I used to look very married at first glance: Australia. It’s a reality TV show in which two strangers meet for the first time at the altar, say ‘I do’ and then dive into married life for the first time. As one might expect, it often does not take long before the honeymoon phase gives way to disappointment.
It sums up Maquette, a first-person puzzle game, where everything in the world is small at the same time, but also very large. And as you unfold it with the powers of your intellect, you become subject to the story of Michael and Kenzie’s relationship. It is one that starts rosy but gradually empties over time. The feelings go from big to small. I would say my own lies somewhere in between on a solid medium.
Maquette’s world is recursive, which is a great way of saying that things can be made small or large because you are looking at a world model in which you are standing at the same time. And it’s up to you to manipulate this ability, select that environment, and move forward.
At the very beginning of Maquette you come to a square to discover your world in miniature. Put things in this model, and it will crash into massive form from the air. Conversely, it will appear in the thumbnail world as a much smaller object, so if you pick up something you just picked up in this Lego scale domain, you have a teenage version of it. I felt a deep sense of accomplishment when I turned a giant key into a giant key by inserting it into the miniature world. A quick turn on the model and bam! I made myself an improvised bridge. My brain cells were in ecstasy. And yet my face was lined with pain.
Why? Because I knew I had to work through more of Michael and Kenzie’s love story, and it’s not as compelling as the human drama of Married At First Sight: Australia. As you progress in Maquette, you are confronted with a scene or the dialogue of the couples on the walls. They say creepy things like, ‘I pushed you with my flat white while we giggled, and some of it spilled on your vans, but you just playfully kicked me in the shin. I saw you smile that smile of yours. Oh, I loved your smiley smile. ‘
However, the voice acting is strong, and I understand it’s about this deep emotional arc about how relationships can change, people have to compromise, and so on. I mean, I saw everything in MAFS. But in the show, it feels somewhat real (even though it breaks my heart knowing that a lot of it is performed), while in Maquette it’s pure romcom guff. It’s as if the developers were trying so hard and mundane to nail it, that they somehow hammered through the non-fiction wall to hyper-fiction. Everything is so idyllic and predictable, and I’m convinced no one has ever had a relationship like Michael and Kenzie.
If you can get past the cheese, Maquette’s surprise is not so bad. It gives you that “aha!” moments, all of which are related to making something big, then small – or vice versa. You need to pay close attention to details in your area, such as whether a sphere may pass through space, or if you can use something massive to climb to new heights. There is a bit of repetition early on with an endless variety of keys and balls to fiddle with, but over time things get more creative.
I mean, there are still a fair amount of balls and keys, but the ways you use them are getting interesting. You may need to think a little more about the angle of your posts, or the glow above them may mean something.
But the game does not explicitly tell you anything, so it can be very frustrating if you are not sure what the next step entails. There were many, very times when I bounced between small country and large country, but put things in the wrong place, or shrunk something I was not meant to, or just did not know what to go for. Puzzle veterans will probably be fine, but those looking for a cold time may struggle with the lack of direction.
I do think that Maquette’s whole recursive arrangement is finally getting tired. Right at the end, there are moments that focus less on confusing and more on the storytelling. I still had to listen to it creepily, but the times when I did not wonder – like when I was walking along a street that gradually came out in front of me – felt like moments of resignation. I’ve had enough of the big keys.
And despite my look at Maquette’s story, the way his world responds to the unraveling of Michael and Kenzie’s relationship is pretty impressive. As things break down between them, the sloppy castles and their colorful exterior give way to darker surroundings. There are thick trees, houses locked behind tower gates, and a darker, grayer atmosphere. And when you move and manipulate your environment, you physically feel in a relationship that is literally crumbling before your eyes.
But in the end, Maquette thoroughly flushed out his gimmick and his story. Just like the relationship between Michael and Kenzie, it started well, but carried me over time. Very far from Season 6 of Married at First Sight: Australia.