The Maw

So you’re an oddly feminine looking alien called frank, controlling a little purple monster made of goo called the maw and your job is to guide him around various levels in an effort to make him eat everything in sight.

The game looks very cartoony and stylish and the visuals go a long way towards setting the extremely daft tone of what’s to come.


The game plays like an old school banjo kazooie style platforming game mixed with a genuinely funny, extremely cutesy innocent sense of humour that you won’t be able to resist unless you’re dead inside and your heart is just a broken shell. There are a few little puzzles dotted around the game here and there that all rely on giving the maw new abilities by making him eat certain creatures and absorb their traits… like setting things on fire with molten lava breath or charging at blockades. All of this is pretty basic and will never really make you stop to think for longer than a few seconds, but somehow this all works and adds up to a charming little 800 point game that you may only play once or twice but is definitely worth every penny.


It’s extremely refreshing to find a game as adorably simplistic as the maw at a time when we’re being bombarded with realism and exploited with over priced arcade and community games with hardly any effort in them.

There’s also something really heart warming about finding yourself getting attached to a character that’s nothing more than a little purple ball of goo, as he follows you around the levels with his tongue hanging out and a smile on his face, waiting excitedly for his next meal.

Twisted pixel have created something very special here with The Maw and proved that a game doesn’t have to be overly complex to leave a lasting impression on you and charm you for a few hours. I can only hope that we’ll see more developers follow the trend and make arcade games with as much personality and charm in them as this.

This is exactly the kind of arcade game that we need to see more off, and I really, really hope that others will follow the trend in the near future and take the time to make something with as much obvious love and care as The Maw.

There are a lot worse arcade games out there than The Maw that you could spend your money on. Sure it may not be the most complex, riveting game you’ve ever played and you may only get a few hours of fun out of it, but the adorable sight of The Maw as he beams proudly at you after consuming every single creature in the area, is a beautiful little moment that will stay with you till you’re old, gray and bitter, and it’s well worth the asking price.