Stickman Hook

Observed in play

A level is a row of hooks strung across a gap. You hold the button, a rope snaps to the nearest hook, and your figure starts to swing. Let go and it flies off in the direction it was travelling. Miss the next hook and it falls.

The whole skill is the release point. Hold on past the top of a swing and you are thrown upwards with no forward speed left, which usually drops you short. Let go slightly before the top and the momentum carries into the next hook cleanly.

Some levels have trampolines built in. They bounce the figure up or forward and are there to set up the next swing rather than to act as a shortcut, so it is worth watching where one throws you before you commit.

There are two modes. The classic one is a long run of levels that get harder gradually. A harpoon mode unlocks after thirty classic levels; there the hook pulls you straight to the anchor point instead of letting you swing, so there is less room to correct a bad release.

A level ends the moment the figure touches the finish marker, and no score is attached, so there is nothing to optimise beyond getting there. That makes the game unusually honest. Either the swing worked or it did not, and you can see which within a second.

The levels teach one thing at a time. Evenly spaced hooks train the release. A single hook and a long gap train patience. A trampoline in the middle asks you to plan two moves instead of one. None of this is explained in words, which is part of why it reads so quickly.

Notes for a first attempt

• Let go a little before the top of the swing. At the top you are thrown straight up and lose all forward speed.
• After a swing that felt good, let go anyway. Holding on for one more beat is the most common way to overshoot.
• You do not have to take every hook. If you already have speed, skipping one keeps the path flatter and faster.
• When you land on a trampoline, watch where it throws you once before trying to chain a swing off it.
• Levels are short enough that restarting costs nothing. Retry immediately rather than studying the layout.