[Gaming] The Maw

In a world where major developers are focused on discovering the grittiest possible contrasts of brown on brown, some of the most charming gaming experiences to come out of the past few years have come in the form of unassuming "indie" games released through digital distribution. Many of these may be overlooked by gamers, especially amongst other big-name and/or hyped-to-hell downloads. The Maw is a middleground indie game - one recognized, but unhyped - that's most definitely worth a look or two.

Players assume the role of Frank, a crash-landed alien in control of a creature named Maw who seems to just want a snack. Well, make it a lot of snacks. Frank guides Maw between meals, and the two form sort of a symbiosis to get through puzzles. This gameplay could almost be looked at as a melding of the core concepts in Katamari and ICO - though making direct comparisons like that is doing The Maw a disservice.

The game has an environmental and gameplay aesthetic to it that brings a feeling of nostalgia for some of the more classic N64 platformers (albeit much prettier, of course) - it blends simple-but-clever 3-D level design with also-simple-but-clever puzzles and compelling collect-it-all objectives. Despite his one-trick schtick, Maw himself is an endlessly entertaining character (in the same way as, say, the Raving Rabbids).

If you have Xbox Live, give the demo a download and see for yourself. It's a short demo, but you can expect larger environments later on in the game.