The Maw

It won't take long to consume, but the taste is sweet.

While the game does have a few drawbacks – it’ll only take you 3-4 hours to beat and the camera is a bit inflexible – you’ll certainly have fun with this title. With adorable characters that fit perfectly into its retro style of play, The Maw offers XBLA fans something new and unique.

If you're a fan of well-crafted children's stories and tightly designed gameplay, there's no excuse not to give The Maw a shot.

An entertaining, original and funny platformer that really gives a boost to the XBLA. Easily one of the best games on the arcade and well worth the price. It is lacking somewhat in the length, and a few more levels would have been nice, but the announcement of DLC will hopefully rectify that. Unfortunately no multiplayer, but the single-player more than makes up for it, with its stellar gameplay and graphics.

The Maw might be short but it’s one of the more charming titles that is available on Arcade. Even at 800 Microsoft points (ten dollars), the graphic quality, entertainment and the comedic styling’s of Twisted Pixel make this game worth every point.

Roll The Maw’s gameplay, visuals and audio together and you have one very tasty yumyum, not to mention one of the better original IP’s to hit Xbox Live Arcade in awhile.

If you’ve finally caught up on all the holiday’s big titles, and are looking to blow some MS Points, The Maw is the way to go.

As far as Xbox Live Arcade titles are concerned The Maw is one of the brightest to come along in quite some time. The concept is fresh, the visuals are stunning and the pacing is nearly flawless.

The only downside to the game is that it is quite short. Let's hope that Twisted Pixel will create a full game in the near future because the duo of Frank and Maw really works and best of all, the gameplay is fun and can be played by all sorts of gamers.

It's also a great game for parents searching for something to hand off to a young child. The Maw is fairly linear and there isn't a great amount of depth to it, but its two main characters are adorable and the pacing is spot on.

What a weird and wonderful game The Maw is. It's a cute 3D puzzle/platformer with a disturbing underbelly.

What Twisted Pixel has really accomplished here is creating the equivalent of a Pixar movie with interactive elements. And, at roughly the same cost as (or, in many cases, less than) a DVD, fans of that style of animation and storytelling should be more than satisfied.

There is enough in the short story mode that hooks you in and keeps you entertained, even if it may only be for an afternoon or so. Let’s hope we see maw from The Maw, in the future.

It's quite refreshing to play something that feels like it wants you to play it.

A great game, only possible thanks to the XBLA, because otherwise it wouldn´t have been released. Fun, compelling, pretty, with a lot of humour, good graphics, gameplay and sound... a charming game with a great price, recommended for everyone. Unfortunately, it's too short and it does not offer much for replays.

Really, this game is all about its personality and your willingness to lose yourself to its charm. For an enjoyable little jaunt that has more “awww” than “raaawwwwr,” The Maw is well worth the price of admission.

The richly-colored graphics and likable main characters make the attractive presentation a little kid-friendly, but the puzzle-solving and evolving gameplay ensure that it’s ideal for a general audience of any age.

Your grin will be as wide as the maw's. Get it. [Apr 2009, p.104]

The Maw definitely succeeds in its quest to be a fun, charming, and simple game that anyone can play and enjoy for as long as it manages to stick around.

We have here one of the best designed titles of the Xbox 360 digital marketplace, with a good production and an originality which is clear from the first minutes of play. Although the game is far from being an indispensable title, it will entertain platform lovers, and also those wanting to try something new and fresh.

The Maw's clever concept deserves at least a cult following, even though the game itself needs a little more work. At the very least, The Maw earns enough good will to make you hope they pull it all together in a sequel that you would line up for if they make some slight improvements.

With highly polished graphics and music which is unlikely but suits the game to a tea, The Maw certainly is a lot more polished than your average Live title. The levels themselves are a little plain, but some of the animations and scenarios you come across keep you wondering what’s around the next corner.

Coming in at 800 Microsoft Points, The Maw is conservative platformer that takes some time-tested ideas and implements them in a fun and easy-going game. Difficulty is not an issue here, and in this case, that's not a bad thing. Enjoy it while it lasts, though, because Maw's stay isn't a very long one.

The Maw is a simple, yet enjoyable game, with charm to spare.

I think most gamers will fall in love with The Maw’s charm and simplistic gameplay.

From the beginning, The Maw convinces with lots of charm and will definitely tie you to the screen. Sad enough, the motivation to play the game again, is not very high.

The Maw's a very good game, just don't expect it to rival a title such as Bionic Commando: Rearmed.

In a gaming age where titles like Fallout 3, Far Cry 2 and GTA IV are doing their level best to push the average length of games to well above the 30-hour mark, it's refreshing to have an original, charming and memorable game that can be polished off in a relaxing few hours, without the fear of redoing huge sections or having to perform gamepad miracles.

Irresistibly cute. [Feb 2009, p.84]

The Maw is the sort of game you'll play for an afternoon, giggling like a fool the whole time. There's not much more to it beyond that brief but satisfying flurry of amusement, unless you want to go back into each level to harvest all the Achievements, but not every game needs endless replay value. The Maw is charming, cheap and memorable enough that its short lifespan shouldn't put you off.

Average gameplay and an unforgettable main character merge in this short but endearing adventure.

The Maw is a very fun game with a great controls system. We can only regret the shortness of the adventure, because we really wanted to play more. That can be rectified with a great couple of new DLC. Nevertheless, The Maw is a joyful and fun experience. It's a candle while it lasts.

Whether it’s the cute aliens, the bright and impressive visuals, or the moments of humour, it’s hard to criticise the game too much.

With platforming games being somewhat of a rarity these days The Maw is a welcome addition to the Xbox Live library. The game is both charming and fun, especially the main character Maw. If you look beneath the charming surface you'll find quite an ordinary platforming adventure though. But with a reasonable price tag we can't but recommend this title for those in the mood for a new platforming experience.

An accessible platformer that bears more relation to Lemmings and Katamari than it does Mario. [Issue#43, p.114]

It's no classic, but this is still better value, and in some cases better quality, than shop-bought games.

While it lasts, it’s one of the better platformers available on XBLA, and the inability to die and general ease of progression make it ideal for very young gamers. [Mar 2009, p.92]

The Maw is a game that will probably appeal strongly to the younger set. For the rest of the populace, the game's lack of substance will make enjoying the world that Twisted Pixel Games worked hard to create so much harder.