4Gamers – This is Belgian

During GameForce, a number of Belgian games were presented with support from VAF, FLEGA and games.brussels. Because we know not all of you were able to come to GameForce, we’ll be taking a closer look at them on 4Gamers. Today we’re playing Maze’em, from Slappy Inc.

Maze’em is a puzzle game about mazes. All this wrapped in a nice jacket and a world where different inhabitants always have something for you to do.

The gameplay in Maze’em revolves around collecting objects inside the maze. You are always dropped into a level that contains one or more items that you must pick up. Of course, this is not possible. So you have to deal with the maze by adding new pieces.

You always start a maze with one extra piece. You can twist, turn and push that piece into the maze in certain places. Naturally, this takes another piece out of the maze, which you can then use elsewhere. Your goal is to capture all the items containing your character in the fewest possible number of steps. The fewer steps you need, the more stars you get.

Each time you place a piece in the maze, you can move your leg closer to your target. The path you can take is very clearly laid out and that is a good thing. After all, it’s not always easy to maintain a complete overview, despite the various options for moving the camera.

Maze’em sounds like a game where you’re simply sent from one level to the next, but Slappy Inc. I decided to handle it a little differently. I tried to create a fairly living world, where you can meet interesting characters who tell small stories and give you additional quests.

It’s an option that some players will really like, because it breaks up the puzzle a bit and you can also dig up little secrets in the game world yourself. Others will find it an unnecessary distraction. We had fun discovering the additional characters.

Visually, Slappy Inc. By drawing. Nice style all the way, by the way, which fits perfectly with the cozy puzzle feeling that Maze’em brings. You can also play the game in multiplayer mode, where you have to take into account not only your decisions but also those of your opponents, which can quickly lead to chaos.