The Maw

[quote]Just saying, but I do have a curator page. If you somehow like my remarks about games, you can find more of them here: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44130985-TDP%27s-Gaming-Escapades [/quote]

Twisted Pixel has always been one of my favorite game development studios, mainly because of their very unique games. They have always went for weird ideas that I haven't seen them properly replicated to this day, and it always felt like they really enjoyed their time working on their games, something that is reflected in the games themselves and through all the behind the scenes footage.
The Maw is literally the studio's first game, and one that clearly showcases what I just said. It feels like a 3D platformer version of games like Feeding Frenzy or Tasty Planet, but instead of being a fish or a lab creature, you appear in the shoes of an alien lifeform that is taking their dog for walkies.
Well, it's not technically their dog and they are not going for a walk but... let's just move on.

Person: "My dog wouldn't hurt a fly."
The dog:

Your player character is an alien, allegedly named Frank which is a very underwhelming name for an alien in my honest opinion. He gets captured by some bounty hunters, gets put into a cage and meets the titular character of the game shortly after, which is a semi-transparent, purple blob with sharp teeth. After getting freed from their cages in the aftermath of a crash landing, Frank and Maw tag along in order to escape. Since Maw really isn't particularly smart, Frank uses one of their captors' devices to use it as a leash and try to guide him around. This is where the game begins, and you will very shortly find out how important that leash is going to be.
As I said before, Maw is not very intelligent. If left to his own devices, he will just roam around the level, trying to attack or eat whatever creature it comes into contact with, leaving repercussions for later. Just like a Pitbull named "Princess" after seeing an unsupervised child. He also has some very adorable reactions that will probably amuse you after seeing them for the first time.
If you feed a flaming creature to Maw, his mouth will get on fire and he will run around in complete panic mode for some water. And if he does find some, he will dive head first into the water to relieve himself. If he sees a bigger, more intimidating creature, he will run away screaming in terror, letting out a sigh of relief after finding out he has gotten away. Getting new powerups has him panicking and screaming because he's afraid of what's going to happen to him. Or you can visibly see the delight in his face after feeding him his favorite creature. The devs have really worked on Maw's expressions and it has paid off.

So how's the gameplay like, you may ask?

In each level (aside from the final level), you have the task of guiding Maw towards creatures smaller than him, so he can eat them and grow bigger as a result. You have to eat an undisclosed number of edible creatures in each level, and when you do hit the quota, Maw will inform you that you can move on to the next level. Of course, you also have the option of staying for a while to find every creature and secrets if you want to go for achievements and 100% completion.
But not everything is handed to you on a silver platter. There are various obstacles and hazards placed in your way that require you to solve a simple puzzle; either by separating from Maw and doing some platforming as Frank, or feeding special enemies to Maw that cause him to transform and acquire new powers (flame breath, levitation, electricity, etc.) and using those powers to your benefit. Some of the creatures also require manual work from Frank to turn into edible treats for Maw, such as extinguishing the flames on burning creatures.
The premise is interesting. However, there's one teensy-weensy but ever-so-crucial little tiny thing that might cause a lot of people to leave the game unfinished, even though it's extremely short and can be completed in about 3 hours...

It's so boring...

The game does have a lot of qualities to it. The character designs are great, the music is surprisingly really good, the transformations are a neat idea... the only problem with the game resides in its gameplay, which is definitely geared towards the younger audience. It's so devoid of challenge and the pacing is so slow that makes it incredibly repetitive and boring to more mature players, and it won't take over between 30 minutes to an hour for someone to feel like they are done with it.
There's not much you can do with the idea The Maw uses to form its gameplay. It does work perfectly in older casual PC games that offer it in bite-sized levels, but it simply does not work and is too basic for a 3D action adventure game with levels that can/will take over 15 minutes to be completed. And the puzzles and platforming sections are not even barely challenging to prevent the repetition, mostly designed with younger players in mind so they don't get locked out or require someone else's help. The movement speed of the characters are also too slow with no way to speed it up, yet the stages get bigger and bigger in size as you progress through the game. Sometimes it feels like it's taking ages just going from one part of the maps to the other.
I was so bored with the game that I even forgot about some game mechanics. I was wandering aimlessly at one map, just to realize "Oh, right. I gotta dunk the burning enemies" because I was no longer paying attention. I felt like I've been playing for two hours, just to quit the game and see it was just 40 minutes, which is always a bad sign and I consider it the definite proof that I am burnt out on the game already.

TL;DR

Has a lot of qualities but the gameplay gets boring and repetitive pretty fast, geared more towards younger audiences. Them and those with nostalgia for the game will like this WAY more than the rest.


And now that The Maw is done, I think it would be nice to continue down this road and just go through the rest of Twisted Pixel's catalogue once again to see how they fare now. And no, I am not going to play their acclaimed second and third games which are stuck on Xbox marketplace and never got ported to any other platform for some nonsense reason. We're going straight to game #4.

Sighs*
Wanted to feel like this game would bring a type of nostalgia sensation but...
NEL

I guess I craved for some sort of "Super Mario Galaxy" experience since I haven't been able to play anything similar for years.

This isn't it. xD.

-CONCEPT: Maybe some aliens have an interesting concept. (5/10☆).

-PUBLIC: Clearly the kind of game a father would impart his 3yo to play if they both were into videogames. A kid would definitely have a time of joy with this. Yeah... interesting enough for children I'd say. (7/10☆ for little boys and girls).

-GAMEPLAY: Uhhh, there was a level where I could glide like a hot air balloon but beyond that nothing... nothing interesting if you are looking for an easy game as adult. (2/10☆ )

FINAL QUALIFICATION: 2.0 / I

Just don't.

Was looking for a similar looking game of my childhood, found this instead.
I don't regret it, very fun game and easy to learn.
Camera controls are a bit meh though.

This is one of my childhood games, i am so happy i get to play it again and its still so good. I wish Twisted Pixel would remaster this game for the newer consoles and maybe even make a sequel some how. So if anybody who has played this before when they were kids this is just to let you know its still as good as ever.

A very poorly and boringly made game. Almost no story, poorly made camera and buttons.
The game seems to be made more for a joystick but it can't be used.
The levels are repeated and it quickly becomes boring and you are immortal so you can't lose, the only way to replay the level is if you haven't found something, which is quite rare.
The levels are few and the additions do not make it more interesting.
You only eat animals and enemies, but you can't do other things, which would have made the game more interesting and meaningful.
Maybe with a discount the game looks like a pathetic attempt.

I love The MAW

Fuck you it's a Classic

ngl i remembered this game being better back in the day