Stick to the Plan Review

Game: Stick to the Plan
Genre: Sokoban, Puzzle, Cute
System: Steam (Windows) (also available on itch.io)
Developer|Publisher: Dead Pixel Tales | Dead Pixel Tales, SpaceJazz
Controller Support: Full
Price: UK £9.99 | US $11.99 | EU € 9,99
Release Date: September 12th, 2023

Review code provided with many thanks to Dead Pixel Tales.

Stick to the Plan is a puppy-themed Sokoban-style puzzle game. You play as Roberto, the dog that’s determined to bring a massive stick all over the place with him, no matter how challenging it is.

Stick to the Plan is Adorable

I am no stranger to cute, animal-themed Sokoban games like Mimi’s and Mimi’s 2, and Stick to the Plan is a fabulous addition to the genre. This polished little game has some of the most challenging Sokoban games I’ve played in my life, and it is gorgeous. Let me tell you about some of the things I just love about it.

You must move through the level without hitting any objects with the stick.

The main character is a very cute dog named Roberto who loves sticks. And I love him.
The puzzles are insanely clever; they challenge you and teach you as you play, which is the best sort of tutorial.
The artwork in Stick to the Plan is sublime.
It’s hard but in a good way.

The accessibility settings include something to show the stick's outline, Roberto's outline, and turn off controller rumble. — I like any accessibility help in games.

Stick to the Plan offers a couple of options to help with visual accessibility, which is always a nice feature to have. I love devs that make it easier for more people to play their games, and these small changes can make the difference between someone not being able to play it and loving it.

One of the Downtown tutorial levels. — Roberto will do anything to take this stick with him.

The Puzzles are a Big Challenge

I like my puzzle games to have a bit of heft to them; I don’t like insane challenges, but I also don’t want it to be too easy. The puzzles in Stick to the Plan require you to think in several dimensions, trying to picture how the stick will move through the space and what obstacles it will run into (the game counts all the objects you bonk into, which is hilarious).

Each level adds a bit of new complexity, and I was patting myself on the back for getting through the first round of puzzles until I saw what stage two had in store for me; I had to manoeuvre the stick through fences and around objects to get it to the end level.

A level is designed around passing a stick through a chain link fence. — Clever boy!

I felt like my brain was on fire by the time I got halfway through World 2, and they just kept getting harder!

This is My Aesthetic

Besides the cute little puppo and the adorable premise, the whole theming of Stick to the Plan is 100% on point. There is a cartoony, goofy look to everything that is only lifted by the cute sound design, relaxing background music, and a bark button. Everything about this game is highly polished; the developers seem to have put a lot of time into how they wanted Stick to the Plan to look, and they achieved it. I mean, look at this world screen:

There are beautiful cartoon settings for each chapter of the game.

And look at this cutscene in between worlds:

A three-panel comic shows Roberto with his stick getting caught and taken to the pound. — Oh no! Unhand my son!

Like, is this not the cutest game ever!?

The Down Sides of Stick to the Plan

I love everything about Stick to the Plan except one thing: there are no hints. I would like a Humanity-style YouTube video for each level. Nothing is more frustrating than wanting to continue playing a game but you can’t because you just can’t figure a level out. All puzzle games should have a help feature of some sort to help us get through those things we’re stuck on. In my opinion, it makes every good puzzle game even better.

A level with two chain link fences has several blocks in the way of bringing along the stick. — Oh man, I think my brain broke.

Conclusion

I love Stick to the Plan. I love how it looks, how polished it is, and how fun the puzzles are. A hint system and this game would have a perfect, Two-Thumbs Up rating in my book!

Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot.