Maize

Maize is an 80's Spielberg movie on crack. That is all.

The intriguing story has potential, but a lacklustre technical execution and questionable sense of humor keep the game firmly rooted in the 'mediocre' category.

Maize is a premise without a core. It’s corn without the cob. There’s no foundation in the gameplay for its various ideas – both good and bad – to stick to, and it leads to the whole experience feeling hollow. This could be forgiven if Maize was funny, or if the narrative was humorous but heartfelt. Unfortunately, jokes are the only component here, overemphasized over anything else, leaving the rest bare. This is just a comedy script devoid of any subtlety that has been reluctantly stapled onto a game.

We wish we had more positive things to say about Maize, but unfortunately, it just doesn’t have much going for it. The story and writing are atrocious, the characters are forgettable, and the puzzles themselves are too easy. The game is honestly quite boring, despite its bizarre premise, and the attempts at humour are ham-fisted at best and excruciating at worst. If you’re after something different, Maize is certainly that, but be warned that it may leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Funny games are, of course, one of the hardest things for a developer to pull off. Humour is almost entirely subjective, and what one person finds hilarious, another just won’t. As such, I recognize that someone, somewhere, might find Maize to be the funniest thing ever. I, however, did not, which means I can’t wait to be done this review so I never have to think about it again.