When was the last time you really enjoyed failing at something? Fleeing the Complex, PuffballsUnited’s latest installment in the Henry Stickmin series, offers us yet another wild comedic adventure to laugh and fail our way on through. After Infiltrating the Airship, Stealing the Diamond, and Breaking the Bank, Henry Stickmin is now up to his stealthy stickman antics once again. In this new point-and-click adventure, you begin by discovering that Henry has been caught for his old crimes and is now being contained in one of the most dangerous prison complexes imaginable, The Wall. Your mission? To get Henry the hell out of there in any possible way that you can. And when I say any way, I mean, ANY way.
To play, simply make choices for Henry as he advances through the prison complex and attempts his grand escape. Spoiler alert: these choices won’t be ordinary by any means. What to do when confronted with three prison guards in your path? Eat a sandwich to become a gigantic ogre? Use the Force? Pretend to be Frosty the Snowman? Or quickly fall to the ground and play dead? Your choice. But don’t expect to pick the right one on your first go. There is absolutely no way of telling which choice will actually enable a successful outcome, because they’re all just as likely to fail. Yet, lucky for us, PuffBallsUnited’s special talent is turning failure into a magical comedic success. And this is exactly what gives this game its authentic charm.
With such wonderful animations, hilarious voiceovers, and whacky possibilities, you’ll find yourself wanting to fail as much as possible to discover all of the hidden quirks and laughs tucked away within Fleeing the Complex. If you miss anything along the way, the nifty Map option planted at the bottom of the screen allows you to hop back to previous choices along your quest of freedom, making sure you leave no rock unturned. Because the choices you make for Henry dictate which potential pathways he’ll take, you’ll find there are multiple storylines and ways to escape the prison, and they all have their own funny entertaining narrative driving them forward. With big laughs to be had in them all, I thoroughly enjoyed playing each story through to completion. Plus, the creative authentic style the game boasts through its fluid stickman animation is something to be appreciated in its own right.
The only real trouble I find with the game is its brevity. With five multiple endings, and sixty fails in total, Fleeing the Complex can be entirely run through in a little less than a few hours, if not less. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if paying a buck for only two hours of fun without much replay value doesn’t sound like a great idea to you, then you might want to keep your money in your pocket.
Fleeing the Complex is clearly a game to be played purely for explorative whacky fun and a few good belly laughs. If you make your purchase with the hopes of playing a game requiring skill, talent, or something to pride yourself on after hours of gameplay, you definitely came to the wrong place. Fail. Laugh. Explore. That’s what keeps you sticking around with this one.
Lovers of the Stickmin series certainly won’t be disappointed with Fleeing the Complex, and any newcomers to the games may find themselves wanting to peruse PuffBallsUnited’s previous games for some extra laughs in their spare time. After successfully navigating Henry out from prison, we can only wonder how long it will be until he’s back to his notorious thieving schemes once again. Henry Stickmin, what will you do next?
Is it Hardcore?
Pretty Hardcore.
A unique point-and-click adventure game with its own comedic charm. While the animations, voiceovers, and storylines are thoroughly satisfying, the game loses points in its brevity and lack of replay value.