Originally posted here: https://cultclassiccornervideogames.wordpress.com/2019/03/14/maize-2016-review/
It’s not very often I come across a decisive game that seems to completely split the audience down the middle. And after playing Maize, it’s pretty easy to see why that is.
Maize is a comedic First-Person Perspective Adventure Game released in 2016 and was developed and published by Finish Line Games. The playable character awakens on an abandoned farm, with no prior knowledge about how they got there or how they got there in the first place. You quickly find that the seemingly abandoned farm is overrun by sentient talking stalks of corn, along with a small Russian stuffed bear named Vladdy with a bad attitude who has to help you throughout the game, along with a science lab located under said abandoned farm.
From a gameplay perspective, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. What few actual puzzles there are aren’t that difficult, but if you’re not in tune with the games sense of humor, some of those puzzles won’t make much sense to you.
Throughout the game, you’ve got your trusty companion, Vladdy, a stuffed bear with a Russian accent. Vladdy is the biggest make-it-or-break-it part of this game for a lot of people. Most of his dialogue consists of being grumpy and insulting things. I didn’t mind him so much, but it’s really easy to see why so many of the people who play this game end up disliking him. He is very much a one note joke. I guess he’s in this game to break up the sentient corn characters, but almost all of his dialogue can be distilled down to “This is stupid, and you are stupid!” in a Russian accent. Most of the other jokes are absurdist jokes and puns. If the game wasn’t so short, there jokes could easily be even more grating.
Even though Maize has a lot of flaws dragging it down, I can’t help but at least get some enjoyment from the game. This game is a very hate-it-or-love-it game. You’ll either be chuckling at the corny puns and Monty Python-esque humor, or be annoyed at the lame jokes, Vladdy constantly telling you how stupid you are, and just how little this game has to offer. There is no in between. Which makes recommending this game very hard. I’d recommend watching the first 30 or 45 minutes of this game before making a purchase.
It’s not very often I come across a decisive game that seems to completely split the audience down the middle. And after playing Maize, it’s pretty easy to see why that is.
Maize is a comedic First-Person Perspective Adventure Game released in 2016 and was developed and published by Finish Line Games. The playable character awakens on an abandoned farm, with no prior knowledge about how they got there or how they got there in the first place. You quickly find that the seemingly abandoned farm is overrun by sentient talking stalks of corn, along with a small Russian stuffed bear named Vladdy with a bad attitude who has to help you throughout the game, along with a science lab located under said abandoned farm.
From a gameplay perspective, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. What few actual puzzles there are aren’t that difficult, but if you’re not in tune with the games sense of humor, some of those puzzles won’t make much sense to you.
Throughout the game, you’ve got your trusty companion, Vladdy, a stuffed bear with a Russian accent. Vladdy is the biggest make-it-or-break-it part of this game for a lot of people. Most of his dialogue consists of being grumpy and insulting things. I didn’t mind him so much, but it’s really easy to see why so many of the people who play this game end up disliking him. He is very much a one note joke. I guess he’s in this game to break up the sentient corn characters, but almost all of his dialogue can be distilled down to “This is stupid, and you are stupid!” in a Russian accent. Most of the other jokes are absurdist jokes and puns. If the game wasn’t so short, there jokes could easily be even more grating.
Even though Maize has a lot of flaws dragging it down, I can’t help but at least get some enjoyment from the game. This game is a very hate-it-or-love-it game. You’ll either be chuckling at the corny puns and Monty Python-esque humor, or be annoyed at the lame jokes, Vladdy constantly telling you how stupid you are, and just how little this game has to offer. There is no in between. Which makes recommending this game very hard. I’d recommend watching the first 30 or 45 minutes of this game before making a purchase.