Stickman Hook Tips, Tricks and Strategies

For those of you who have trouble inferring what a game is about by the title alone. Allow me to explain what Stickman Hook is about. You take control of a red stickman who has the desire to reach the chequered flag at the end of a series of drops and trampolines. It’s your job to time exactly when you hook to ensure your stickman makes it to the end in one piece. Sounds simple enough, and it will be, once you’ve read these top tips.

• To hook or not to hook. I can put most of the fails in this game down to self-sabotage. You may not realise it but you did not need to hook onto something right before the finish line. More often than not, you’ll press to hook, and it will totally kill your momentum, making it almost impossible to finish the level. So when you are playing, ask yourself, do I absolutely need to hook right now? You should aim to get to the end in as few swings as possible, at least for the beginning stages of gameplay.

• Use the floor, Luke. No, I am not your father, but I have wonderful advice to impart onto you. Any floor pieces that have a white side to them are bouncy, which means you can use the floor to launch yourself forwards at high speed. So, instead of hooking into a full swing, you can let go of your swing to launch yourself into the trampoline and glide away at a tremendous speed.
• Improv is everything. If you ever manage to hit a trampoline in the wrong spot or let, go of a grapple at the wrong time you will need to improvise. Whether this means pressing and holding a grapple to maintain your momentum, or to tap the screen many times to shimmy on to your rope. There is a way out of any situation, you need the patience or ingenuity to find it. Just to point out, there is no punishment for failing levels in Stickman Hook unless you count watching adverts as punishment. So if you are making things worse, then don’t be afraid to drop to your death.

• What’s a shimmy? Have you ever pressed and held a grapple and stopped dead right next to the pivot point? Well, if you drop downwards at a reasonable distance, you can then shimmy back up the rope. In doing so, your character will move slightly left or right, which means if you keep repeating this process you will build up momentum naturally. Once again, it might be quicker to just die, but it feels satisfying to complete a level after coming back from the brink.

• Swing low sweet chariot. Some early levels especially can be completed by one mighty swing. This means you need not to bother with all the other distractions in the level, just time one large swing and improvise based on where you land. If you have ever played Dune or Tiny Wings, you’ll understand the importance of timing for a big release and this is the same in Stickman Hook. Instead of hills to aim for, its points to pivot around.

• Think about momentum. If you need to go forward but the trampolines are all sending you backwards, use the negative force positively. This may sound scientific, but all you have to do is swing into the trampoline then hold your grapple to launch back the way you came. All you need to do is have a force to push you while you release your grapple in the direction you want to go. This should change the way you are playing Stickman Hook, as you can make momentum in a million different ways, you just have to use this momentum to your advantage.

Sam Simmons