Gaming
June 10, 2023
6 Best Stickman Games You Gotta Try – Free to Play!
If you think about it, Stickmen are the best ones to go against via sniper missions, they really stick out.
1. Sierra 7
Sierra 7 is a phenomenal game of its time as it brandished quite an image online. A shooter auto-scroller game that puts you in the boots of a Sierra Operative, a member of the elite special force trooper as you get sent in various areas around the world. It’s a game well-known for having such detailed weapons, from pistols to rifles, and impressive sound design that gives it an impressive level of immersion.
Now this is what I call an entrance in style.
Playing it is simple, you simply click your left mouse button to shoot, and several keys are displayed in the UI and are quite easily understandable. R to reload, Q to switch to your sidearm, F to switch firing modes, and so on.
It also features quite a lot of weapons, but unlocking them needs you to progress through the missions! After all, in the game, you’re just a solo unit breaking dough right off the bat, better to send you in for experience before you can get in that house with a M249, right?
Along with it is the aspect of engagements. You trudge into the combat zone where you can easily find enemies standing there for you to easily fire upon, but as you progress further and as you fight more experienced enemies, you’ll find several who are hiding, laying in ambush as you through.
I really love that detail on the gas being exhausted off the chamber, what a design.
However, the sad part of it is that there is only a few missions. Though, you can play in higher difficulty on the next run to give more challenges, and that is also a prerequisite to unlock the rest of the gun rosters which unlocks as you progress through the missions.
Outlined here are the best parts of the game itself:
- Immersive soundscape design.
- Detailed weapon models and sounds.
- Levels are quite detailed, and quite challenging as some enemies’ pop where you least expect it.
- A variety of missions with different requirements, such as the sniping mission that is quite immersive with the wind mechanics.
All-in-all, this game is a solid recommendation. Some people call it a stickman-based call of duty, but I’ll leave it upon your judgement to call it what it is! If this is what you fancy, prep those breaching charges and charge into those rooms, breach and clear, soldier!
Play it here: https://www.hahagames.com/game/sierra-7
2. Escaping the Prison (Henry Stickmin series)
Henry Stickmin, after the failed robbery attempt, needs your help to escape the prison! A part of the long-standing Henry Stickmin series that has a steam release nowadays, this game features gags and comical attempts by Henry to escape!
Clearly Henry won the court because Edgeworth isn’t here…
Escaping the Prison is a simple point-and-click game that has a bit of quick-time events, as well as numerous sets of endings you can achieve as you experiment around it! A simple and, as stated earlier, being a part of a long series meant that as you finish this one, you can proceed to the next, or play the prequel!
There are a lot of references and comedic gags based around this game, which is quite entertaining! It’s really better to treat this as the means to chill, a good one to take as you rest or something!
Along with the endings, also take your time to read the death messages! They add to the fun as well as putting a bit of a flair to your game over, which is what this series is well-known for!
I'm pretty sure nobody reads these things nowadays…I do enjoy reading them in the toilet though.
That said, there are really no indications whether or not you’re leading to a route that actually links you to an ending. This might be a bit frustrating for someone else, to which I’ll ask those who actually find it as such to be free to steer clear off this game!
But if you intend to get a summarized outline for the pros of this game, it is as follows:
- Witty animations and dialogue!
- Unique art style that is quite iconic.
- A long-standing series with multiple games in its series!
If you intend to play the game, you’re in luck! It’s available to play here: https://www.hahagames.com/game/escaping-the-prison
Try out the other games in the Henry Stickmin -series too, all available on HahaGames!
Fleeing the Complex: https://www.hahagames.com/game/fleeing-the-complex
Stealing the Diamond: https://www.hahagames.com/game/stealing-the-diamond
Infiltrating the Airship: https://www.hahagames.com/game/infiltrating-the-airship
Breaking the Bank: https://www.hahagames.com/game/breaking-the-bank
Completing the Mission: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1089980/The_Henry_Stickmin_Collection/
3. Storm the House series
Storm the House is a game that says what it definitely is. You’re tasked to defend a house from attacking forces, and with it comes along different upgrades to help you with it. Though of course, a wall stands in between you and them, which serves as your first line of defense from the hordes of varying enemies that you’ll come across!
Yeah, attacking a house with armed gunmen using just a sword is a great idea!
The premise of the game is once a major part of an era where tower defense became more prevalent. There are other similar games like these, such as Valor and other similar games like it, but StH is definitely a major part of that rise of popularity.
It also features the aspect of ‘spend more to earn more’, especially as you proceed on to higher levels. Enemies begin to swarm more, and more various types of enemies shows up, with resilience higher than the standard ones that you face early on.
Actually, it probably is better to invest in this game to make it more idle for you. Gunmen, for example, in higher numbers would be effective on staving off a great chunk of the attackers, letting your means of intervening with your gun less. Despite it, each kill they accumulate still equates as your kill, therefore earning you money in the process. This only equates that getting the upkeep for these units are better off than nothing.
Uh oh, they’re bringing out their guns that they need to shoot right in front of you, oh no.
Storm the House 1, its prequel, may be quite inferior to the 2nd installment, but it is a part of its development. Lessons learned from StH 1 went on to improve 2, and finally finish up to Storm the House 3, albeit the game is less of a stick-based shooter and introduced more mechanics, upgrades, and game modes.
Graphically, sure, the game isn’t pleasing. However, it has major strong points such as:
- The game isn’t too hard unless you set it that way from the difficulty setting.
- It’s a simple game with simple mechanics, no need to go overboard.
- The upgrades are definitely worth getting, and not a mere 1% increase per se.
- Several installments in the series lets you pick what you prefer!
So, if you’re interested in this classic defense shooter, go ahead and hop in here:
Storm the House 1: https://www.hahagames.com/game/storm-the-house
Storm the House 2: https://www.hahagames.com/game/storm-the-house-2
Storm the House 3: https://www.hahagames.com/game/storm-the-house-3
4. Stick War
Stick War is the quintessential stick strategy game that is well-known back in the day of flash games! Take hold of the Order Empire as you lead them to victory against various kingdoms whose specialties you get as you unite the continent!
You may have a sword but we’re 3 guys with a club, you do you, buddy.”
It’s a game of composition and strategy, something that can also be helped by several upgrades you can unlock and obtain after each battle. You can also decide to specialize or focus into one specific strategy—I myself found that investing early into archers is a good gambit, albeit you’d probably need a tanking front if you want to go all-in to it.
Also, keep in mind that resources that you’re able to mine is something limited. You’ll need to mine closer towards the enemy, but that also applies to them. While it’s easily seen that sometimes the AI cheats, they do have the ability to run out of gold to utilize, which you can bank on for attritional-based strategies such as massing archers.
Understanding when to engage is also crucial here. Archers might begin to harass your frontline, but you can take control of an archer yourself, especially as controlled units are buffed in both health and damage. Or you can take hold of your spearmen and assemble a line to hold, at least until your miner retreats.
The burning arrows at the ground and blood may have lessened, this patch saw a LOT of it earlier.
It’s a shame, however. Many sites who run it has issues with letting you play the game (which is a Ruffle issue, honestly), but if you get it to work, you’re in for a ride as the campaign takes you to a few but challenging levels to fight with!
Along with that is:
- Capability for online play!
- Adaptive upgrade system for different strategies!
- Difficult campaigns that would get you hooked!
If you wish to take power to the Order Empire now, you can play here:
https://www.hahagames.com/game/stick-war
5. Stickman Archer the Wizard Hero
The name of the game is a word overload in of itself, that’s for sure! Stickman Archer: The Wizard Hero is a defense game with elements of archery (hint, hint, the name?) as you defend yourself atop a tower against multiple waves of wizards, monsters, and bosses that shows up time to time!
It’s over, wizard. I have the high ground.
The gameplay element is pretty easy to understand. Wizards spawn, and in a set time, they’ll shoot off projectiles which varies on where it can hit. You can shoot these projectiles out of the sky yourself if you can hit them, or evade by utilizing your tower.
Along with it is an upgrade system. You can earn gold which can be used to roll the lucky wheel, which gives the player equipment such as new wands or costumes. They’re not primarily cosmetic, because these wands and costumes gives stat bonuses as well, along with several gimmicks for the wands.
If you collect more gold though, you can buy yourself skills. These are casted upon a level to help you clear swathes of enemies, help you defend yourself if you don’t want that, whatever you intend to use it for! They are pricey, however, with some skills costing a thousand.
He comes every 100 years to tussle, and somehow fails every time. Maybe change your plans?
One of the most crucial parts here would be that green bar in the illustrations. That is the meter which fills every time you eliminate an enemy or a boss, and if it’s not fully filled, you’re most likely getting a one or two star for the level, reducing your awarded coins for clearing. Make sure to get those headshots or not to miss too much, I learned that the hard way!
For a summary, this game can be summarized quite so:
- A simple game with a simple gameplay loop.
- Bosses are quirky and has a nice amount of difficulty in them, though not seeing their HP can be kind of a problem.
- Obtaining higher levels of wands really show how much strong they are, not placebo-like stat upgrades.
- It’s up to the player to decide on investing for skills or to try obtaining new equipment, but it won’t gatekeep them further.
6. Sift Heads World: Act I
Ah, Sift Heads. The renowned stick-based assassin game across multiple games over Vinnie’s growth into becoming a well-known assassin. I’d be lying if I’d say I haven’t taken a bit of liberty on taking his personality when I played this series as a kid, but that just shows how much Sift Heads was back in the day!
I swear, every hot-blooded stick assassin really had to have some sort of a muscle car to back him up.
Sift Heads is an action shooter game based around the story of Vinnie and his crew. While back then, you’re only meant to play as Vinnie who is an all-rounder type of guy, Sift Heads World lets you play as the other two as well—Kiro and Shorty.
Kiro is a samurai who once worked with the yakuza back in the previous series. While he used to be against Vinnie when he ended up clashing with them back before, a betrayal along with the killing of his older brother urged him to join Vinnie. In this game, you can use his katana to slice up enemies if you want to.
Shorty is a staple of the Sift Heads series. She’s been with Vinnie for a long time, and is a top-notch sniper who saved his rear for several times. She also works as an information broker for him, mainly supporting his campaign in the back. In the game, she uses a sniper rifle, but she’s not resilient enough to last around firefights.
If you’re against the mafia, might as well dress as the mafia too while you’re at it.
The game isn’t really that hard, though it’s the other modes that give it a difficulty spike if one isn’t prepared. For one, there is also the practice of racing against other drivers, as well as understanding how to navigate around to start off. But it’s what gives the game quite an expansive expression—there’s a ton of things that you can do right off the bat.
To summarize it easily, Sift Heads World is centered around these things:
- An expansive campaign map to navigate around for the story quest as well as side quests you can do for cash.
- Head over to the Gun Shop to see other weapons they have in store; you’d need multiple weapons over time towards specialized enemies!
- It isn’t always about killing the most. Some of the missions require you to immobilize the target—not kill. Make sure you watch out and understand the flow of the dialogue!
- You’re free to choose across three characters which all has different skillsets and gimmicks. Either way, the story should progress the same as it is, as you continue Vinnie’s legacy.
If you’re intrigued by the story of Vinnie and want to dive into the game, go play it here: