Maize

This game completely surprised me, and in a great way. It has all the things that make a great story-driven game: incredibly detailed graphics, interesting story with a fantastic twist, well-implemented humor, British accents, a grumpy sidekick who spends the entire game berating you in the most hilarious ways, a dance-off, and a perfectly insane ending complete with 80's power ballad. Yes, this is a very linear game, but that's part of the charm. The tongue-in-cheek reference to a corn maze in the name is lovely. It has enough interaction and puzzles to keep you interested, and when the story needs you to follow cerain courses, it directs you there (or blocks you from others) in very cheeky ways. Beatable in about 5 hours makes this a fantastic way to spend an afternoon and walk away with a satisfied ending. Playing this game on "epic" graphics settings is recommended, because there is SO much to look at! For me, the only downsides are a lack of key re-binding and the ability to get rid of movement blur (which can get a little dizzying at times). All in all, this was a diamond in the rough of indie games, and the makers of Maize have tapped into something very special here, and I hope this is not the last we've seen from this studio. Bravo guys, and party on!

As others have said, it's a walking (well, jogging - I have to give the game credit for the sprint option) simulator that tries to sell itself on its humour. Sadly, although I'm sure the writers tried, they just weren't any good. I can say without exaggerating, that most of the dialogue in the game includes someone being called an idiot, and that part loses its charm exactly as quickly as you'd expect. Most of the humour is just random absurdities without any real buildup or payoff, and none of the puzzles are particularly interesting. There are no real character arcs, no personalities to get invested in; the game's just kind of dull. It's a shame, really, because the graphics are rather nice, and the basic concept could have worked. Could have. I kind of regret spending half the day on this.

I buy about 100 games a year but only seem to play about 10. Of all the games I bought and all the games I played this year, this game is the absolute best!! The corny humor really works for me and the ending is worth the price of admission. Also, I'd play any game with a character that has a cliché Russian accent and who constantly insults me. The puzzles aren't too hard. I've found 71 of 75 story items so I'll be going back in to find them all. I wish every game had as good a story as this one. But then again, if they did, I'd either have to buy fewer games or play more of them. Don't miss this little gem!

I've played 2 hours of this game. I am extremely disappointed. I thought the concept was funny and wanted to play something that'd engage me in a weird story, make me laugh, and challenge me a bit. This did none of those things. The only reason I played two hours was because I kept hoping it would get more interesting. The humor (what little there is) seems to be catered toward a very young audience. The puzzles (if that's what you can call them) also seem like little more than click-spam. The game feels so linear that it hurts. You're corralled from one area to the next, told exactly what to do at every turn, and never challenged at all. All the characters feel like the same person. Every character thinks every other character is an "idiot". Everything you do is "stupid". The voice acting is fine. The game runs well. The environments are fun. Hell, I even laughed at a couple of things. The problem is that the humor dries up. The occasional humor just isn't enough to make up for the annoyance of Vladdy telling you for the 180th time that "you pick up to much stupid junk, idiot". That's literally the only thing you can do. A lot of the descriptions feel very much "holds up spork". It's as if the writers were banking on you finding off the wall descriptions funny. Yes, the first generic rock that we picked up that had a name made me crack a smile and shake my head. The fourth one just made groan. The puzzles aren't puzzles. Let's be perfectly clear here. There are no puzzles in this game. You're told exactly what to do, where to do it, when you've unlocked a new area, what's important, and what isn't. Within 5 minutes of starting the game, I encountered bad puzzle design. I picked up an object that told me to use it on an item that I hadn't even seen yet. Ridiculous. Others say buy it if its on sale. I'd advise that you just avoid it completely. Even on sale, this game isn't worth it. My kindergarten son might enjoy it, but that's about as far as I'd expect.