Twisted Pixel The Maw review

The Maw, like World of Goo (see Top 5 games, left), is an independently developed game that’s distributed through online download sites.

You play Frank, a little alien that has been captured by the evil Galactic Council. When your prison ship crashes, you meet the only other survivor, The Maw. He’s a little purple blob with one eye, a big mouth and a very large appetite. As he eats, he gets bigger, and he’ll munch on almost anything.

Fortunately, Frank is able to direct this one-eyed eating machine, and this is key to solving the puzzles. The Maw can take on the properties of certain creatures he consumes. For example, feed him a fiery animal and he turns into a flame-spewing orange blob. You can then use this ability to burn some nasty plant-based creatures that stand in your path.

Each level presents many such puzzles, which you must solve using The Maw’s abilities. What’s more, you can’t leave a level until he reaches a certain size. There are other achievements to unlock by clearing entire levels or completing other tasks. There’s not much in the way of plot – your aim is simply to escape the planet.

The Maw is fun for adults to play, although it’s obviously designed with kids in mind, too. The puzzles are suitably challenging after a little hand-holding at the start to help you learn about Frank and The Maw’s abilities. Our biggest complaint is that the game is far too short – its eight levels will last only three or four hours. Currently, two additional levels are available for download, each of which costs £1.10, and more are promised. You can access these directly from the main menu, or play them as part of the campaign.

The Maw is great fun, but we wish there were more of it. For £7 it’s decent value, but the levels have little replay potential. If you get bitten by this novel little game, buying additional levels is practically inevitable.