I’m a sucker for games with an odd premise. When I saw that Maize was on the way to Xbox and PS4, and I watched the trailer 2 words came to mind. Talking Corn. SOLD! I had to get my hands on it.

Developed by Finish Line Games here in my home province of Ontario, Canada, Maize is a first person linear puzzle adventure with old school point and click gameplay mechanics. While navigating the different levels, you’ll come across various collectibles as well as items to be used in puzzles. The puzzles are simple. When I say simple I mean you collect items, and you know exactly where to go with the pieces. You’d have to be rather dense but the simplicity but just sort of fit with the game and I think it was done by design not by accident as you’ll likely come to this conclusion later on.

Maize starts the player in the middle of a corn field. Unsure of who you’re playing, why you’re there the game sort of gives a feeling of unease which perplexed me because I’d seen the launch trailers and I was expecting it to be full of slapstick comedy from the get go. It’s not long before you meet the sentient stalks of corn and make your way into a secret underground lab. It’s here that we build Vladdy. An ultra pissed off Russian Teddy Ruxpin castaway who ends up being your side kick. Make no mistake. Vladdy is cute but he hates you. And think you’re an idiot and stupid with a stupid face. On occasion you’ll need to send Vladdy to do your biding. He’s less than enthused about it and makes no bones about it.. Idiot.

Why are you so mean to me Vladdy?

The game was created in the Unreal engine and it looks pretty good though I did notice some frame rate stutter from time to time. I loved the character design. From the stalks of corn to Vladdy to the big bad guy with his goofy lisp.

Every now and then it’s great to take a step away from the traditional FPS kill everything with a heartbeat. The characters were fun, the puzzles were acceptably simple and I think that deep down, Vladdy actually really likes me doesn’t really think that I’m a stupid idiot. If you like silly – don’t be a stupid idiot. Give Maize a try.

Maize is available now on Xbox One, PS4 and Steam for $19.99

J