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Stick to the Plan review: an adorable, not-so-cozy puzzler

LBR was provided with a Steam review key from Dead Pixel Tales to review Stick to the Plan.

Stick to the Plan is an indie puzzle game about a dog trying to bring the perfect stick along during an adventure, from developer Dead Pixel Tales and publisher SpaceJazz. It features five unique worlds, from a landfill to a mysterious forest, including over 60 levels.

In Stick to the Plan, Roberto the dog must rotate, drop, and pick up lengthy sticks in order to overcome unique obstacles. Players will need to pass the stick through fences, teleport through sewers, activate switches, and more. You can only progress if you reach each destination with your stick, and there are vignettes that tell a small story between levels.

Stick to the Plan launches onto PC tomorrow, September 12th, 2023. There’s currently no word on a console port. You can watch the official trailer on the Dead Pixel Tales YouTube channel:

Stick to the Plan will rank among the cutest indies you’ve ever played, both in its art design and the brilliant, simple premise.

Roberto is positively adorable, and each world has a very distinct flavor, encouraging you to progress just to discover where the story goes next. Its gridlike, inventive world is full of color and gentle textures.

Similarly, the music is calming, thoughtful, and adapts to accommodate the various worlds you’ll encounter.

Stick to the Plan aims to be relaxing, given its appearance and mood. However, the puzzles may not reflect that for casual players who were hoping for something soothing to pass the time. Completing this game may require a few hours of careful concentration, though you’ll breeze through the first world or two.

For reference, I happen to enjoy puzzle games, but I must admit I only have average skills in the genre. Some personal favorites include Portal 2 and Inside, both of which I handled well enough.

Stick to the Plan generally has a fair learning curve, as mechanics evolve. Each world has unique, thematic obstacles, which also escalate throughout the story.

The puzzles are highly creative, and mostly intuitive. But if you don’t get lost more than a few times, I applaud you. Stick to the Plan can get surprisingly confusing, and there’s quite a bit of busywork. At times, it can also feel unbalanced. For example, the halfway point of a world might feel tougher than the end.

Final Thoughts

Stick to the Plan has a delightful atmosphere, but it probably isn’t as relaxing as it meant to be. Still, despite this contrast, it thoroughly explores a perfect little premise with intriguing ideas and a solid amount of content. It should please fans of the genre that enjoy a challenge, and definitely anyone who loves dogs (like me!).

Score: 7.5/10

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