StackHead Puts a Maintenance Bot in the Spotlight
StackHead is a fast-paced 2.5D platformer shooter set in Automa Park, a gleaming AI-run amusement park where everything is a little too perfect. You play as Stackhead, a maintenance robot tired of monotony and reprimands for trying to entertain visitors. Instead of obeying orders, Stackhead decides to jump attraction to attraction and put on a real show.
The park does not approve. Automa Park's AI dispatches waves of security robots to stop the chaos. That only makes the audience cheer louder. Your goal is straightforward but lively - fight through the park's attractions, beat robotic enemies, and push toward the AI's headquarters for a final, spectacular showdown.
A Stacking System That Builds Your Arsenal
The hook is the stacking mechanic. As Stackhead, you can collect machines from defeated enemies and stack them on top of your head. Each pickup adds to a growing tower of devices that changes how you fight. Over time you transform into a walking weapon tower, combining effects and firepower in unpredictable ways.
The execution keeps the tone of the setting. Weapons and gadgets lean into the amusement park theme with playful projectiles like bouncing ball shots and water bombs, all of which can be combined by stacking. The system encourages experimentation: different stacks create different movement and shooting behaviors, and part of the fun comes from improvising with whatever pile of devices you have.
Attractions, Robots, and Crowd-Pleasing Chaos
Levels are built around diverse attractions, each offering setpieces and enemy types that match the environment. Expect hazards and spectacle alongside fights as you move from one ride to the next. The park AI's security forces escalate the challenge, but the more chaotic your run becomes, the more the crowd seems to love it.
The game promises a rhythm that mixes tight platforming with fast shooting. The stacking mechanic adds a layer of strategy to the chaos - do you build a specialized tower for damage, or a bizarre assortment of toys that create unexpected synergies?
Made in 9 Months by a Student Team for a Portable Console
STACKHEAD is a French student game from ESMA Game school, created in nine months by a team of 10 students working within the technical constraints for a portable console. The team credits:
- TEAMROUSSIN Mickaël - Game Designer, Sound Designer, 3D Artist
- ALLÈGRE Max-Emilien - Texture Artist, 3D Artist
- CIRRONIS Emanuele - Programmer
- LAVOYE-SOL Matias - Programmer
- BATAILLE Arthur - 3D Artist
- MORQUIN Jules - VFX Artist
- BELLANDE Aurélie - Concept Artist, 3D Artist
- LAFAGE Benjamin - Concept Artist, 3D Artist
- DONADILLE Marion - VFX Artist, 3D Artist
- JAUZE Lauriane - Level Design, Narrative Design, 3D Artist, Level Artist
StackHead leans on classic action platformer inspirations while adding a playful, mechanical twist. The result is a compact, show-focused experience that turns maintenance work into a one-robot performance full of surprises.
