Maquette Review: More Than Friends

There is beauty upon observing the journey of a relationship from the outside, particularly one you find yourself viewing through the looking glass as it begins to take familiar roads. With its articulately built dream-like world as a conduit to take you on such a journey, this is the precise experience I felt with Maquette. It’s an experience I would expect from narrative driven adventures which solely rely on story, character, and direction for player engagement without the implementation of traditional gameplay mechanics. But Maquette’s astute size manipulation and perspective puzzles not only avoid interrupting narrative, but elevates it with purpose. On their homepage, Graceful Decay promises dedication in “bringing the next wave of storytelling and gameplay to life.” With their debut title, this is a promise I believe was profoundly executed.

Presentation

Sharing a narrative and mechanical theme of scale, Maquette tells the story of Kenzie (voiced by Bryce Dallas Howard) and Michael (voiced by Seth Gabel), two individuals with artistic hearts who feel destined for each other upon a cliche “meet-cute” at a coffee shop. The player never see Kenzie nor Michael in a literal sense, but their souls along with their narrative are expressed thoroughly not only in the performances, but in the striking world that Graceful Machine has built as well. Grounded artistic elements such as sketching and writing brought to life within surroundings allows the players to see who these characters are on a deeper level. Environments pristinely reflect where the player is within Kenzie and Michael’s relationship; from wondrous color palettes to contrasting subdued tones. No matter how dreary or vibrant, the artistic direction is constantly alluring. All in all, Maquette is quite the visual feast.

Where Graceful Decay truly deserves to be applauded is in the details when it comes to scale. Maquette plays with scale consistently in its puzzle mechanics, both within the object manipulation and the surrounding environments. The artistic direction and overall design heavily supports the constant change of size, never presenting a change that feels jarring. As an example, a key used to open a door may be upscaled to serve as a bridge. Each stage of manipulation is thoughtful, adapted to scale beautifully, and feels natural in each scenario. This can easily be stated for the environments themselves as well, as the world seamlessly and methodically may change around you in Willy Wonka sense of wonder. When first introduced, it took a moment to register. But that moment of clarity paired superbly with an awe-stricken smile and an utter appreciation of implementation. 

While Maquette’s visuals never fail to impress, the auditory direction both in sound design and music elevate the experience. The sound design finds success in exaggerating timbre of weight and size variations for scaled elements. The soundscapes supporting the brilliant portrayals of Kenzie and Michael from Howard and Gabel respectively feel authentic and brought to life without the need of literally seeing two characters speaking to each other. Not only that, but the timbre of both Howard and Gabel’s voices feel intimate with production alone seamlessly adapting to particular situations when necessary. But the auditory element that shines brightest is the use of music. Impactful and particularly placed musical moments exquisitely set an ever changing vibe supporting the range of emotions throughout the narrative. Without the risk of spoiling, all I will say is that the use of music is an unexpected element that morphed into my favorite aspect of the overall presentation.

Gameplay

Maquette delivers a unique take on perspective and size manipulation puzzle mechanics, one that is both intelligent and challenging. What sets Maquette apart from an easy comparison in Superliminal is the focus on the maquette itself, or the diorama of the world. Each scenario places the player to appropriate scale with the surrounding environment, with a maquette of that particular environment housed in a dome in the center. With minor exceptions, each chapter remains relatively consistent; a number of different (for a lack of a better term) biomes surrounding the dome. The maquette serves as your primary tool, utilizing it to resize objects or manipulate the environment as a whole to fit your needs. Going back to our key example, in order to fit the lock, the key is an appropriate size. Upon exploring, there may be rubble where a bridge once stood. Taking the key and placing it on the maquette in place of the bridge upscales the key creating the path to move forward. In other words, objects placed on the maquette adapt and effect the surrounding world. Once players find their footing, this concept is expanded beyond into the surrounding environments. Without risking spoilers, I will leave it at that while expressing the Willy Wonka comparison once again. The moment where the children and families enter the factory via a hallway that scales the further they walk? Imagine that, but as a tool.

The game performs beautifully on the PS5, but there were points in working out puzzles I found the movement and manipulation mechanics were fighting back. Attempting to maneuver both the camera and objects precisely was awkward at times, especially when doing so on or around the small central diorama. There were brief flashes of becoming literally stuck, triggering my thumbs to instinctively flail on the analog sticks until the camera or object were free. Additionally, my mind never wrapped around the appropriate controls for picking up and setting down objects, as well as holding them out in front to rotate or place. Throughout my experience, I consistently hit the wrong buttons resulting in tiny in-the-moment annoyances within puzzles already testing my brain power. This is, of course, a nitpick that may only be tied to myself and in no way a dealbreaker, but I do wish object interaction was a bit smoother.

Nailing a puzzle on my own merit feels rewarding, but I did find particular moments to be a bit too challenging. While I have a deep appreciation for Maquette’s mechanical theme of thinking outside the box to find success, there were a few puzzles I found could have used more breadcrumbs. There is one in particular that I honestly don’t understand how I could have passed without the hints guide supplied for this review. Before completing that one room and moving on, I made an effort to explore this scenario and seek out clues that may lead players to the solution. I was unsuccessful in finding such clues. Maquette is a prime example where playing with a guide may benefit players that hold a similar mindset of my own, one that may not be built for certain puzzle-solving. Other than the one scenario, referencing the guide only enhanced my experience by highlighting the hints placed within the world and opening my eyes to new options I should be exploring as I moved forward. Upon release, especially on PlayStation Plus, this is a game that would heavily benefit the PS5’s hint system beautifully.

To place one final bow on this note, this is a fantastic opportunity to remind folks that it is okay to use a guide or walkthrough for video games. Video games are for everybody. There is no point in stewing in frustration or abandoning a game upon getting stuck. Using a walkthrough or not, you still find the same accomplishment as the credits role. Everyone plays in their own way, and that’s one of the many reasons why video games are so beautiful.

Story (Spoiler-Free)

Reflecting its gameplay, Maquette tells a simple, yet sublime narrative about scale and what that means in terms of a relationship. What causes the narrative at its core to be so impactful is how grounded, intimate, and in my personal case, relatable it is. Kenzie and Michael’s journey is presented in a grand manner from the outside. It’s one that carefully exaggerates emotion precisely, but at its heart, this is an intrinsically human story.

Something I find so compelling in many indie titles is core simplicity. If the initial spark is simple, and everything else is built on that foundation, the resulting product tends to find success. Restraint is a difficult trait for artists to not only possess, but even more so to excel in. Graceful Machine finds that balance in eloquently tying the intricate gameplay and modest narrative together with the theme of scale, which elevates the narrative experience as a whole naturally.

Breakdown

Game: Maquette

Developer: Graceful Decay, Annapurna Interactive

Availability: PS4/PS5 (PS Plus), PC (March 2, 2020)

Reviewed on a PS5

Runtime: Apprx. 3-4 hours

Pros:

+ A visual and auditory feast

+ Grounded, intimate, and human narrative expressed through brilliant performances and outstanding production

+ Unique and engaging spin on perspective puzzles

+ The musical moments

Cons:

- Awkward to control in brief moments

- Particular scenarios lack direction and can be too challenging

Final Thoughts

As Graceful Machine articulated so poignantly, Maquette feels as if it is the next wave of storytelling and gameplay cooperating together. The contrast between complex gameplay and simplistic narrative delivers an experience I was driven to see through to the end not only to find closure for two characters I’ve grown to care for, but for my own personal experiences as well. It is a dream for those seeking an intelligent and unique challenge, as well as those who wish to experience a purely human narrative. Maquette radiates as a shining example of what a debut title from an independent studio is capable of accomplishing.

Review Written by Mike Towndrow