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Maquette

Maquette is a fascinating puzzle game with a unique mechanic and gorgeous setting, but the execution just isn’t there. Puzzles are fairly simple to solve, and it fails to push the boundaries of its own recursive concept.

Game Info

MAQUETTE is a first-person recursive puzzle game that takes you into a world where every building, plant, and object are simultaneously tiny and staggeringly huge. MAQUETTE makes it possible by twisting the world into itself recursively in an MC Escher-esque fashion. Head to the center of the world and you’ll feel like a giant, towering over buildings and walls. But venture further out, and start to feel small as things get larger and larger – to the point where cracks in the ground become chasms. In Maquette you will explore the scales of everyday [problems in a modern-day love story. Where sometimes the smallest of issues can become insurmountable obstacles.

Recommended

Average Score

Total Reviews: 45

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Ratings & Reviews

45

Critic Reviews

73

Average Critic Score

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All reviews are from professional critics. Learn more about the critics VSG aggregates.

High Score

90%

Median Score

70%

Low Score

60%

What did you think of Maquette?

Player Reviews0 Votes

Tom Marks (IGN)

March 1, 2021

7/10

Maquette is an incredibly clever and absolutely gorgeous first-person puzzle game, even if it doesn’t really push the boundaries of its own recursive concept in any particularly surprising ways. That left me feeling like its straightforward story and puzzles were a missed opportunity to do something more, but playing through Maquette’s brief adventure was at least a lovely, mind-tickling evening well spent.

GameCentral (Metro GameCentral)

March 2, 2021

7/10

A love story told through a first person puzzle game that delights in playing with scale and recursive environments, even if its conundrums eventually feel a little undercooked.

Ben Reeves (Game Informer)

March 1, 2021

7.8/10

When Maquette is firing on all cylinders, it is a beautiful journey through a series of ever-larger environments, and Maquette’s love story is poignant and a little heartbreaking. Sadly, my interactions with the puzzles were also full of heartbreak. While Maquette has some missteps, I look back fondly on my time with it. Much like a real-life romance, my affection for this game is complicated.

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Score Ranges

Read the Reviews (45 total)

Outlet	Author	Score	Date	Quote	Read
3DNews	Александр Бабулин	7.5 / 10	03-14-2021	Indie-folk, bright colors, bittersweet love-story, nice recursive puzzles: this “500 Days of Summer” of gaming really could succeed, but imperfect level design and gap between form and content interferes.	Read review
Checkpoint Gaming	Lisa Pollifroni	7 / 10	03-11-2021	Maquette is a beautiful puzzle game with a catchy soundtrack that really sets the chill yet heart-breaking vibe of the game. The way it messes around with space and depth keeps things fresh throughout and the game looks damn fine, making it an overall positive experience. However, it had an opportunity to make much stronger links between its puzzle world and its narrative world and it saddens me that this didn’t occur.	Read review
COGconnected	James Paley	85 / 100	03-08-2021	Maybe there’s no healthy way to insulate yourself from heartbreak, but there’s still beauty in the retrospective. Maquette casts a rosy lens on a love story softened by time’s eventual passage. It’s an important lesson, that the sorrow of love lost can be soothed and sanded down by the steady movement of the clock. The story’s frequent puzzle breaks mean that you’re eased into the worst of it. You’re given a long runway before the inevitable climax, which might be a blessing in itself. Even if a reflective journey through a complex relationship doesn’t appeal to you, the intricate world and it’s fascinating puzzles will surely have you hooked.	Read review
Critical Hit	Noelle Adams	7 / 10	03-08-2021	Romantic relationships have their ups and downs, and players will likely go through the same experience with Maquette, which seesaws between satisfying and frustrating. Charming world design and bittersweet relationship observations are offset by a couple of opaque puzzles and patches of gameplay clunkiness (bad enough to force level restarts), which mar the overall sense of enjoyment.	Read review
Digitally Downloaded	Matt Sainsbury	3 / 5 stars	03-03-2021	Maquette	Read review
Easy Allies	Daniel Bloodworth	3.5 / 5 stars	03-01-2021	Maquette has some rough edges, but it presents inventive puzzle mechanics that remain interesting to the end, paired with a love story that’s both charismatic and relatable.	Read review
EGM	Josh Harmon	6 / 10	03-01-2021	Maquette’s core concept of puzzle solving in recursive environments is undeniably neat. But despite the handful of wow moments it enables, developer Graceful Decay ends up squandering much of the idea’s potential due to pacing issues and rough edges.	Read review
Eurogamer	Chris Tapsell	Recommended	03-03-2021	Superliminal meets The Unfinished Swan in an admirable debut effort from Grateful Decay, that’s best when it sticks to the ingenous premise.	Read review
Game Informer	Ben Reeves	7.8 / 10	03-01-2021	When Maquette is firing on all cylinders, it is a beautiful journey through a series of ever-larger environments, and Maquette’s love story is poignant and a little heartbreaking. Sadly, my interactions with the puzzles were also full of heartbreak. While Maquette has some missteps, I look back fondly on my time with it. Much like a real-life romance, my affection for this game is complicated.	Read review
Gameblog	Gianni Molinaro	6 / 10	03-03-2021	Maquette has something special. It delicately tells a very credible story with some clever puzzles mechanics and brillant emotional moments	Read review
GameGrin	Richard Shivdarsan	7.5 / 10	04-07-2021	Overall, Maquette is a solid and unique puzzle game with a sentimental, well-performed story that may hit a little too close to home for some, while maybe providing some closure for others. If only the developer found a way to intertwine the puzzles and the story together to feel more complete.	Read review
GamesBeat	Giancarlo Valdes	Recommended	03-24-2021	It’s not always a perfect combination. A few of the latter puzzles feel needlessly complicated, requiring you to place the objects at pixel-perfect angles to trigger the next area. But that doesn’t take away from how remarkable the game is. Like Portal before it, Maquette redefines what puzzle games are capable of, and I don’t think I’ll be forgetting about these characters any time soon.	Read review
GameSkinny	Mark Delaney	7 / 10	03-01-2021	For a game that’s all about finding closure in our lives, Maquette makes it exceptionally difficult to get to its end credits.	Read review
GameSpew	Kim Snaith	7 / 10	03-01-2021	Definitely give Maquette a try if you like puzzle games, but be aware that you’re likely to come up against numerous brick walls as you vie to reach its conclusion. The earlier puzzles are truly satisfying to crack but they quickly lose their charm, while later conundrums might leave you scratching your head in frustration. What doesn’t lose its charm, though, is the small yet beautiful narrative that you’ll want to savour every moment of. It’s just a shame there isn’t more of it.	Read review
Gaming Nexus	Eric Hauter	7 / 10	03-02-2021	Maquette has a great puzzle mechanic as its central hook, though it sometimes struggles with obtuse implementation and fussy controls. Nonetheless, the narrative arc of the young relationship at the center of the game is well worth a bit of frustration to experience. Some lovely visuals and music make playing Maquette that much more rewarding.	Read review
GamingBolt	Matt Bianucci	8 / 10	03-03-2021	While it misses the chance to transcend the sum of its parts, Maquette tells a beautifully relatable story with a gorgeous presentation, accompanied by a clever and unique size-bending puzzler.	Read review
God is a Geek	Chris White	7.5 / 10	03-02-2021	The stunning world Graceful Decay has built in Maquette is perpetually gorgeous and dream-like throughout its short time, never failing to blind you with its beauty. The puzzles utilise size manipulation to provide you with a satisfying mix of challenges, too.	Read review
Guardian	Simon Parkin	4 / 5 stars	03-06-2021	This simple girl-meets-boy story plays out in a series of abstract dioramas, each one bigger than the next	Read review
Hardcore Gamer	James Cunningham	3.5 / 5 stars	03-08-2021	Even with the annoyance of the narrator being so utterly clueless, there’s no question that Maquette is effective at illustrating the pain of a good relationship gone bad.	Read review
Hobby Consolas	Alberto Lloret	78 / 100	03-01-2021	Maquette it’s an interesting proposal, both in terms of gameplay (recursive worlds), and the way it tells the tale of a relationship. It’s not perfect (frame rate issues, some puzzle design maybe are too complex and abstract…), but the precious message and the mark it will leave are, simply, magnificent.	Read review
IGN	Tom Marks	7 / 10	03-01-2021	Maquette is an incredibly clever and absolutely gorgeous first-person puzzle game, even if it doesn’t really push the boundaries of its own recursive concept in any particularly surprising ways. That left me feeling like its straightforward story and puzzles were a missed opportunity to do something more, but playing through Maquette’s brief adventure was at least a lovely, mind-tickling evening well spent.	Read review
IGN Italy	Angelo Bianco	7 / 10	03-05-2021	Maquette is an intriguing recursive puzzle game that offers a variety of logical challenges, certainly ingenious but sometimes difficult to solve.	Read review
KeenGamer	Jordan Onslow	8.5 / 10	03-08-2021	The Unfinished Swan meets Marriage Story in this debut game for Graceful Decay, as the developer explores the highs and lows of being in love in this brilliant puzzle game based around resizing objects in a scale model of a couple’s relationship.	Read review
Luis Alamilla	Luis Alamilla	7.5 / 10	03-04-2021	Maquette didn’t blow me away or reinvent the puzzle adventure genre but it didn’t need to. It justified its existence by providing a fun and entertaining 2-4 hour adventure while keeping interested in learning more about this couple. The puzzles could have been more challenging and the performance definitely could be better, but ultimately I enjoyed my time with Maquette.	Read review
Metro GameCentral	GameCentral	7 / 10	03-02-2021	A love story told through a first person puzzle game that delights in playing with scale and recursive environments, even if its conundrums eventually feel a little undercooked.	Read review
MonsterVine	Diego Escala	4 / 5 stars	03-01-2021	It’s touching, and the puzzle side keeps you engaged while your heartstrings are being tugged.	Read review
New Game Network	Eric Hall	61 / 100	03-17-2021	Maquette toys with interesting ideas and its unique core gameplay mechanic is enough to make it stand out. However, the poorly developed plot and weak conclusion make the game feel like a rough draft of something much stronger.	Read review
Noisy Pixel	Azario Lopez	7 / 10	03-04-2021	Maquette is a beautiful game with a compelling narrative that is a perfect weekend experience. Across its four-hour runtime, I was able to feel emotionally invested in this relationship as I begged to see it through until the end. The puzzles hinder progression, but the lack of interaction with the environment limits any additional playthroughs or unique playing experiences.	Read review
Paste Magazine	Garrett Martin	6 / 10	03-01-2021	The story that should compel us to keep playing instead becomes an annoying digression from what the game does well. These environments, those puzzles, and the size-changing gimmick that lets you solve them comprise a unique and fascinating vision that depends on the kind of esoteric thinking familiar from classic point-and-click adventure games. Instead of pulling us in deeper, though, Michael and Kenzie’s romance pushes us away. That’s the real tragedy of Maquette.	Read review
PC Gamer	Luke Winkie	73 / 100	03-10-2021	Maquette has enough interesting ideas to push any adventure gamer past the finish line.	Read review
PC Invasion	Andrew Farrell	7.5 / 10	03-01-2021	Maquette has a strong narrative bolstered by top-tier voice performances and honest, relatable writing. The puzzle mechanics are unique and exciting, but the game is let down by signposting issues and obtuse design choices.	Read review
PlayStation LifeStyle	Annette Polis	7 / 10	03-05-2021	Maquette has its issues, but is still a solid experience. The grievances I have can be fixed if the studio has the manpower and time to do so. If you’re looking specifically for puzzle games there are others I would recommend before this. But it’s free for PS Plus members for March 2021, and it’s hard to say no to free.	Read review
PlayStation Universe	Joe Apsey	9 / 10	03-01-2021	Maquette is just fascinating. It is a game that has one central mechanic and ties it into a narrative not often told by games and media. That unique blend of challenging, but mind-boggling recursive gameplay, jaw-dropping set-pieces, and heartfelt narrative moments really crafts an experience that mesmerises and stuns at every turn and is another great title from Annapurna.	Read review
Polygon	Nicole Carpenter	Recommended	03-03-2021	It reminds me of a relationship I had, one that I thought I would never see myself out of. It’s these memories of mine that give Maquette’s narrative that emotional weight, even when the writing is clumsy or stilted. When I look back at that relationship, it’s only just a speck in my 32 years of life, something that hardly gets a thought. It’s hard to imagine that there was a time when it was so much bigger, where I lived in a fantasy world of my own creation	Read review
Push Square	Stephen Tailby	7 / 10	03-01-2021	Maquette is a fascinating puzzle game with a unique central mechanic. This leads to some super clever puzzles that will really test your grey matter. However, we can’t help but feel that the concept’s potential isn’t quite fulfilled. Similarly, the story is pretty unique among games, but the execution just isn’t quite there. Overall, it’s an enjoyable experience that puzzle lovers should sample	Read review
Rapid Reviews UK	Daryl Leach	4 / 5 stars	06-29-2021	“You cannot change the past, but you can always change your perspective”. It’s a quote that feels fitting for Maquette, both with its gameplay and its narrative. The puzzler from developer Graceful Decay doesn’t just give players a myriad of challenging enigmas to solve that requires them to use different perspectives to alter the objects around them, but it also tells a love story that’s somewhat bittersweet. That’s not a spoiler, by the way, but something that’s addressed in the intro.	Read review
Saving Content	Evan Rowe	4 / 5 stars	03-12-2021	I want to love Maquette. It’s is a solid puzzle game whose moments of brilliance are regularly interrupted by stumbles and rough spots. It soars much more often than it dips, but there are enough times where things don’t land that the experience can feel disruptive. While some extra time to polish some of the rough edges would have been majorly beneficial, it’s still a wholly unique piece that merits your time and attention. Just know going in that it’s imperfect, as all of us are, and try not to let those little details get under your skin.	Read review
The Game Crater	Jayden Hellyar	7 / 10	03-10-2021	Maquette is a beautiful, artistic puzzle game waiting to tell a story. The concept is good, but the implementation leaves a lot to be desired. At times, it can have glitches and feel a little clunky, but if you can overlook that, you might find Maquette’s story is just what you need.	Read review
TheSixthAxis	Aran Suddi	8 / 10	03-01-2021	Maquette is a great puzzle game that uses perspective and out of the box thinking very well. The story of Michael and Kenzie is neatly entwined within these puzzle, adding heart and soul to the game as you make your way through the world, big and small.	Read review
Twinfinite	Chris Jecks	3 / 5 stars	03-15-2021	If you can pick up Maquette from free as March 2021’s PlayStation Plus title, it’s difficult to argue against. But if you’re looking to pay full price for this 3-hour puzzler, you’re money’s better spent elsewhere.	Read review
Unboxholics	Γιώργος Πρίτσκας	Recommended	03-08-2021	Maquette is definitely not perfect. However, its very special concept, its wonderful aesthetic and some inspiring moments, were enough to keep me until the end and give it an interesting personality.	Read review
VideoGamer	Josh Wise	6 / 10	03-03-2021	The puzzles compel, while the narrative stalls, and there is something worthy in that mismatch. I only wish that breakup at its core yielded something worth holding on to.	Read review
WayTooManyGames	Heidi Hawes	7.5 / 10	03-09-2021	The story is one that we’ve all seen before, but the performances from Bryce Dallas Howard and Seth Gabel make it easier to get attached to. Most of the puzzles are beyond easy, but this is a game that’s more about the journey than about stretching your mind muscles. Some might think this game is too short, taking only about three to four hours to complete, but I think its length was perfect.	Read review
WellPlayed	Kieron Verbrugge	8 / 10	03-02-2021	A unique, thoughtful narrative puzzler with a mind-bending recursive twist that succeeds by focusing more on evoking its themes than unpacking them. Some minor lapses in polish aside it’s a short, sharp hit of emotion and wonder that should be on every indie puzzler fan’s list.	Read review
Worth Playing	Cody Medellin	8 / 10	03-12-2021	Maquette is well worth experiencing. The use of recursive puzzles is fresh because so few games use it, and even though you can stumble upon the solution to some puzzles, most of them feel clever	Read review

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