The Maw Review

Frank is oddly reminiscent of Stitch from Lilo and Stitch.

The Maw, from Twisted Pixel Games, is an endearing adventure game that puts you and a blob named Maw in a beautiful world with plenty of things for him to eat, and eat he will! The game uniquely limits your character’s role in the game. You do little more than lead Maw around and find him food. Throughout the eight levels of the game Maw grows larger, and will gain the abilities of any special creatures he eats. It is a simple game, and once you learn the nuances of trying to control Maw, it is really very enjoyable.

One truly great thing about the game, is the ambiance created by the musical changes as Maw acquires different abilities. The island drums with a techno beat in the opening levels set the tone nicely. From tropical island style to ethereal, the music definitely contributes quality to this game. Music can really help shape your mood while playing, and this game certainly has the rhythm to keep you happy and having fun as you play.

The Maw has pleasant visuals.

The Maw’s graphics are stylized and cartoony. The designers were clearly inspired by Pixar Studio’s various films and shorts in their animation design. The graphical quality is excellent however, and the fact that it is in a cartoon style does not take away from the game’s visual appeal. In fact, anything else would look out of place. From foliage to facial features, with the settings turned up the game is very pleasant to look at as you play out the story.

Your character, Frank, is captured by suspicously human looking “Aliens.”

The story itself is unfortunately not very explicitly presented. Unusually, the main character does no real talking. A lot of cooing, cute grunting, and “Maww-www” are the only sounds Frank makes. The essence of the story is your escape from your alien captors. Having been captured, for some unknown purpose, by a group of aliens, you must lead Maw to freedom by directing him to eat anything in his way. Starting at the crash site of the alien ship that captured you, you journey through an alien world on your way to freedom. Unfortunately, the story is mostly absent once you pass the opening cut scene. Although, because the game is only two and a half hours long, there is not really much room for more story anyway.

The game play style is very simple, once you get the hang of it. You use your laser leash to guide Maw to food or objectives. The leash can also attach to objects and move them out of your way. The laser leash does have other uses, which you discover along the way, and a hinted control scheme (the key you need to press pops up when you need to press it) makes things easy, almost too easy. Because you cannot control Maw directly, some small issues arise with him going one direction when you want him to go in another, but since your character cannot die, it is not a serious problem. The game helps you along the way with some thought bubbles from Maw. These hints help solve the puzzles the game presents, and decide what Maw should eat next.

Hints are displayed with convenient thought bubbles emanating from Maw.

The only frustrating thing about the game is that is has a few annoying control problems. For one, the camera is terrible to control. It is difficult to pan, and cannot go up and down. Adventure game cameras do not need to be fully orbital, but they should at least give you the same field of view that turning your head does in real life. Second, steering Maw around by his leash can get cumbersome, especially in the repetitive parts of the game. The game also has achievements, which can be good and bad. Some of the goals are so monotonous that the game can become much less enjoyable when you try to achieve them.

The Maw, with it’s often repetitive and sometimes slow style, is definitely a game that will become stale after one or two times through. Thankfully, downloadable content is available. The DLC, affectionately called “deleted scenes”, are being released for $1.25 each. Two of these “deleted scenes” have already been released, with more on the way, each coming with new abilities and puzzles that could prolong the game’s life. It is hard to say how many people are willing to spend money on more levels, released slowly and one at a time, of this semi-repetitive game. For folks who enjoy the game, it is great to have more content available. Hopefully a combination pack of the original game and the DLC will be released down the road to breath new life and attract additional fans.

You meet, and Maw eats, some interesting creatures along the way.

Even with its faults The Maw is certainly worth the initial cost (<$10) if you enjoy adventure games or are just looking for a short new game to play through in one or two sittings. Although the game is rated 10+ by the ESRB, it would also be great for children of practically any age. If this game sounds appealing, there is a free playable demo available. The demo shows you the opening cutscene and lets you play the entire first level. Overall, The Maw is a fun and entertaining game, and it supports the idea that a fresh IP from an independent developer can be popular.