Line #38 VideoGame/StickItToTheMan


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sittm_2268.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''It's a'' [[{{Pun}} sticky]] ''situation...'']]
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4	Released in 2013 by Ripstone Games and developed by Zoink!, ''Stick It To The Man!'' is a multiplatform indie game that combines elements of [[AdventureGame point-and-click adventure games]] and [[PuzzlePlatformer 2D puzzle platformers]].
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6	In a world where everything is made of cardboard and paper, you are Ray Doewood, a timid yet kind-hearted hard hat tester whose life gets shaken up after being hit on the head by a mysterious object from the sky. While he's unconscious, Ray dreams that he's in possession of a pink spaghetti arm giving him the ability to [[{{Telepathy}} read minds]] and [[RealityWarper reshape the world around him as he sees fit]]... but the arm's [[ThatWasNotADream still there when he wakes up]]. To complicate things even further, a team of agents working for a mysterious figure known only as "The Man" are hot on Ray's trail and hellbent on retrieving the source of his new powers. If he's going to survive the chase and see his girlfriend Arlene once more, Ray's going to have to use the arm, his wits, and quite a few stickers on a journey through his town, an insane asylum, space, and his own mind.
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8	[[QuirkyWork Yeah, it isn't exactly the most grounded of storylines.]]
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10	''Stick It!'' uses a gameplay hook similar to that of VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar; throughout the game, Ray collects various stickers that allow him to change the environment of the game in multiple ways with the spaghetti arm. This and the mind-reading are paired up with {{Metroidvania}}-esque levels and a heavy dose of tongue-in-cheek humor, provided from the pen of Creator/RyanNorth.
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12	Initially released for the [=PlayStation 3=], since release the game has made it to Steam, the Wii U, the [=PlayStation 4=] and Vita, the Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch. The game's spiritual successor, titled Flipping Death was released 7 August 2018, with North returning as its writer and Ray Doewood coming back in a non-player role... [[spoiler: as a ghost.]]
13	----
14	!! This game provides examples of:
15	* ThirteenIsUnlucky: In that disco competition, the old guy with the 13 label happens to be an Don. He even says he is one before quickly shifting conversation to [[BlatantLies have it be his name.]]
16	* AbsurdPhobia: Arlene had previously undergone psychiatric therapy to cure her phobia of grapes.
17	* AccidentalMurder: [[spoiler:In The Man’s base, Ray encounters a zombie who is in love with his trainer, who is trying to teach him how to fire a gun in order to become a {{Super Soldier}}. When provided with a gift to give her, the zombie accidentally engages her in a scuffle that leads to her being shot through the heart. Ray then [[BackFromTheDead resurrects]] her ([[CameBackWrong albeit]] as [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie another zombie]]), and she reciprocates the zombie’s affection. Ray uses their [[ThePowerOfLove true love]] to solve another puzzle later on.]]
18	* {{Acrofatic}}: The fairly-chunky Ray can perform some pretty impressive feats of running and jumping for his size.
19	* AwkwardKiss: Ray and Arlene's first kiss happens as a result of Ray ''throwing a grape down his throat''.
20	* BabiesEverAfter: Ending cutscene [[spoiler: [[ButNowIMustGo after Ted returned to his home planet]]]] has Ray receive a letter from him that suggests he [[spoiler: may have [[SomeoneToRememberHimBy left something behind]]... then a baby spaghetti arm pops out from Ray's head]].
21	* BattleaxeNurse: The primary [[{{Mooks}} enemy]] type in the [[BedlamHouse Cuckoo’s Nest]] level, coming off as a [[PaletteSwap carbon]] [[UndergroundMonkey copy]] of The Man’s [[TheMenInBlack Agents]], down to the [[BrawnHilda burly physique]] and [[StaticStunGun taser]].
22	* BedlamHouse: Ray ends up in one of these in one chapter, the main goal is obviously escaping from it.
23	* BigBad: The titular Man, always in [[SinisterSilhouettes silhouette]].
24	* BrainUploading: The Man uploaded his mother's brain onto his [[{{Pun}} mothership]] as the onboard computer.
25	* TheCameo: In the taxidermists store in chapter 7 there's a Double Fine logo hidden in one of the jars.
26	* CassandraTruth: Ray swears that the arm exists and is coming out of his head, but it's only visible to him and the player, leading the other characters (except for the Man and the Agents) to think he's lost a few marbles.
27	* {{Checkpoint}}: A copy machine that prints out a replacement.
28	* CirclingBirdies: At the beginning, the place of work is testing hard hats, where impact magnitudes are ranked by the number of stars. These hard hats are also rated against the number of stars they protect against, and there's a new prototype from R&D which is made from recycled paper and a banana peel.
29	* CPRCleanPrettyReliable: Averted when Arlene has to give Ray CPR during a flashback to a past date of theirs. It's lampshaded as well, as Ray particularly comments on how it wasn't like the movies.
30	* DamselOutOfDistress: [[spoiler:When Ray finally finds Arlene, he's the one who ends up ThrownOutTheAirlock and she escapes by herself and releases Ted to save Ray.]]
31	* FrameUp: Ray's made the victim of one of these, being blamed for [[spoiler: the murder of Arlene.]]
32	* ForcedSleep: If you read a sleepy agent's mind, you can take the drowsiness he's having and make another Agent (Including the yawner himself) fall asleep.
33	* HeroicHost: Ray, who gains the spaghetti arm as a result of [[spoiler: being host to an alien named Ted.]]
34	* JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind: Three of the game's chapters are these, all of which venture into Ray's inner thoughts. One is a [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] [[AdventuresInComaLand Coma Dream]], another is the result of [[HypnoPendulum hypnosis]], and the third is a {{Nightmare Sequence}}.
35	* KleptomaniacHero: Ray's a nice guy, but to stop the Man, he'll steal pets, body parts, ideas, possessions, and even abstract concepts from the various characters in the game.
36	* LivingMacguffin: [[spoiler: Ted]] is highly sought after by the villain of the game.
37	* MoonLogicPuzzle: The solutions to the puzzles can be, uh, quite out there. If you need an intergalactic phone, what do you need to do? Of course, make a monkey think of donuts, use the donuts to make a robot chef make spaghetti for 10,000 people, and use the spaghetti and two empty tomato cans to make said phone.
38	* MisterSeahorse: Becomes the fate of a chauvinistic general in Chapter Nine. It doesn't seem to affect how much one of his subordinates has a crush, however. The baby itself, however, is inconsolable because his insides are apparently uncomfortable and smell of whiskey.
39	--->"I like a family man!"
40	* MultipleHeadCase: One puzzle is a siamese wrestler with three heads, one of which is smaller than the other two and subject to the whims of the others because the legs they control are longer than his. The actions of Ray reveal their legs are fake and their real ones are so stubby they can't stop him from running off to follow his dreams.
41	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished; The Man apparently cares enough about people from his childhood to get them jobs on his spaceship or help them through his experiments, he has a terrarium for his pet turtle (though its unhappy because he put it there in front of a broken tv and called it a day), gave his childhood friend a job on his spaceship, preserved his babysitter's still living head in a jar, and uploaded his mothers brain as the station AI. In the final chapter Ray exploits all this to remind The Man's mother about embarrassing anecdotes from his childhood, which leads to a chain of events that destroys the spaceship.
42	* OneHitPointWonder: Ray. One [[StaticStunGun shock]] and it’s back to the checkpoint for you!
43	* OppositesAttract: Ray is short, awkward and timid, while Arlene is tall and relatively able socially. They're in a generally happy relationship.
44	* PaperPeople: Everyone, save for one cutscene that renders [[spoiler: Ted]] in three dimensions. Checkpoints are printers.
45	* PstandardPsychicPstance: Ray does this while reading minds most of the time. [[spoiler: It's mostly just for the RuleOfCool, however-- he's capable of using the arm even while in a straitjacket, and Ted doesn't do it at all.]]
46	* PunchClockVillain: The numerous [[TheMenInBlack MiB]] [[{{Mooks}} Agents]] on your tail don’t actually seem all that bad, and can even come off as rather [[AffablyEvil chummy]], when you read their thoughts, as most muse that they’re [[OnlyInItForTheMoney only in it for the]] [[EvilPaysBetter money]] / [[SignedUpForTheDental healthcare benefits]], and indeed many [[ObliviouslyEvil don’t even seem to realize what they’re doing is bad]], with the subconscious of some even voicing [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone horror]] at [[HeelRealization realizing they’re playing from the wrong side]], but that doesn’t stop them from gunning for you. Their jobs, and quite possibly [[YouHaveFailedMe their lives]], are on the line, after all. Conversely, their {{Battleaxe Nurse}} counterparts in the [[BedlamHouse Cuckoo’s Nest]] level are ''much'' more [[CardCarryingVillain enthusiastic]] about their chosen profession for the most part.
47	* RealSongThemeTune: "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" by Kenny Rogers.
48	* SpellMyNameWithAThe: ''The'' Man, or '''Mister''' The Man to some of his subordinates.
49	--->“I’m sorry The Man, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” ''~ Mother''
50	* SymbioticPossession: [[spoiler: Ray and Ted]] develop this dynamic by the game's end, with the latter actually stating he prefers the former's brain over that of any of his other hosts.
51	* {{Telepathy}}: In the form of a pink spaghetti arm. Crosses over with [[MindOverMatter Telekinesis]] mixed with a generous helping of [[RealityWarper Reality Warping]].
52	* TinyGuyHugeGirl: Arlene and Ray have this dynamic, as she easily stands a head taller than he does (spaghetti arm notwithstanding).
53	* TwoAndAHalfD: Environments are rendered in three dimensions, but [[PaperPeople the characters are always flat.]] Parts of certain chapters also add layers as well.

Context VideoGame / StickItToTheMan