The Maw (video game)

The Maw
Xbox Live Arcade cover
Developer(s)	Twisted Pixel Games Hothead Games (PC) Bluepin (PS Vita)
Publisher(s)	Capcom (PlayStation) Microsoft Game Studios
Composer(s)	Winifred Phillips, music produced by Winnie Waldron
Engine	Beard+Razor
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows Xbox 360 PlayStation Vita PlayStation 3
Release date(s)	Xbox Live Arcade January 21, 2009 Microsoft Windows March 9, 2009 PlayStation Vita October 30, 2009 PlayStation December 31, 2009
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Xbox Live Arcade
January 21, 2009
Microsoft Windows
March 9, 2009
PlayStation Vita
October 30, 2009
PlayStation

The Maw is a 2009 action-adventure video game developed by Twisted Pixel Games. Released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita and Microsoft Windows, the game centers on the extraterrestrial Frank and a purple, amorphous creature called The Maw, who have crash-landed their spacecraft on an alien planet. The player assumes the role of Frank and directs The Maw—which can take on the abilities of objects and fauna it consumes—via a leash.

Critical reception of The Maw was above average; both the Xbox 360 and Windows versions hold a rating of 75/100 on Metacritic, and respective ratings of 76.06% and 73.33% on GameRankings. The game won the 2008 Audience Choice award at PAX10, and was a finalist at the 2009 Independent Games Festival. As of year-end 2011, The Maw has moved more than 237,000 units.

The Maw is set in a futuristic universe. The game begins with Frank, a pacifist bipedal alien, and The Maw, a purple one-eyed creature with small- medium teeth, both having been captured by the Galactic Bounty Hunters. For unknown reasons the ship on which they are being held crash lands on a strange planet, killing all the crew. Alone, they set out for a communications tower in the distance while on the run from additional Galactic Bounty Hunters who have come to recapture them.

In The Maw players control Frank, who in turn controls The Maw via an electrical leash that he uses keep him at his side. Gameplay involves guiding The Maw in specific directions to clear obstacles and complete levels. The Maw also has the ability to eat objects and creatures, taking on some of the properties of the thing it eats, such as breathing fire, flying, or simply growing in size. Players then use The Maw's increased abilities to navigate previously impossible sections of a level.