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Draw a Stickman: EPIC 2 Switch review - You don't have to be an artist to paint this picture

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Draw a Stickman: EPIC 2 Switch review - You don't have to be an artist to paint this picture

Remember the drawings you used to do when you were just a tot? You didn't have much skill but a stickman was easy enough to do.

What if that stickman had its own adventure to go on? Well, Draw a Stickman: Epic 2 brings that idea to life and lets you make your very own hero.

If you're not keen on the simplistic adventure at your fingertips, you can at least feel the charm and appeal of its creativity.

Paint me a picture

You get an instant feel for this isometric adventure from the moment you're thrown into it. With a limited colour palette, you have to design yourself a stickman and then draw a friend to ultimately save at the end of the game.

After a wibbly ink spill steals your mate, it's up to you to traverse the lands of a torn-up story book, help the villagers within, and collect missing pages, all whilst solving puzzles and fighting bad guys.

Though you start off with the ability to draw leaves on trees - and ultimately banish the evil ink around them - you get different crayons as the game progresses. Eventually you unlock abilities like wires, rainclouds, and eggs to help you solve the environmental puzzles in your way.

You can also discover fuzzy little friends who give you more colours to pick from in your drawing menu. The plot doesn’t change if you don't find them, but it gives you a little more variety if you're super into that side of things.

Aside from the main characters, you get to draw items like pickaxes to help you progress and navigate obstacles. Again, there's no right or wrong answer here so even if you draw a 'T' it'd still do the same job as something super detailed and life-like.

Draw me a scene

The drawing element is really fun to mess around with, especially when you want to get silly with your characters and items, but when you look past the surface it's a little limited.

The crayons you collect throughout the game serve a purpose, but some are more effective than others and some are fiddlier to use.

I didn't notice at first, but in handheld mode I automatically used the touchscreen because it felt more natural to sketch with my finger.

It's not the biggest deal because Draw a Stickman: EPIC 2 shines brightest in handheld mode, but if you're fonder of playing docked you may find the controls less comfortable.

If you ignore the drawing element the game itself is rather unchallenging with easy-to-beat enemies and pretty short levels. Although that does make it more accessible.

Sketch me a man

Draw a Stickman: EPIC 2 may not be the freshest thing the game world has ever seen but it sure offers up a bag-load of charm.

It's funny, easy to pick up and play, it doesn't cost an absolute fortune, and it's totally family friendly - big ticks in a lot of boxes.

Draw a Stickman: EPIC 2 Switch review - You don't have to be an artist to paint this picture

Draw a Stickman: EPIC 2 might not be the hardest game to get to grips with, but it's still fun with an interesting mechanic
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Emily Sowden
Emily Sowden
Emily is Pocket Gamer's News Editor and writes about all kinds of game-related things. She needs coffee to function and begrudgingly loves her Switch more than she lets on.