The Maw is a delightful action platformer released in 2009 by Twisted Pixel Games, who has gone on to release a slew of really tight, inventive downloadable games. The game centers around space adventurer Frank who comes upon a cute little one-eyed pink monster (heh) while being held captive on an Imperial ship. After making their escape, Frank becomes tethered to the Maw by an electrofied gauntlet, allowing him to guide the creature around like a guard dog. It becomes clear pretty quickly why the Maw was imprisoned, for he has an insatiable appetite for anything and everything, with each new meal causing the Maw to grow in size.

This game was an absolute delight, combining all of the elements that I love from the action platformer genre popularized by Nintendo, Rare, and Sony’s third party studios. The gameplay is really fun, introducing new enemy types and abilities at a pretty frequent clip, such as Frank learning to use his arm tether to sling enemies, hijack ships, and grappling-hook his way around the beautiful alien landscapes. Who doesn’t love a grappling hook, am I right? The Maw also sees quite a bit of progression, not only by growing in size, but also by absorbing the powers from defeated enemies during boss fights.

This game is really charming, and has a refreshingly colorful and bouncy animation style. The characters are undeniably cute, and have funny interactions during cutscenes. The game is not an incredibly long experience, as it can be completed in under 10 hours — including all three DLC expansions. Despite its short running time, the game is full of content, and keeps the game progression moving along at a comfortable, natural pace. It’s not often that we see new platformer franchises being released these days (with the exception of the mildly well-recieved Knack on the PS4), and although The Maw is by no means a spring chicken, it is still as fun and refreshing as the day it was released.

Highly recommended.

The Maw is a delightful action platformer released in 2009 by Twisted Pixel Games, who has gone on to release a slew of really tight, inventive downloadable games. The game centers around space adventurer Frank who comes upon a cute little one-eyed pink monster (heh) while being held captive on an Imperial ship. After making their escape, Frank becomes tethered to the Maw by an electrofied gauntlet, allowing him to guide the creature around like a guard dog. It becomes clear pretty quickly why the Maw was imprisoned, for he has an insatiable appetite for anything and everything, with each new meal causing the Maw to grow in size. This game was an absolute delight, combining all of the elements that I love from the action platformer genre popularized by Nintendo, Rare, and Sony’s third party studios. The gameplay is really fun, introducing new enemy types and abilities at a pretty frequent clip, such as Frank learning to use his arm tether to sling enemies, hijack ships, and grappling-hook his way around the beautiful alien landscapes. Who doesn’t love a grappling hook, am I right? The Maw also sees quite a bit of progression, not only by growing in size, but also by absorbing the powers from defeated enemies during boss fights. This game is really charming, and has a refreshingly colorful and bouncy animation style. The characters are undeniably cute, and have funny interactions during cutscenes. The game is not an incredibly long experience, as it can be completed in under 10 hours — including all three DLC expansions. Despite its short running time, the game is full of content, and keeps the game progression moving along at a comfortable, natural pace. It’s not often that we see new platformer franchises being released these days (with the exception of the mildly well-recieved Knack on the PS4), and although The Maw is by no means a spring chicken, it is still as fun and refreshing as the day it was released. Highly recommended.