It’s like a combination of overly sweet nothings while solving a puzzle that you need to rack your brain for, total opposites that hit you hard and fast. The difficulty spike of the puzzles just shoots up by five points and this is the point in the relationship where they’re the disgusting new couple. The kicker is when you reach the third level, that’s when the game tests your patience if you will stick around for the rest of the game. The first two chapters really pushed for tickling that nostalgia of a past relationship, the beauty of the diorama, and the simple challenges the puzzles present themselves to be. The momentum of the game is carried with how you interact with the puzzles, immerse yourself in this geometric optical illusion, and the love story unfolding before your eyes. That’s basically Maquette, where the world you move around in is a huge “doll” and in it, a smaller model of the world where you can manipulate objects to be bigger (and smaller) depending on where you place them. Maquette is “recursive puzzle game”, and to put it quite simply, think of it like those Russian Matryoshka Dolls, where one doll is placed inside another in decreasing sizes. So you really gotta like puzzles or you really gotta love Bryce Dallas Howard to trod along further for this one. If you feel the same way, sadly there’s no RPG grind and collectibles here to soften the blow. Their performances were serviceable, but the delivery felt drab that it didn’t exactly win me over right away (or ever). It may get insufferable for you as it did for me. There’s this hipster Bay area vibe going on, so if you’re not familiar with the culture, let me apologize in advance. You never see them in the flesh, but if you’re familiar with the actors, you’ll see them in your mind’s eye. Michael and Kenzie are portrayed mostly in voices by actors Seth Gabel and Bryce Dallas Howard. Each puzzle solved opens up more paths, telling the story of an awkward couple who was very much in love until an unspecified moment. The only thing you know is that Kenzie is not in his life anymore, but the reason why isn’t revealed. The narrative starts off where you play as Michael who walks down a literal memory lane after finding a sketchbook he shared with his partner, Kenzie. Five minutes in and I’m already reminded of 500 Days of Summer (and not in that cute quirky way). It’s a straight up linear puzzle game with a bit of a walking simulator to the tune of indie hipster bands. Because, I’m starting to play Haven again, only this time there are no RPG quests and collectibles. Maquette, I think you're alright.Pinch me, I must be dreaming. So, if you enjoy puzzle games and/or romanticism, this one's for you. The soundtrack is just brilliant, perfect for the game and very evocative. It's only fitting that an indie company from San Francisco decided to use music mostly of indie musicians from San Francisco. Which brings me to the last huge plus of the game: music. I could breathe the atmosphere of the San Franciscan nights where two souls fall in love, suspended between dream and reality. I giggled with them, I grieved with them, I wished for them. The actors are so talented (and famous, by the way) and it helps in bringing to life the two characters even though they are never seen. As you progress through the game, the levels reflect the stages of the relationship between Kenzie and Micheal, told through their dialogues and their sketches. Then there's the story, which is so touching and vivid I could feel myself in there. A matrioska world where things reproduce at different scale simultaneously is quite amusing. First, the concept of the game is brilliant. HOWEVER, there are a few aspects that make this game linger in my mind after the few hours spent in it. Once I even skipped inadvertently a section of the game where a cutscene was supposed to happen. Indeed despite how short the game is, in my first playthrough I managed to find glitches 2-3 times. Because it is made by an indie company, I assume they cut corners on testing. More often than not I was clueless because I had no idea of the playing field I was put in: if I'm supposed to think outside of the box, I have to know how big the box is. I admit I'm not particularly skilled in puzzle games, but I think that they are not designed well enough. It is basically a very short walking simulator with some puzzles that I personally found more frustrating that enjoyable. Let's address immediately the elephant in the room: in the department of mechanics and interactivity the game is heavily lacking.
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