Maze Blaze

Genre: 2-Stick Shooter / Roguelike

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Maze Blaze is a 2-Stick Shooter with Roguelike elements released in 2022 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. This game has players entering a randomly-generated maze, blasting away at hostile alien enemies, and collecting upgrades that will ideally help you to continue fighting on for as long as possible.

Probably the most distinctive thing about Maze Blaze is its presentation, which not only uses neon-infused 3D visuals backed by a repetitive but catchy techno-style soundtrack that makes for a nice futuristic look, but also makes use of a visual mechanic where the area around you is constantly raising up and dropping down out of view as you approach it, giving the entire world an undulating effect that’s really distinctive and just a tad unsettling. This visual mechanic also works well with the game’s maze theme, as it further hides from the player areas that are too far away, really encouraging the player to do their best to memorize the layout of what they see to maximize their course through the labyrinthine levels.

As a side-note, I also have to compliment this game’s little comments and descriptions when picking up new Roguelike-style power-ups, which really make you question the best ways to use the strange artifacts you stumble across. You come across a disembodied robotic hand, should you shake it, or attach it to your weapon? You see a potted four leaf clover, do you eat it, or just keep it on your person? It’s almost like the game is forcing you to ask yourself which little bit of “it only makes sense in a videogame” logic you believe makes more sense here, and I appreciate the added bit of personality this adds to the game, though sadly these moments seem a bit too few and far between for my tastes.

However, I think the real problems this game runs into are in its gameplay. At its core, this is a decent 2-Stick Shooter, but it’s hampered by a dreadfully slow walking speed. You do have a run button and a dash button, but the dash button has a cooldown that takes far too long, and the run button is frustratingly assigned to the B button on the gamepad, an assignment you evidently cannot change, which makes it difficult to use both this and the right analog stick (needed to aim) at the same time. I suppose you could alternately use the single-stick controls, but there you’re basically sacrificing the quality of your controls because the game wont let you reassign a button.

Another issue here is that the maze-based nature of the game’s level design really doesn’t seem conducive to a 2-stick shooter, as it means you’ll mostly be in narrow corridors that give you little room to dodge incoming fire, and you’ll often be trying to jump out from corners to fire when you’re only just out far enough to see the enemy, and jump back in, and it’s not especially easy to judge what angle will cut off your shots and what won’t.

Because of these issues with the gameplay, Maze Blaze doesn’t quite play as well as you would hope a 2-Stick Shooter to work. It’s certainly still got its fair share of positive qualities, but this definitely feels like it could have been a better game. Fans of 2-Stick Shooter Roguelikes definitely have better games to choose from on Nintendo Switch, but I suppose this one has enough unique charms that it may be worth a look too.

tl;dr – Maze Blaze is a 2-Stick Shooter with Roguelike elements where players move through a neon-soaked maze with corridors that raise into view as they approach, giving the game a very distinctive visual look. Unfortunately, the slow walking speed, inability to change button assignments, and the way the maze-based level design conflicts with the 2-Stick Shooter gameplay all hold this game back, though it still has some positive qualities that may make some players want to give it a look despite these flaws.

Grade: C+

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