I have to say, the latest batch of Devolver Digital titles, especially those released in 2026, hadn’t completely wowed me like they used to back in, say, 2018. They weren’t bad games, mind you, but they lacked that certain over the top charm and irreverence I used to associate with anything curated and published by the company, which made me fall in love with it in the first place.

Thankfully, my prayers have been answered by a game I wasn’t even aware of until recently. Coming from the same people behind the cozy and wholesome experience known as Genital Jousting, and finally out of its Early Access stage, we now have the brand new roguelite / beat ’em up / critique of capitalism known as Stick It to the Stickman.

This is how interns usually get their jobs. Trial by combat.

At its core, this is a simple beat ’em up completely populated by the same kinds of stick figures that are featured in traffic signs, as well as my notebooks from back when I was six years old. A game about punching and kicking a series of enemies inside a building, with your moveset being determined by your current loadout. If you have a hand comprised of a punch, followed by two kicks, and another punch, then pressing X four times in a row will always lead to this same punch-kick-kick-punch combo, for instance. Defeat bosses, rack up resources, spend them in permanent upgrades, and collect temporary ones during a run. In theory, not exactly THE most exciting and inventive roguelite in the market.

It looks stupid, but the combat is actually really fun.

But I was being intentionally brief with how this gameplay is presented. This isn’t just a simple game about punching people until your fingers get sore. The theming and setting are what elevate Stick It to the Stickman to the same echelon as more absurdist games from the company, such as Anger Foot, Gorn and Ape Out. This is, at the end of the day, a satirical take on the corporate life, with your protagonist, a brand new employee at a generic company, punching and killing people inside an office building in order to rise to the top of the company, both literally and figuratively. Your task is always to reach the final floor of the office building, kill the CEO, and take his place as the new boss of the company.

You might think you’re a big deal because you’re a CEO, but there are people above you in the food chain: shareholders.

Then again, that is yet another fraction of the plot as a whole. In true ultracapitalist fashion, you may be the new CEO, but you still have to appease beings that are richer and more powerful than you: the shareholders. In a handful of hilarious cutscenes that are so absurdist they feel borderline Lynchian, once you take the spot of CEO after killing the previous boss, you have to meet with the shareholders, learn about what they want from you, and even partake in a few minigames which made my jaw drop due to how stupid they were. You are always given a choice to accept or decline their demands. I love the fact you are given the illusion of choice; refusing to comply to their demands always results in death.

It’s not an in-your-face satire, mind you. Stick It to the Stickman couldn’t take itself less seriously even if wanted to. Everything is so absurdist, so silly, so dumb, you can’t help but smile while playing it. I was impressed with how Free Lives was able to convey fluid animations and a lot of charm in a bunch of stick figures. It’s odd to say this, but the game looks quite good despite its intentional limitations. Furthermore, I wasn’t expecting for the voice acting in a game with such characters to be this good, and this funny.

A realistic depiction of Capcom’s shareholders after a year full of bangers.

I missed outings like this from Devolver. Stick It to the Stickman is an unabashedly absurd beat ’em up with a deceptively charming art style, a hilarious premise, and a genuinely fun gameplay loop to boot. More than just a comedic roguelite brawler, it’s a clear reminder of the kind of game that made both its developer and publisher famous: absurd, over the top, hilarious, but also remarkably polished and entertaining. Don’t be fooled by the ultra simplistic art style. This is one hell of a fun little pastime, and one you should definitely consider adding to your collection.

Stick It to the Stickman is available now on PC.

Reviewed on Intel i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, RTX 3060 6GB.

A copy of Stick It to the Stickman was provided by the publisher.