Stickman Slayer 2 (2022 Video Game)

Stickman Slayer 2, also known as Stickman Slayer 2: Invasion of the Cybernetic is a run and gun video game developed and published by indie game studio Blue Galaxy Studios in 2022. It is a direct sequel to the 2020 game, Stickman Slayer also developed by Blue Galaxy Studios. It follows the same art direction and animation techniques as the original game. However it’s development is a much different story. The game follows Jim and Cool Bro, living by themselves on earth with the few people left. One day, a mysterious object lands on earth, containing thousands of robots who were sent to kill all remaining life on earth and make earth their own. The game is still a run and gunplatfomer and retains most of the same elements but this game also introduced a lot of new elements. The game received mixed to positive reviews this time around, but was very successful commercially earning around 3 million dollars the first 2 weeks of release!

Gameplay
The gameplay is mostly the same as its predecessor. Focusing on run and gun levels and bosses. However, this sequel introduced many new elements to the game. This includes being cool bro on single player (originally meant to be a second player only option) new mini-game mode, voice chat on online-multiplayer (chat was the only communication in the original) side-quests, and even a level maker, available as a DLC. Many fans loved the new additions to the game!

Plot
The game takes place a year after the original Stickman Slayer. Jim and Cool Bro live peaceful life‘s on earth with the last remaining stickmen. One day, Jim notices a UFO in the sky and it lands on earth. They discover inside is a robot civilization that vows to kill all of them and take over earth. Jim and Cool Bro decide to stop these robots once in for all and end the inevitable apocalypse. Some friends die along the way but they eventually save the world and live in peace for the rest of their life’s. This game is set to be the last in the stickman slayer series.

Development
After the success of Stickman Slayer, Blue Galaxy Studios knew they needed to make a sequel. Thankfully, they had gathered a far larger team and could finish the game far faster than the original. Jonathan was still directing the whole project and wanted to make sure they made a good sequel. The whole project definitely had a bigger budget and was going to be far bigger than the original. “I wanted to make a sequel that retained the style but was bigger in scale” Jonathan stated in an interview. They still did all the animation traditionally. The team decided to go for a more darker tone this time around with the robots, despite one of the main criticisms with the first game being the dark tone. Over 2-3 years, the team developed the sequel and tried to make it even better than the first. One of the members of the team, Axel Howard said the sequel was more of a grind to make as opposed to the first was meant as a passion project. The development team said they were happy to work with these characters again and make another game like this. However, stress was still high because they didn’t know if fans would like it as much as the original. After the game was finished, Jonathan Belmonte said this in an interview “I’m glad we made the stickman slayer games, but I think we are ready to move on to other projects.” Confirming that a third game was not going to happen.

Release
The game was originally revealed with a trailer on Blue Galaxy's youtube channel on December 25, 2021. It gained millions of views and was #2 on trending in gaming for a little. The hype was undoubtedly high for the game. The release date was not revealed until a tweet came out from the official twitter on February 5, 2022, announcing the release date was September 10, 2022. More trailers and promos came out between the time of the announcement and release date. The game released on Steam on September 10, 2022 for $14.99. Console ports and such were already planned and were scheduled to come out later that year and some possibly in 2023. Later that year in 2022, Blue Galaxy released 2 ports on one day! On October 21, 2022 they released Stickman Slayer 2 on PS4 and PS5. And than on December 15, the final 2 ports came to Xbox One and Nintendo Switch just in time for the holidays. The ports were released far quicker than the original. All the ports were the same price.

Reception
The reception to Stickman Slayer 2 was rather mixed as opposed to the generally positive reception of the original. IGN still praised the 2D visuals but criticized the darker tone of the game, writing “Stickman Slayer 2 boasts incredibly charming drawings but it’s darker tone mashes the games feel”. Gamespot also pointed out the lack of charm from the original, writing “Stickman Slayer 2 demands to beat you over on the head with blood, violence and dark storylines and loses the charm of the original”. You can clearly see a big problem amongst critics was the tone. GameInformer also suggested that the game was boring and that the art didn’t work as well, writing “Stickman Slayer 2’s dark art loses the vibrant appeal of the original and makes the game a slog to play through, despite excellent mechanics and gameplay”

However GamesRader+ thought the dark tone was great and loved the gameplay, writing “Stickman Slayer 2 brings the series in a far more interesting direction and is just as investing and fun to play through as the original” so some reviewers thought it was good. Some even praised the new mini-game mode and level builder mode and thought that it was better than the original. As for fans reception, some liked it and some didn’t. The reception was just as mixed with fans as it was with critics. Some fans loved the new robot enemies, the mini-game mode and the level builder. Some thought that it was too dark, boring and the new modes were unnecessary.

Achievements
There are several achievements to be unlocked from playing the game
 * Short-Circuit- Play your first level
 * Spare Change- Buy a new weapon
 * Just Some Help- Buy a new upgrade
 * Cyber Bully's- Play your first match on local or online multiplayer
 * Metal Skull- Die for the first time
 * Robot Blood- Defeat a boss
 * Almost Done- Complete half of the game
 * Sneaky Robot Hunter- Complete a level without taking damage
 * Broke- Buy all weapons and upgrades in the shop
 * Personal Assistant- Do a side quest
 * Ultimate Domination- Complete the game on regular
 * Robot Exterminator- Complete the game on extreme
 * Bite Sized Murder- Play a mini-game
 * Construction Worker- Make your first level in the level maker

Game Modes
Stickman Slayer 2 has 4 game modes! The 2 new modes include mini-games and level builder. All are available from the start. These modes include Regular, Extreme, Mini-Games and Level Builder. Regular and Extreme are essentially the same as the original, which you can read about here. But Mini-Games and Level Builder are entirely new modes! Mini-Games features several bite sized games dealing with robots and stickman including shooter games, card games, puzzle games and more. Level Builder let’s you build your own level using assets from the game! You can them share them to the Stickman Slayer Network, which contains fan made levels from all over the world. An update let Stickman Slayer 1 players access the Stickman Slayer Network which was previously only available on Stickman Slayer 2 on launch date. These game modes added a lot to the game and was one of the pros in most reviews of the game.

Game Rating (ESRB)
Although the games tone was overall darker, Stickman Slayer 2 still received a T for Teen rating. This was for several reasons. The game features moments of language, mild blood and violence. Characters use swears, blood comes out of enemies, (which is blue since they are robots however) and there are lots of moments of violence as the game centers around killing robots.

Legacy
Stickman Slayer 2 was one of the most hyped up games of 2022, and although gaining mixed reviews, the game earned a lot of money. The game was still a huge success and it still had a big impact on the franchise. Stickman Slayer 2 was also important because it would be the last of the stickman slayer games. Many people were sad to hear this news, while others said it was a good decision. Merchandise was still made of the game and the game gave even more iconography for the series. Series creator Jonathan Belmonte had this to say about the series, “Stickman Slayer was our first ever breakthrough in the gaming world, and I really appreciate everyone who has enjoyed the games over the years. But, I think it’s time for us to move on to other projects you know? We made a sequel and now it’s finished. I don’t think we could come up with another worthy story”

Stickman Slayer will not be receiving another sequel, but many are continuing its legacy by playing it, speed-running it and even making fan-fictions of it. Stay tuned for Blue Galaxy's next project!