They vary not just by puzzle type, but also by architecture and atmosphere. The game is broken into six chapters that are all unique from one another. It’s breathtaking and stays impressive for the duration of the game’s runtime, in part because it doesn’t see fit to repeat itself unnecessarily. Maquette‘s puzzles require you to use this to your advantage.

There are spots where you can fall over the wall and find yourself teeny-tiny compared to the massive world. Maquette often takes place in various models of the same area. As I looked skyward, while not under the dome in the center, I noticed a much larger dome overhead. It’s not that the miniature in the dome is a little, fake version of the area. The domed area has a miniature version of the area you find yourself in, which I thought was cute. You’ll need to go into each area to bear witness to memories in order to progress the story. You go through the game’s intro and then enter a location with four areas on each side and a domed structure in the middle. Much like Superliminal, this is a game about perspective, although Maquette takes the concept less literally than the aforementioned game did.Īt first, everything seems normal. In all likelihood, I wouldn’t have been able to figure out some of the tougher things otherwise, but I’ll get to that aspect in a bit. It’s a puzzle game that can actually be surprisingly difficult. But the game isn’t a walking simulator, even if it does have some sections that qualify as such. There’s no getting around that the story in Maquette is its best feature. Regardless, there’s a lot of honesty on display in the game, elevated by the script. Maquette also contains the most believable argument that I’ve ever heard in a video game, to the point that I’m convinced that whoever wrote it ended up paraphrasing fights they themselves experienced with a significant other. The writing is excellent, and the game’s themes and pacing are heartfelt. Understandably, performances of that caliber wouldn’t have occurred had Maquette‘s script not been of notably high quality. My jaw dropped when I saw her name in the credits, as some may know her from Jurassic World and Black Mirror. Michael and Kenzie are wonderfully brought to life by real-life married couple Seth Gabel and Bryce Dallas Howard. I felt my eyes roll at how perfect both he and Kenzie appeared in earlier plot sections, only for the game to hit close to home once it made its goals more clear. We go along for the ride as we see the romantic tides ebb and flow, and we’re right there with him to feel the all-too-familiar sting of detachment once things inevitably start to turn. The plot begins when he finds a sketchbook he shared with his ex, Kenzie, which results in him taking a hard look at their relationship and what it meant to him. Maquette takes place from the perspective of a man named Michael. However, there’s a depth of emotion in this highly relatable tale that will stay with me far longer than some of its clunkier puzzles. The signposting can be quite rough, and the early story sequences are a bit too saccharine. Maquette is a narrative-focused first-person puzzler built around manipulating objects at various sizes to find solutions.

That sense of loss is universal, but I can’t recall any games attempting to replicate it. Many of us have likely felt the lurching dread that accompanies the transition from a rollercoaster honeymoon period to a relationship that simply doesn’t quite work.

Maquette level 2