Twisted Pixel tried really hard to build good-will in the days leading up to the release of The Maw. They even had TV appearances explaining that they were a small ’indy game’ company and people that like supporting such things should check out their new game. Overall, The Maw delivers on this ideal. It has some interesting ideas, plenty of charm, and is fairly fun to play. Some modest problems are there, but they’re not enough to ruin the experience.

The game can best be described as a basic 3D platformer like Mario 64 or Banjo Kazooie but far more simple than either. Swapping out the action for puzzles and leading the titular Maw around, you control Frank, a cute humanoid alien with only modest fighting talent. But he’s accompanied by a big purple blob called Maw, who can eat almost anything and gets bigger when he eats enough, or gains special powers for eating special foes, the ability to breathe fire after munching on a fire lizard, for example. While the Maw can’t defeat everything, what few enemies he can’t handle are ones Frank can deal with in various ways, mostly through creative uses of the energy leash he normally uses to lead Maw with. Throw in a few jumping puzzles and dealing with objects blocking your path, and you have a decent premise for a game.

The graphics really help The Maw’s case, as there’s tons of charm and character packed in. While almost everything has a simple design to it, there’s plenty of detail to be seen if you look closely and the lighting effects are neat as well. It looks slightly retro, but it does look like something that belongs on a current gen system all the same. The music and sound effects are basically there to fill space, and while they’re not bad, I have trouble remembering many of them. I’m inclined to say they did a perfectly average job on the audio.