Subtle clues about their relationship could be inferred to solving several puzzles. The puzzles are also well designed to interact as a storytelling device. Why use a key as a bridge, when you can use a literal bridge? We didn’t need too much backstory to tell that story, the visuals will gladly do. If nothing else, without the voice acting and the heavy handed exposition, the entire game could’ve been more of an abstract visualization of the trajectory of a relationship. It’s amazing how the interplay of colors and architecture highlights the milestones of Michael and Kenzie’s relationship. The gaudy and heavy paints matching a baroque architecture highlights their height of their honeymoon phase heavily contrasts the drab bleach bypass when exploring the cracks in their relationship. At chapter two, when the relationship is beginning, bright and heavy pastels a mix of vibrant warm colors of red, pink, and gold shows the majesty of a love in bloom. It’s a great creative choice on how the color vibrancy of the world matches the feelings Michael has at the time.Īt the melancholic opening when he recalls the somber relationship that has faded, they use a lot of heavy blues and indigos highlighting a garden at night. When not solving puzzles, I suggest taking in the beauty of the world. Either you save often and reload, or you will have to restart. It’s also so easy to get yourself stuck by forcing puzzle items into places that will get them stuck, so there definitely is some room for control polish here. The worst is when you get stuck and you wish to backtrack your progress by restarting the level as besides taking notes, there’s no quality of life option that lets you know your last few moves. It’s like a combination of overly sweet nothings while solving a puzzle that you need to rack your brain for, total opposites that hit you hard and fast. The difficulty spike of the puzzles just shoots up by five points and this is the point in the relationship where they’re the disgusting new couple. The kicker is when you reach the third level, that’s when the game tests your patience if you will stick around for the rest of the game. The first two chapters really pushed for tickling that nostalgia of a past relationship, the beauty of the diorama, and the simple challenges the puzzles present themselves to be. The momentum of the game is carried with how you interact with the puzzles, immerse yourself in this geometric optical illusion, and the love story unfolding before your eyes. That’s basically Maquette, where the world you move around in is a huge “doll” and in it, a smaller model of the world where you can manipulate objects to be bigger (and smaller) depending on where you place them. Maquette is “recursive puzzle game”, and to put it quite simply, think of it like those Russian Matryoshka Dolls, where one doll is placed inside another in decreasing sizes. So you really gotta like puzzles or you really gotta love Bryce Dallas Howard to trod along further for this one. If you feel the same way, sadly there’s no RPG grind and collectibles here to soften the blow. Their performances were serviceable, but the delivery felt drab that it didn’t exactly win me over right away (or ever). It may get insufferable for you as it did for me. There’s this hipster Bay area vibe going on, so if you’re not familiar with the culture, let me apologize in advance. You never see them in the flesh, but if you’re familiar with the actors, you’ll see them in your mind’s eye. Michael and Kenzie are portrayed mostly in voices by actors Seth Gabel and Bryce Dallas Howard. Each puzzle solved opens up more paths, telling the story of an awkward couple who was very much in love until an unspecified moment. The only thing you know is that Kenzie is not in his life anymore, but the reason why isn’t revealed. The narrative starts off where you play as Michael who walks down a literal memory lane after finding a sketchbook he shared with his partner, Kenzie. Five minutes in and I’m already reminded of 500 Days of Summer (and not in that cute quirky way). It’s a straight up linear puzzle game with a bit of a walking simulator to the tune of indie hipster bands. Because, I’m starting to play Haven again, only this time there are no RPG quests and collectibles.
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