Stacking
By Chad Sapieha,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Brilliant, thoughtful puzzler has a little violence.
Add rating
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this game.
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Stacking
Community Reviews
There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What’s It About?
Set in a world that prioritizes industrialism above all else, STACKING puts players in the shell of a Russian stacking doll named Charlie that's suddenly forced to start a campaign to put an end to child labor. When Charlie's father disappears, he and his siblings are forced to work to pay off the family's debt. Charlie is the youngest but also the cleverest. So small that he can nest inside virtually any other doll he encounters, he uses his wee stature to inhabit others and assume their abilities, which he uses to solve puzzles. He might stack inside a museum guard doll to gain the ability to lead kids around or another doll to open her parasol. The story provides ample opportunity to use a wide range of abilities to work out answers to many contextual brainteasers. Players also are free to experiment and see how each doll's abilities can be used outside of puzzles. There also are plenty of side objectives that encourage testing doll abilities in fun new ways.
Is It Any Good?
Double Fine Productions' games are reliably quirky (see Broken Age) and usually pretty fun (see Psychonauts). Stacking is no exception. Charming, witty, and focused on clever conundrums rather than any sort of serious or sustained violence, it forces players to find creative solutions to puzzling situations. Satisfaction comes not only in solving the puzzles -- there's usually more than one way to do so, and it sometimes requires the abilities of more than one doll -- but also working through the original and morally unimpeachable anti-child-labor narrative. You're going to root for Charlie and cheer all his victories, large and small.
It's a visual treat, too. The dolls have a wonderfully detailed hand-painted appearance, and the world, which carries an authentic 19th-century industrial vibe in its architecture and textures, begs to be studied -- which is nice, since keen observation is key to solving many of the puzzles. Families looking for a fun, thoughtful interactive experience can't go wrong here.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about child labor, a practice that continues in some countries today. What action can we take to put an end to it?
Families also can discuss puzzle solving. What sorts of things do you do every day that require cleverness and puzzle-solving acumen?
Game Details
- Platforms: PlayStation 3 , Windows , Xbox 360
- Subjects: Language & Reading : reading
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning : investigation, logic, problem solving, solving puzzles, Creativity : developing novel solutions, Emotional Development : empathy, perspective taking
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Double Fine Productions
- Release date: February 8, 2011
- Genre: Puzzle
- Topics: Great Boy Role Models
- ESRB rating: T for Crude Humor, Mild Cartoon Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Tobacco
- Last updated: May 3, 2021
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
Where to Play
Our Editors Recommend
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate