This is definitely not your average Amanita title. The game itself is just a set of simple puzzles; what sets it apart is surreal - if not disturbing - visuals and thought-provoking "story", with a "happy ending" in the end - the one which does not look like a happy ending at all. Get this if you like bizzare visuals and controversal themes; skip it if you don't count stuff like cannibalistic killer rabbits and exploding hearts as an amusing kind of entertainment. "The bloody trail of rampage" would probably be the best description of the core game mechanic as to get further down the story our little protagonist has to ruthlessly eliminate any obstacles along his path.
Good things come first - Prodeus is a fun, dynamic, gorgeous FPS engine with a beautiful set of assets. Sadly, it is somehow less of a single-player FPS game. The SP campaign simply does not climax to the end. The gameplay is split between several dimensions and while the first one seems to be magnificent enough, the further you go - the lesser you are given to blast thru. The war is raging between Prodeus and Chaos, and how much levels are you given in the Chaos dimension? Like, both of them?!? :facepalm: And what will be eagerly waiting for you at the end of the SP campaign? A nice message about the magnitude of your startling success? Come on, even D00M 1 had some outro! At least, they managed to draw a pastorale... There are even some weapons which are not available in this SP campaign. This clearly shows that the bets were put on the MP/community instead of investing in a proper SP game. A pity, really. -1 star for this flawed SP experience. The game is fine otherwise.
Let's get straight to the point, Maize is actually not that much of an adventure game, and even much less of a sci-fi one. Think of it as of some kind of retro sci-fi comic show, with all kinds of time-proven cliches, "totally unexpected" script turns and a (* spoiler removed! *) as a protagonist. The "adventure" part is basically just responsible for setting the mood, making you attached to the rest of the actors and ensuring that you will visit all the important spotlights of the stage in the more or less proper order - and that's it. Now, when we've tossed the "adventure game" part out of the way - the show is totally enjoyable per se, the story is weird (and fun!) enough, and the final song deserves its own five stars. So, in a nutshell... a) if you came here for some serious A[A[A]] adventure - move along b) if you came here for an epic A[A[A]] sci-fi story - move along c) if you came here just to have some fun, have a knack for reckless mix of the "retro", "sci-fi" and "comic" words on a single stage and don't care for being called "stupid" by your right-hand NPC for the rest of the gameplay - you should give it a try, definitely. Mind the price, though, as regional pricing on GOG makes it impossible to address this aspect in the review.
