User Score
6.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 91 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 91
  2. Negative: 18 out of 91

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  1. Mar 6, 2021
    5
    I have to admit that I m not good at puzzling games like Marquette, the game itself is well made but in the end it is still missing a lot for me. The variety is small, the game itself is rather short and there are some bugs in it where you can jump into areas you shouldnt be. One particular example is a crack within a church, if you jump in you are stuck. You can get out by trying to getI have to admit that I m not good at puzzling games like Marquette, the game itself is well made but in the end it is still missing a lot for me. The variety is small, the game itself is rather short and there are some bugs in it where you can jump into areas you shouldnt be. One particular example is a crack within a church, if you jump in you are stuck. You can get out by trying to get you get you boxed out or restart the level. Things like that shouldnt happen in my opinion. The game should give some sort of guidance and also prevent that players can get into areas where they shouldnt be. Also puzzle-items can fall through the floor making you stuck and restart.

    I think the game is recommendable for players who are already into different types of puzzle games others might get really frustrated in their playthrough. The game itself can take approximately 2-3hrs but it can be a lot faster or a lot longer depending how hard it is for you to understand the game mechanics. They should take care of mentioned bugs. Also the game performance tends to fps-dip in occasional situations so thats a let down too.
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  2. Mar 6, 2021
    5
    If Tumblr post's were a videogame. Maquette follows the tale of two people with the personality of coffee beans as you uncover their hipster backstory through fun and at times frustratingly broken puzzles. Each level fleshes out the lovers tale with a new challenge set before you and a surprisingly good album playing in the background like butt-shuffering your Spotify playlist. The storyIf Tumblr post's were a videogame. Maquette follows the tale of two people with the personality of coffee beans as you uncover their hipster backstory through fun and at times frustratingly broken puzzles. Each level fleshes out the lovers tale with a new challenge set before you and a surprisingly good album playing in the background like butt-shuffering your Spotify playlist. The story is expanded on even more in each chapter sprinkling in writing on the walls to divulge more information about our protagonist's past which at points reads like lost Nickelback lyrics. Maquette is a experience not to dissimilar to your grandparents memory, instantly forgettable but with some enjoyable stories thrown in between the farts. Expand
  3. Mar 4, 2021
    9
    I greatly enjoyed Maquette. With puzzles like Escher / Monument Valley and a story and soundtrack akin to 500 Days of Summer, this dreamy puzzler is the perfect way to pass some time during quarantine. (Especially if you can get it free from PS Plus!)

    Devs, if any of you see this review, thank you for a wonderful little game, it brought me joy during a tough time.
  4. Mar 4, 2021
    2
    What an abject disappointment. It's starting to feel like Annapurna Interactive is pulling a con job. For every truly great game they put out (Outer WIlds), they release 5 of these half-baked barely-games that tries to hide its shortcomings behind pseudo-profound narrative that's, in truth, bad Netflix drama writing. This formula seems to work on the NPR podcast crowd, who breathlesslyWhat an abject disappointment. It's starting to feel like Annapurna Interactive is pulling a con job. For every truly great game they put out (Outer WIlds), they release 5 of these half-baked barely-games that tries to hide its shortcomings behind pseudo-profound narrative that's, in truth, bad Netflix drama writing. This formula seems to work on the NPR podcast crowd, who breathlessly fawn over the mere concept of using a game to talk about smaller interpersonal emotions and situations. I'm less impressed. And Maquette feels like the culmination of years of these kind of disappointments from the company I once hoped would be the A24 of gaming.

    When this was first announced, I was actually quite excited about the recursive gimmick. Just a few minutes into the game and all hope was gone. This game goes out of its way to prevent you from fully exploring the mechanic. Don't come in expecting Portal-levels of freedom to explore the concept of shrinking and solving objects to complete puzzles. Maquette has a SPECIFIC way it wants you to complete each section and if you dare come up with an alternative solution, you can look forward to an invisible wall or clipping to tell you "no, not like that."

    This particular frustration is compounded by the inconsistent controls and lack of guidance about the rules of play in this recursive universe. At one point toward the end of the game, the button for picking up objects changes with no alert or explanation whatsoever. I'm left to wonder if this was even play-tested at all.

    I don't expect indie games to be long, but Maquette's seven levels—two or three of which are pretty straight-forward linear runs—total out to just over an hour of core gameplay. From there, the game's length is artificially extended by the player not being given objectives and forced to run around figuring out what to grab or do next, the aforementioned narrow parameters for win states, and the addition of speed-run trophies for chapters. This last one feels like the most cynical attempt at padding as, even after completing the game once, the main menu offers no chapter select to the player. If you want that trophy, you're going to have to start the whole thing over and make lots of saves. You'll also want to hold down O to skip cut scenes, as they count against your time.

    I'm not really understanding the compliments of Maquette's visuals either. It's just another matte puffy plastic Fisher Price world with lots of repeating assets. Bugsnax had more variety and design ambition. With dull visuals, rudimentary mechanics, and a forced 30fps, I'm scratching my head about how they can call this a "PS5" game with a straight face. Despite getting this as a free PS+ drop, I still feel ripped off and condescended to by Annapurna and questioning my own sanity when I see the adulation reviewers and gamers are heaping on this.
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  5. Mar 12, 2021
    4
    Artsy, sort of pretty, ok size puzzle concepts, bland relationship story, ultimately pretty boring.
  6. Mar 6, 2021
    7
    Not a bad story puzzle. The story is trivial, but perhaps suitable for couples in love. The puzzles aren't bad.
  7. Mar 4, 2021
    10
    Maquette is a beautifully designed game with vibrant colours and wonderful graphics. The puzzles and the story are intertwined exquisitely and solving each puzzle feels extremely rewarding. The puzzles never get too complex but are tough enough to challenge you and make you think. The story is well crafted and is an interesting and engaging take on life. I would recommend this game toMaquette is a beautifully designed game with vibrant colours and wonderful graphics. The puzzles and the story are intertwined exquisitely and solving each puzzle feels extremely rewarding. The puzzles never get too complex but are tough enough to challenge you and make you think. The story is well crafted and is an interesting and engaging take on life. I would recommend this game to anyone who loves puzzles. This is definitely a must play! Expand
  8. Mar 7, 2021
    9
    Everyone seems to be hopping on the bandwagon of torching this game, which is sad for the developers because I am sure it is deserving of better. The recursive mechanic is super cool. I came into the game blind, and dropping the box the first time was delighting. Yes, the game feels limited in that there are paths you are supposed to take to solve the puzzles. People love to compare it toEveryone seems to be hopping on the bandwagon of torching this game, which is sad for the developers because I am sure it is deserving of better. The recursive mechanic is super cool. I came into the game blind, and dropping the box the first time was delighting. Yes, the game feels limited in that there are paths you are supposed to take to solve the puzzles. People love to compare it to Portal’s openness and trash it in that respect, which I would say is unfair. The puzzles are still intriguing, rewarding, and fun to solve. I would take the limited world trade off for what the game provides in terms of narrative and aesthetic design. I knew I was going to dig what the team at graceful decay were serving up when the soundtrack started rolling at the start. The game is beautiful, the soundtrack is the best pairing with a game’s narrative and overall feeling I have heard in a long time. The narrative itself is fantastic. Cheesy? At times. But a ton of authenticity throughout as well. I was certainly invested in the story, even to the point where I was sure Michael was the narrator. A clever trick allowing the player to identify the narrator by whoever they might connect to. The way the color palette and architecture changed across the chapters moving in synch with the ebb and flow of Kinzie/Michael’s relationship was also a wonderful trick. Terrific audio design, even when not considering the soundtrack. So all in all, this game is great. It’s not a Portal puzzler, and it’s not a Marriage Story level narrative, but it’s a blend of the two and an absolutely delightful one at that. Well done graceful decay, excited for your next release. Hopefully people come around, and this metacritic doesn’t stick at the score it’s currently at. Expand
  9. Mar 4, 2021
    8
    Clever puzzle game with fantastic presentation. Maquette's gameplay is the most innovative gaming I have had in quite a long time. The game world is repeated in increasingly larger sizes, and small objects you move in the small size cause large objects to move in the larger sizes and vice versa. In some parts, I felt like Ant Man. In others, I was in an M.C. Escher. The gameplay remindedClever puzzle game with fantastic presentation. Maquette's gameplay is the most innovative gaming I have had in quite a long time. The game world is repeated in increasingly larger sizes, and small objects you move in the small size cause large objects to move in the larger sizes and vice versa. In some parts, I felt like Ant Man. In others, I was in an M.C. Escher. The gameplay reminded me of some of the neat experiments I've seen from players in "Dreams" by Media Molecule, only as a full polished game. Just as I've become jaded of the typical AAA game after decades of gaming, I've become more interested in games that give me new experiences. In many ways, "Maquette" is a game for people who love games.

    Let's get the elephant out of the room. According to my PS5, my playthrough clocked in somewhere over 3 hours. I do not care at all about the game's length. I only care about the quality of the experience. The same way the first 11 minutes of Pixar's "Up" are better than most entire movies, this 3 hour game is better than most of the bloated, generic games with 25+ hour times to beat. Full disclosure: like most PS5 owners in March of 2021, I downloaded this for "free" from PlayStation Plus.
    The puzzles in "Maquette" can be a bit obtuse, and I love that about the game. There is really little in the way of tutorial, though the trailer for the game gives you a good idea of how to play it. For all I know, there are multiple way, perhaps insidiously elegant ways to solve the game's puzzles. My advice, as always, is to avoid using any kind of guide. Once you break that seal, you can't unbreak it. Fair warning to casual players: some of the puzzles do require a bit of movement skill. You might also need to reload a game save if you drop something where you cannot reach it. Deep breaths.

    "Maquette" has a nicely presented story about romance. This is solid ground that games, especially indie games, have trod before. The style is unique. There are little vignettes between puzzles and they have show how the gaming industry is providing employment to talented artists. The soundtrack is one of the best I have ever heard. I was surprised by the voice cast as the credits rolled. Annapurna spared no expense.

    All in all, "Maquette" is a must play puzzle game. Even if you do not like puzzles, there is something marvelous about how Annapurna created this game world. A few of the puzzles were difficult for the wrong reasons (unless I was brute forcing something I shouldn't have), but you won't spend long banging your head against a wall. I wish more games would look this good, sound this good, and bring in so many new ideas.
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  10. Mar 3, 2021
    10
    I really enjoyed Maquette. Its a beautiful little puzzle game with a sweet love story. The puzzles are in my opinion cleverly designed and it took me some time to solve them but they never get too complex either. Every time i got the solution i thought: "wow, that´s clever".
    I really recommend everyone checking in on this game its short but beautiful experience.
    Oh and also: the
    I really enjoyed Maquette. Its a beautiful little puzzle game with a sweet love story. The puzzles are in my opinion cleverly designed and it took me some time to solve them but they never get too complex either. Every time i got the solution i thought: "wow, that´s clever".
    I really recommend everyone checking in on this game its short but beautiful experience.
    Oh and also: the soundtrack is unbelievable good!
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  11. Mar 4, 2021
    0
    This game works very badly on PS5 and PC. Even at 60fps, the feeling is that the game is not fluid. There are micro stuttering when moving the camera. Please do not launch games in this state.
  12. Mar 6, 2021
    10
    This is a master craft of a game. It’s fairly short. But it packs a pretty hard punch with its 4-5 hours of gameplay depending on how puzzle savvy you are. If you love a good story, perhaps even a love one, then don’t miss out on this game.
  13. Mar 22, 2021
    0
    The controls made me nauseous, especially when trying to place crystals and they got stuck on everything. Unfortunately this is unplayable, and unplayable for me means 0/10.
  14. Mar 27, 2021
    1
    What game are people playing where this game gets even a 2 or more. This is a PS3 game concept at most and i am a very open minded gamer who loves puzzle games. So disappointed with how this game is even presented on a PS5 platform...are you kidding me? I played for 2 hrs forcing myself to see if i was missing anything with the reviews I saw, and people, this is not worth anyones timesWhat game are people playing where this game gets even a 2 or more. This is a PS3 game concept at most and i am a very open minded gamer who loves puzzle games. So disappointed with how this game is even presented on a PS5 platform...are you kidding me? I played for 2 hrs forcing myself to see if i was missing anything with the reviews I saw, and people, this is not worth anyones times unless they are so bored with any other game on the market. The 1 is a pitty score because i have never given a 0 but this is not next generation worthy in any way you look at it. Garbage! Expand
  15. Mar 19, 2021
    10
    this game is simple but i like this gamethis game is simple but i like this game
  16. Mar 12, 2021
    10
    Is an emotional and beautiful game, I love it, and the integrated adaptive triggers give it its master touch, for me it is a good candidate for a Game of the Year, it is a masterpiece, it just lacks more publicity.
  17. Mar 8, 2021
    8
    Maquette is a simple and enjoyable puzzle game driven by a love story between two people. The narrative is simple and presented by great voice acting. There are some cliches, but is well written overall. The recursive scenery is beautifully crafted which serves as a visual metaphor for constructing the narrative and gives you a fun sense of scale. Placing objects in the small “maquette”Maquette is a simple and enjoyable puzzle game driven by a love story between two people. The narrative is simple and presented by great voice acting. There are some cliches, but is well written overall. The recursive scenery is beautifully crafted which serves as a visual metaphor for constructing the narrative and gives you a fun sense of scale. Placing objects in the small “maquette” and seeing it recursively generated outside is a cool effect and reminds me of that “infinite mirror effect”. The game plays with that to construct puzzles in a simple manner, there is not much variation on how you manipulate objects or place them, but is effective. I like how the game gives you no hint on what to do and encourage you to explore the scenery and try things out. It’s something that you’ll probably won’t be spending dozens of minutes to figure out what to do. And if you find yourself in that situation, you’ll feel lonely with the silence of the game. Don’t get me wrong, the game has a good well-suited soundtrack, but it’s played just in the beginning of each chapter, and then you will be hearing just the silent ambient noise. I thing they could have worked better on sound design.

    Overall, it’s a nice puzzle game that will not stress you out. A good game to play in a weekend and chill out. If you are a complectionist, you can easily platinum this game within four hours.
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  18. Mar 13, 2021
    10
    Despite what all the other users wrote, I had fun with this game, no stuttering or any kind of technical issues on my PS5. I normally don’t enjoy typical lovestory stuff, but after the first 30 minutes, the game was pretty much done with bad stereotypes.
    If you ever had a long relationship you will find patterns, issues, problems and situations you can relate to. At least my relations
    Despite what all the other users wrote, I had fun with this game, no stuttering or any kind of technical issues on my PS5. I normally don’t enjoy typical lovestory stuff, but after the first 30 minutes, the game was pretty much done with bad stereotypes.
    If you ever had a long relationship you will find patterns, issues, problems and situations you can relate to. At least my relations sometimes contained some stereotypes and that’s the mix that this game hit pretty well. Even days later, I still thought about the Story and im not that much of an emotional person. People may ask for more decisionmaking in some games, but this is a story of which im happy in was told the way it was.(strange sentence, sorry, but I don’t want to spoil what you can and cannot decide)

    The puzzle aspect isn’t a Portal, but the game never tried to be something it can’t reach. So for me, puzzles started easy and got harder during the game. Not to easy throuout the game, still no unbeatable obstacles. Of course it’s a relatively short game, but the developers filled it with content, that i wouldn’t want to change.

    The visual style of the game is beautiful, and was well thought of. Through the whole game the look and the design supported the Story and the mechanics at the same time. I had no trouble with any mechanics nor a feeling of bulgy or lazy design.

    All in all this Game isn’t groundbreaking, It’s smart art. If you can’t enjoy a good book, or a demanding movie, maybe you won’t enjoy it as much as I did. But If you do... you‘d regret missing this game.
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  19. Jun 20, 2021
    5
    Game was free on ps5 with ps plus. The ps activity cards give good hints if you get stuck on a puzzle. The game was interesting, but the dialogue between the two characters can be funny at times or be somewhat annoying. I did have a few glitches where an important item would just disappear and I would have to start over, or I would go too far out and basically it would take too long to getGame was free on ps5 with ps plus. The ps activity cards give good hints if you get stuck on a puzzle. The game was interesting, but the dialogue between the two characters can be funny at times or be somewhat annoying. I did have a few glitches where an important item would just disappear and I would have to start over, or I would go too far out and basically it would take too long to get back... this game really needed like a warp back to a point because it felt like a lot of this was just a walking simulator. Idk how you would balance that but if you go too far out in the map you walk to nothing. That was annoying for me as this being a puzzle game you aren't sure if that's the right answer until you realize no this definitely isn't working. The gameplay is only a few hours like4-6hrs at most. It's worth a playthrough, but I would wait for a heavy discount if you have to pay for it.

    Overall, it's a 5/10 for me. Not saying it's a bad game. But it's a meh story with mechanics that are sometimes amazing with amazing puzzles, or sometimes puzzles that feel really cheap or very unclear.
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  20. Nov 7, 2021
    6
    Платина берется быстро - всего 6 часов за 2 прохождения. Первый раз проходил сам без подсказок. Второй раз проходил на скорость и выбивал скрытые трофеи, там уже смотрел гайды, как пройти быстрее и оптимальнее.

    Иногда долго тупил - что тут надо делать, никаких целей и заданий не вылазит, думай сам. Некоторые задачи решались чуть ли не багоюзерством (уровень Клин, где надо было
    Платина берется быстро - всего 6 часов за 2 прохождения. Первый раз проходил сам без подсказок. Второй раз проходил на скорость и выбивал скрытые трофеи, там уже смотрел гайды, как пройти быстрее и оптимальнее.

    Иногда долго тупил - что тут надо делать, никаких целей и заданий не вылазит, думай сам. Некоторые задачи решались чуть ли не багоюзерством (уровень Клин, где надо было ухитриться так лестницу поставить, чтобы залезть через ограду и в дом). Зато какое получаешь удовольствие от решенной головоломки, не смотря на то, что пол-часа блуждал по уровню, матерился, психовал и не мог догнать что делать. Сложность 3/10.

    Графика простенькая, но в головоломках это не так важно. Игра чуть притормаживала после загрузки уровня, но в процессе глюков и зависаний не было. Управление немного бесило при взаимодействии с предметами, особенно когда проходил на скорость. Плюс игры - необычные задачки с пространством в виде макета и реального мира, а потом еще и более гигантского размера мира, мозг ломается)

    Моя оценка игре 6/10.
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  21. Mar 28, 2021
    7
    The puzzles and art style both looked really good, but I couldn't get over the terrible indie movie styled story which is really just the rise and fall of a couple.
  22. Apr 10, 2021
    7
    Maquette
    Changing your perspective
    Maquette is a irst person perspective based puzzle game where you play as Kenzie as shes relivering her relationship with Michael, the story is told through text and dialog as you inteact with the world around you… the concept and gameplay throughout this game 3-5 hours depending on how fast or slow these puzzles click for you, stays the same.. youll
    Maquette
    Changing your perspective
    Maquette is a irst person perspective based puzzle game where you play as Kenzie as shes relivering her relationship with Michael, the story is told through text and dialog as you inteact with the world around you… the concept and gameplay throughout this game 3-5 hours depending on how fast or slow these puzzles click for you, stays the same.. youll explore an are on the map, and use the object from these areas to make them larger or bigger inside of the minurature version of your space around you, from using keys as bridges, or figuring out how to move different crystals through walls.. everypuzzle here is challenging and will make you think, I was stumped multiple times here in maquette, leaving me to have to refer to a guide… so if youre looking for a brain teaser , maquette offers great puzzle challenge… though the perspective changing charm did eventually ware off for me, and I felt the game really drug out because I felt it wasn’t doing anything new.. I enjoyed the first section with the minurature version you interact with.. I didn’t expect it to be what the whole game was… and that’s what it is.. not enough new is done to excite or intrigue.. I was kinda just solving the puzzles to get the story rather than see the next area like a portal game for example.. other furstrations in the game coe with just how awkward it is to actually move the items, I found it to be inconsistent and annoying in moments where lining up perfectly really mattered or during a spot towards the end where I was being timed, but the game just frustratingly wouldn’t let me pick up an Item I needed to move consistently, and once I finally could pick it up it was a hassle to even move it where it needed to go… so even with the solution in mind, the execution here may annoy you..
    Maquette though is a nice challenge with great story telling and music.. its not a game I can recommend to everyone, but definitely to the fans of puzzle games..
    I give Maquette
    a 7.5/10
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  23. May 2, 2021
    6
    The puzzles are fun, in an inception kind of way, and have you thinking in places..

    Found the cut scenes really quite pretentious though, and for us, the entire last chapter, which is a large one, was broken by us leaping out and over a wall, instead of what we now know we should have done, that we discovered after the fact by watching a walk through. Both options seemed quite
    The puzzles are fun, in an inception kind of way, and have you thinking in places..

    Found the cut scenes really quite pretentious though, and for us, the entire last chapter, which is a large one, was broken by us leaping out and over a wall, instead of what we now know we should have done, that we discovered after the fact by watching a walk through.

    Both options seemed quite plausible in a game where you are encouraged to explore and think outside of the box, as you look for ways through, and for ways to move keys around.

    Without the trigger we missed, we spent a couple of hours wandering around with nothing to do, and again found another game breaking way to finish it, that didn't make sense in a story unfolding kind of way.
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  24. Apr 26, 2021
    10
    Absolutely adored this game for its amazing perspective puzzles, beautiful soundtrack and touching story. A fantastic debut title for the studio, a game that has stuck with me even after finishing it a few weeks ago. Looking forward to the next game from the Graceful Decay studio!
  25. Jul 30, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If you liked “The Unfinished Swan”, go for it. This game uses its game mechanics to tell a story. I love this but many won’t. Expand
  26. Jun 13, 2021
    7
    Pretty chill game with some innovative puzzles. I applaud the way they made the puzzles, but in a way in became easier since the concept of them remained the same mostly. Didn't run that well on PS5 and got more friends saying it made them dizzy.

    Pretty good game for anyone loving a good puzzle game anyway, and would recommend. Takes about 3-5 hours to complete.
  27. Oct 13, 2022
    1
    Gives me motion sickness after 5 minutes, the video/picture is glitching on my PS5 and the controls are terrible. Tried to play it several times.
    Could have been a nice game...
  28. Mar 7, 2021
    6
    Great concept, beautiful design, but with the usual flaws and some of the puzzles presenting no logic at all. The love story behind it it's pure American Romantic Kitsch.
  29. Aug 19, 2021
    5
    Played with PS Plus. Im not huge fan of puzzle games like this, but I can see a lot of work and love from the developers in this game. Music its algo a big plus.
  30. Mar 29, 2021
    0
    Got this free with PS Plus and it's not even worth it if you get it free. Your character got stuck and the controller it the worst I ever seen in a game and it's the most boring game I ever played.
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 40
  2. Negative: 1 out of 40
  1. CD-Action
    Nov 15, 2021
    65
    Maquette’s central mechanic is brilliant and leads to some cool (but also repetitive) puzzles. The game itself is pretty rough around the edges though and I felt the developers could have squeezed so much more from this great concept. [05/2021, p.60]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Apr 12, 2021
    60
    Maquette is beautifully crafted, and I was really hoping to get to know Kenzie and Michael better over the course of time. However, superb voice acting, a great soundtrack, and some interesting design ideas were just not enough. The gameplay regrettably fails to stand up to its true potential while the rules of the game are frequently broken. And after just two or three hours, it is all over. [Issue#310]
  3. Apr 7, 2021
    75
    Overall, Maquette is a solid and unique puzzle game with a sentimental, well-performed story that may hit a little too close to home for some, while maybe providing some closure for others. If only the developer found a way to intertwine the puzzles and the story together to feel more complete.