12/15/2016 – Maize is a game about a secret government experiment that resulted in sentient corn. Which was about all I needed to hear to give it a try.
In Maize you find yourself on an abandoned farm surrounded by endless fields of corn. From here you must slowly piece together the mystery of the farm by exploring and solving various inventory object puzzles. As you do so, you encounter some of the products of the secret experiments in the form of sentient corn stalks of varying intelligence and motivation.
The developers have described the game as being inspired by Monty Python and some of the funnier episodes of the X Files. It’s a distinctive blend of British absurdity with a more self aware streak that constantly acknowledges the ridiculousness of the whole situation. Whether it’s the story items you collect, puzzle item descriptions, tutorial pop-ups or the surly Russian Teddy Bear who follows you around, the game misses no opportunity to point out the silliness of the situation.
Gameplay wise you have to collect a variety of random objects and use them to solve simple puzzles while progressing through the story. For example, you can use a broom you find to sweep up a pile of corn kernels, which reveals a pliers you can use to fish a key fob that’s stuck in a sausage grinder you found earlier. Or if you can’t find a fuse you can try an old nail in its place and get the power back on. It’s pretty classic adventure game stuff that anyone who grew up with point and click adventure games in the 80s or 90s will be more than familiar with, just in a 3D environment.
However, if you did indeed grow up with point and click adventure games in the 80s or 90s, you will probably find the puzzles in Maize painfully simple. Items that can be interacted with have a clear, distinctive glow or border around them. And locations that require an item to interact with usually have a glowing outline of the item required, taking just about all the guesswork out of it, making the puzzles feel more like a formality than any real challenge. It’s clear the developers feel Maize’s real selling point is it’s oddball story and humor, and the puzzles can often feel more like a speed bump to stop you just powering through the story in an hour or two.
It’s a little disappointing to see the game fall down on the gameplay side of things as it is a unique premise, with some genuinely funny writing and great visuals to boot, but it’s clear that it relies more on its humour and crazy concept to hook you in than it does its gameplay. That said, the gameplay isn’t necessarily bad, just a little underdeveloped, and if you’re okay with that then It’s a short adventure game with a fun premise, good writing and enough simple, interesting puzzles to keep you thinking and entertained for a weekend or so.
