Completely Stretchy review

If you grew up in the ‘80s, there’s a decent possibility you played with a ‘sticky hand’. A close relative to the Wacky WallWalker, the inexpensive toy resembled a small human palm with a long, extremely stretchable tail. You could fling it to snatch a piece of paper, throw it to attach to the ceiling, or just smack someone with the hand, which were all absolutely hysterical to your average third-grader.

Seemingly, Dan Ferguson and the team at Warp Digital must have adored the popular plaything. Their inaugural commercial release, Completely Stretchy, lets you loose with a stretchy sticky hand in an odd, cartoonish world called the Grombi Isles. If you’re looking for high-swinging exploration and favor comical interaction over combat, appreciation shouldn’t be too much of a stretch.

I’m Blue, Da Ba Dee Da Ba Di

The game’s introduction puts you in the role of a mundane island inhabitant. After waking up, tossing your annoying alarm clock at the wall, it’s off to work by way of the island monorail. But there’s a nagging sense that the tedium of your daily life is about to be disturbed, much like Gordon Freeman’s fateful ride into the Black Mesa Research Facility. From the public protests going on among the armless, googly-eyed populace to your leisurely walking speed, trouble seems inevitable.

Following an imprudent order by your boss to push a button, the Grombi islands lose power, you’ve turned blue and gained an elastic arm that can be used as a grappling hook. The last detail is extremely fortunate since the only way to end the outage is by grabbing a plethora of spiky electric balls scattered across a trio of landmasses.

Eccentricity but No Electricity

Slinging and swinging yourself is a moderately prevalent mechanic in 3D games. But if you’ve experienced the fluidity and ease of slingshotting yourself in everything from Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered to Echo Point Nova, Completely Stretchy’s rather finicky traversal might not mesmerize. With a handy visual indicator, you can clearly see what surfaces are within reach. But obstructions can break the sense of momentum, at least until you upgrade the stickiness and stretchiness of your arm. However, no power-ups will remedy the disappointment of glitches that can hinder your progress or the in-game map that’s difficult to read.

On the upside, there’s no penalty for failure in Stretchy. Instead, the game adopts a laidback approach, letting you scour each environment for Elektros at your own pace. Alternatively, you can take on different side-quests that range from rounding up wayward kids, delivery duties, to hoverbike races. Undoubtedly, the developers expect you to take your time restoring power to the islands, as it’s brimming with visual gags, humorous dialog, and plenty of eccentric whimsy. But unlike the potential for mischievousness embedded with ‘80s-era sticky hands, you can’t be a hooligan here. Pick up and throw things at unsuspecting islanders and they’ll mostly offer no more than a basic grunt. Before long, I grew bored by the forced pacifism on the Grombi islands. Like a selfish brat, I wanted a reaction to my rebellious actions.

A Bit of a Stretch

Although Completely Stretchy’s pastel-hued landscapes rendered properly on desktop, the game perpetually stuttered on Steam Deck, making navigation challenging. As such, if you’re looking for a six-to-eight hour collect-a-thon where swinging is the dominant form of traversal, Stretchy is eccentric and enjoyable, but not completely engaging.

Completely Stretchy was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.