Maquette Review
Hello Sunflower
Developed by: Graceful Decay
Published by: Annapurna Interactive
Available on: 3/2/2021 on PS4/5 & PC
Materials & Methods
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
DISCLAIMER: Review code provided by Annapurna Interactive & Graceful Decay
Introduction
Ma·quette, /maˈket/, noun, a sculptor's small preliminary model or sketch. Many of us have our own Maquettes for our lives. We all have ideas about what we want to do with our own lives; we all have ideas about how we want every one of our relationships to play out. Everyone has wants and dreams for their lives. What if the unexpected happens? What if you meet that special someone out of the blue and it changes everything for the better, or for the worse? Nobody can say they’ve never experienced a shake-up in their life. But, it’s how we grow from those life-changing events that make us who we are.
Why is this game review turning into an existential crisis about life? This is the premise of Graceful Decay and Annapurna Interactive’s new game, Maquette. Revealed in 2011 at that year’s Game Developers Conference, this new Indie game was immediately met with open arms by the wider gaming community. A simple premise of manipulating small objects to solve puzzles in the world around you by changing their size. 10 years later, this beloved prototype will be seeing the light of day. The hype has only grown since then with no small part thanks to the full game’s reveal in 2020, the announcement that Bryce Dallas Howard and her husband Seth Gabel will be the voice leads, and recently it being announced as a free PlayStation+ game in March. Let’s dive into how far this game has come and if this long-awaited game was worth the wait.
Results & Findings
A chance encounter at a coffee shop, a man sketching a castle, and a spilled coffee sent two people on a direct trajectory towards each other- entangling their lives. It’s a chance encounter that is similar to what many of us have experienced before. This is how we’re introduced to the two integral characters, Kenize and Michael. Several minutes prior, you start off the game with a journey through a beautiful garden as writing begins to fill up the walls here and there. Starting to paint a picture of a somber reminiscence of the good and bad of this relationship. This is really when the game began to hit home that it’s going right for the feels. Reminding us all of those knick nacks that we have laying about that we just forgot about, boxed away like how we boxed away old pain. The more I played, the more it felt like this was a very personal story, possibly even written as a note that one of the developers found and found inspiration through that to make this game
There are several different ways the story is being told, and this is where I want to preface this by saying… READ EVERYTHING AND TAKE YOUR TIME. You can get out as much as you want from this game’s story but that depends on how slow you take it. The start of the game shows you that a good portion of the story is provided through writing on the walls. These writing prompts, short sentences, give so much detail. However, they appear everywhere. While being a good indicator that you’re going in the right direction or doing the right thing. When you see these prompts pop up, I implore you to stop and read them. I became emotionally invested in the story because I read all of these during my first playthrough.
The next way is through cutscenes which are beautifully illustrated, and represent Kenzie and Michael as birds. Any description they’re talking about is drawn in front of you. Also, this is where the stellar voice acting comes into play. Now, these moments are the bigger moments of the relationship. These are the times where you learn how they meet, how they went on dates, how they spent the defining moments of their relationship together. I absolutely adore this style and portrayal of the story. Most of this story revolves around a sketchbook and this is exactly how the game tells the big part of the story, as sketches filling up pages.
Finally, through songs. At specific moments, music starts playing. Graceful Decay found what may be the most fitting songs for each moment. Honestly, whoever was the one in charge of finding the music for this game deserves a raise. For instance, in the third chapter (The one on the beach), you’re going through the early days of them BEING a couple. The music that kicks in is all excited high-beat alt-rock, and really encapsulates what it’s like being in love and in that honeymoon phase. In the second chapter, the song that plays is a little more slow, cautious, and about a new person entering your life, and if you’re deserving of this person in your life. Be careful as the songs do stop as you reach the “half-way” point in a chapter. They source each song, some even coming from different SoundCloud, in the credits but I REALLY hope they release a vinyl because I’ll be first in line to buy it. Overall, it’s this mix of three different ways to tell a story that melds so well to create this overarching narrative of love, loss, acceptance, and growth. You see the feelings in the changing of the writing, you hear the changes in the tone of voices and feel it through the changes in the music.
So how about the gameplay? I honestly believe this may be one of my favorite puzzle games ever made. There’s no clear solution until you find it. The unlikeliest object will be your saving grace. I’ll only talk about the first couple of chapters so as to not give away any hints. Each chapter is divided up into four quadrants. Each serving as a specific moment or feeling in Kenzie’s life that involves Michael. You find a key that unlocks a door, which opens upon an incomplete bridge. Well, how do you complete it? By returning to the maquette and putting the key over the gap to create a bridge, of course. This is the tip of the iceberg and an easier puzzle. But they do slowly ramp up over time that feels natural. There are some difficult puzzles in the later chapters but all they take are a deep breath and taking a closer look at what you have, and you’ll find the solution just fine, trust me. Additionally, they aren’t just puzzles that you have to solve just to get to the next story beat either. They are integral to the storytelling and even add to it as an extra layer. Your frustration is probably what Kenzie is feeling at that time too. Most tools you have available to you are pieces of her life and are from her relationship with Michael. One standout moment for what I mean really is chapter 4. There are walls up everywhere that you slowly have to take down. You’re hearing Kenzie and Michael slowly put up walls around themselves as they grow complacent in their relationship, and every effort to take them down, to snap them out of it, is only adding to the stress until it all comes crumbling down.
I normally end my Results and Findings section by talking about the issues of the game I’m reviewing. Honestly though? I had none. I absolutely adored my time with Maquette and haven’t stopped thinking about it since rolling credits. Heck, I’ve even replayed it 4 more times to try to get all the trophies, and each playthrough I find something new that makes me love this game even more. Video games don’t normally make me cry unless it’s a series that I’ve been long invested in. Maquette hit me hard at every emotional turn and with a finishing blow at the end, and that’s why I think this game will stick with me for a long long while.
Discussion
There are no excuses if you have a PC, a PlayStation 4, or 5. Maquette needs to be on your “Need to Play” list. Just be prepared to have some tissues with you for the ending. The puzzles are simply amazing and make you think. The story is so immersive even if it’s a 2-3 hour experience. There’s so much praise I can give this game because everything just works so well. Even aggravating parts felt rewarding after overcoming an obstacle because it means you learn more about this evolving relationship. More so, the relationship you’re experiencing feels REAL. All events that happen to these two could make you reminisce on an old relationship you had. It sure made me think back on lost loves, and how they made me grow. Graceful Decay should be extremely proud of the work they’ve accomplished because as their debut game, they have simply knocked it out of the park.
