while others carry essential objects or are themselves tied into objectives. If this sounds a bit odd, don’t fret – just imagine a mix of old-school Kirby meets Grim Fandango, and you’re most of the way there.

The puzzles themselves are delicious, with five possible solutions to each (yes, you get rewards – even achievements – for figuring them all out), a hint system, and a difficulty level that feels “just right” for what’s meant to be a fairly accessible game. You’ll traverse three main areas in your journey, each styled after a “new world” means of travel (train station, cruise ship, zeppelin), with appropriately zany characters and situations to figure out in each.