Maquette Review (hawkhill)
Haven't finished the game yet, but I made sure I read a lot of reviews before buying this, since it's very mixed.
Deciding whether or not you want this game depends on what you're down with.
If you enjoy lovely art direction/atmosphere, decent writing with great voice acting, and okay use of recursion, then this will be a very pleasant experience for you, as it is for me.
If you want something that provides comfortable controls, complex/clever puzzles, and an unpredictable story, that's not really what you'll get.
This game has puzzles. But like many said, they're mostly simple with usually obvious solutions.
But many people also said the world doesn't match the story, and I STRONGLY disagree.
The use of colors, lighting, music, and locations match the feelings that this story goes through very well. Memories represented in an imaginary world we escape to, while reflecting on how we saw everything. Several visual metaphors are even used for puzzles.
As for the story itself, it's fairly simple and predictable (so far. I haven't finished it yet, but reviews said the rest is simple), but executed very well by the solid writing of the dialogue, fantastic voice acting, and incredible cutscenes of animated drawings. I feel the puzzles are there for the sake of some gameplay, but mainly focuses on telling a story, kinda like What Remains of Edith Finch, which I personally dig.
Now for the more objective issues.
Controls for moving objects can be a chore. It's easy to forget what button is for dropping, holding out, and putting back. And when holding out an object, you move slow, and can't move your camera if you get too close to a surface.
It can also be easy to miss clear solutions if you don't look closely enough, like gem-shaped holes that you need to make objects small enough for, or platforming over some rocks to get outside of your zone. Puzzles like these aren't good as much as they are confusing.
Overall, if the lack of much real puzzle gameplay, and stiff controls won't get in your way of enjoying this pretty game and its decently told story, then it's a solid recommend on sale. I got it for 10 bucks.