It’s a good thing that Maquette’s game world is so stunning, and appreciably diverse, as there is a lot of back and forth to solving puzzles. With changes in the model reflecting instantaneously in reality, that key will suddenly appear super-sized in the regular proportioned universe. As an example, a key from the regular-sized world can be dropped into the small, replica world. Players can resize objects by “filtering” them through the repeating, nested environments. It gets a bit more complicated than that. It’s a little hard to explain (watch the official gameplay walkthrough below for a better understanding), but, basically, players manipulate miniature building models – the maquettes of the title – to alter their regular-sized equivalent, and vice versa. People drawn to the game are almost certainly there for the game’s striking puzzle component. Maquette’s love story still feels like a pleasant bonus, though.

It’s just a pity that the game focusses on Michael’s development alone, and doesn’t delve into Kenzie’s side of events. These moments have a real-world tang that lingers, and while Maquette has nothing fresh to say about the nature of love, its observations ring true. That said, the couple are less insufferable when it comes to depicting lulls and lows in their relationship. It’s easy to see why they could grate some players. Warning upfront: Michael and Kenzie are divisive characters – peak San Fran hipsters who meet over spilled drinks in a coffee shop, and would rather sit painting together in a park rather than going to a friend’s party. These fanciful creations are what players experience. Tightening the link between story and setting is the fact that Michael and Kenzie bond over dream worlds collaboratively created in Michael’s sketchbook.

This may sound like a bizarre marriage of ideas, but it actually works well as a way to reflect the evolving relationship of the game’s unseen protagonists Michael and Kenzie (voiced by real-life couple Seth Gabel and Bryce Dallas Howard). Think Manifold Garden meets 500 Days of Summer. Like Maquette’s primary concept of worlds nested in worlds, embedded in the puzzle game is a hipster millennial romance, complete with an indie-folk soundtrack. What looks from a distance like a stately, emotionally-detached set of cerebral challenges, is actually quite a bit more. Now, continuing the Annapurna “surprise and delight” tradition is first-person recursive puzzler Maquette, the debut title from San Francisco developers Graceful Decay. That family game with a raccoon swallowing up the countryside? Beneath its cute exterior bears a viciously wry heart. With indie games published by Annapurna Interactive, you can almost always expect the unexpected.

Maquette walkthrough ps5