Stacking: The Lost Hobo King (Add-on)

Posted by David S. Gallant on April 7th, 2011 | 0 Comments | Tags: Stacking: The Lost Hobo King

If you haven’t experienced Stacking yet, then this review is not for you; go read Ben’s review of the main game, or better yet, purchase and play it. For the remainder of you whom have already rescued the Blackmore clan from the nefarious Baron, undoubtedly thee must ponder the worthiness of Double Fine’s latest expansion. Honestly, what did you expect? Of course it’s good.

The Lost Hobo King is essentially a complete Stacking chapter with a full set of collectible dolls, hi-jinks, and three multi-solution puzzles. Since the original story wrapped up nicely, this new tale opens with Charlie and his Hobo compatriot in the sleepy fishing village of Hamel Roe. Seems the place is suspected of being the long-forgotten Hobo Kingdom, and Charlie is asked if he might bring his considerable solutionizing skills to bear upon the situation. The Lost Hobo King doesn’t introduce anything terribly new in to Stacking’s successful formula, but it does populate itself with mostly new dolls and abilities.

Like the base game, The Lost Hobo King’s difficulty level is pretty low, thanks to a generous hint system. However, the DLC is made even easier by one doll’s ability to reveal hidden symbols throughout the village, most of which provide pictographic solutions to Hamel Roe’s three core puzzles. This extra form of in-game help makes an easy game even easier, though it is entirely optional. Overall, I found the puzzle solutions to be simpler and less elaborate than some of those in the main game, which was slightly disappointing. Each one is definitely unique in visuals and theme, however, so they were still fun to play through. The majority of them use completely new dolls; in fact, I think there isn’t a single stackable doll from the main game present, excepting a couple of cameos (and even those have totally new abilities). Thanks to this, the content felt very fresh.

I did encounter a graphics clipping glitch in one section, and another part where a particular animation resulted in a few dolls spawning on top of each other. They were minor bugs in an otherwise gorgeous visual presentation, but I mention them because I encountered no such bugs in the original game. The expansion is none too long; it can be 100% completed in under three hours. Despite its very minor flaws, The Lost Hobo King is a worthwhile expansion to Stacking and an easy purchase to recommend.

For more info on our review policy click here. This review is for the PlayStation 3 version of the game.