Originally published January 18th 2015 on the Seafoam Gaming forums

Title: Maze

System: Wii U (eShop)

Price: $2.99

Release date: 01/08/2014

The main game/story

In this exploration game, you are a young man who is tasked with finding the oracle, and in order to do that you must go through mazes and find your way to the end. A pretty simple concept for a simple game.

Graphics

This game uses 3D graphics, similar to the developer’s earlier title, The Letter. Thankfully the quality of these graphics have improved greatly since last time, as the polygons look more smooth and the menus are MUCH nicer than The Letter’s menus ever were. For a game of this price, it gets the job done.

Music and sound effects:

Nothing too memorable in this department. There’s music, but it’s pretty forgettable and simple. The jump sound effect can also get irritating after a while, but thankfully you can shut it off via the options.

Gameplay

This game is a fun little throwback to maze games in the past, the first one that comes to mind is the Sega Master System version of Phantasy Star with it’s 3D mazes. Control is simple, as you just move around, collect all of the coins in the level and move onto the exit! It’s a very simple game, but it’s still a fun casual experience nonetheless, with quite a few worlds to go through with cool level design (Though Maze 5 in the first world is still frustrating).

There’s even multiplayer, where you and a friend race to the finish by collecting coins and making your way to the exit. I had a ton of fun with this mode as me and my friend would rush to the “random finish” item right before the other person went to the exit. It’s a shame that mode doesn’t have too many levels, however.

Conclusion

In the end, Maze is a decent addition to the Wii U eShop library. It’s a HUGE improvement in quality compared to Treefall Studios’ first game, The Letter, and it’s quite fun as well! This game certainly surprised me as the last time I saw a jump in quality like this from a developer was when RCMADIAX went from the extremely short first edition of Blok Drop U to the addictive and amazing Poker Dice Solitare Future.

If the developer keeps making fun and simple experiences like this, then I think he could become a trusted name on the eShop for fun games to wind down. I give Maze a 7 out of 10, and recommend it to anyone who has good memories of playing a maze game. Snail Maze, Phantasy star, paper mazes, etc.

Thanks to Treefall Studios for the review code.