Stacking

Stacking is an unusual puzzle adventure from Double Fine Productions, released in 2011 on Xbox Live Arcade under the direction of Tim Schafer. The player takes on the role of the smallest matryoshka doll in a large family whose numerous siblings have been kidnapped and forced to work for an evil wealthy industrialist at the turn of the twentieth century, with the central mechanic being the ability to climb inside bigger dolls and take on their unique abilities. By stacking themselves inside progressively larger dolls, the player literally grows their options for interacting with the environment and gains access to previously unreachable parts of each level.

Each puzzle can usually be solved in several different ways by combining the dolls' abilities, from loudly triggering a sneeze to a comically deployed bout of flatulence to more elegant and gentler solutions, which sets the game apart from more linear adventures. A visual style inspired by period photography and silent film, paired with in-game cartoon cutscenes instead of spoken dialogue, gives the game a unique, warm atmosphere of family storytelling rather than classic text or voiced dialogue. The game's humor is gentle and kind, yet it isn't afraid to touch on child labor and social inequality at the turn of the last century.

Stacking was very well received on release, with critics praising above all the creativity and freedom in solving puzzles and its distinctive, warm visual style, which stood out markedly from most digital titles of the time. The game became one of the examples of how Double Fine could deliver playful, experimental design with a strong authorial stamp even in the smaller XBLA format. To this day, Stacking is remembered as one of the most original and funniest titles on the entire Xbox Live Arcade platform and an example of how gently even a subject with a darker social undertone can be handled.

Why play it: Fans of original puzzle games will appreciate the creative puzzle solutions and the distinctive, warm visual style that sets the game apart from most of what Xbox Live Arcade had to offer at the time.