The Maw follows the misadventures of an alien astronaut named Frank. Captured by Bounty Hunters, he is thrown into a cell alongside the enigmatic creature known as The Maw. The ship crashes soon after, releasing both Frank and The Maw from the clutches of the Bounty Hunters. Forming a friendship with The Maw, Frank utilizes his newfound friend's unusual powers to begin navigating across the world in search of a way back home. They are not alone, however, and the Bounty Hunters will be doing everything in their power to regain control of The Maw, as he has been labeled the most dangerous creature in the universe.

The very first thing that you notice when starting up The Maw is the incredible amount of detail that the developers put into every model and animation. This is easily the best animated game I have ever played. Despite being little more than a mouth, The Maw manages to convey his emotions perfectly. Whether frightened by a carnivorous plant, excited at the prospect of more food, or satisfied after a nice meal, his expressions are dead-on perfect. The same goes for his handler Frank, who has less of a bestial cuteness around him and more of a childlike naivety.

The other critters in the environment, while not quite to the same level of charisma as The Maw or Frank, are animated just as well. Everything is cute and bouncy, not really displaying an overwhelming amount of menace. Even the Bounty Hunters, which are the closest thing to a villain the game musters, are funny and cartoonish. Their turrets bounce while deploying. The strange electric bees buzz around adorably with an unknown sense of purpose. This is animation at its finest, and it doesn't need bulging muscles to pull it off.

The overall graphical feel of the game is that of a living cartoon. The incredible animation, smooth and clean models, and some of the best texture work I have ever seen in a game all combine to bring together a very difficult art aesthetic that not many developers have done. Make no mistake; you will be amazed by the quality of the visuals in The Maw. Everything pops is a vibrant way and has a distinct look, which is a wonderful change of the brown and gray "realism" that a lot of games push nowadays.

The sound, unfortunately, doesn't quite live up to this extremely high standard. The soundtrack is forgettable mood music that does little to entice the player into its musical depths. While this may be preferable, it feels phoned in rather than incredible. However, the vocalizations of the characters are spot on, down to Frank's childish cry of, "Maaaaaaaaaaaw!" every time he wishes for the little guy to get near. The sound effects straddle this, ranging from spot-on (the chomping sound The Maw makes while eating) to mediocre (the slamming noise or the steaming noise).

The gameplay of The Maw is not the major point of the game, it seems: that is the visuals and story. However, The Maw is a well-designed platformer that manages to mix old and new elements in a distinctly modern way. This game is not just eye-candy. It's just as fun to play as it is to watch! The game revolves around controlling your little friend, who is indestrucible, can eat anything, and has infinite capacity for growth. He also takes on the properties of whatever he eats (besides Yumyums, the delicious little guys), which allows him to solve the puzzles littered around the landscape. The controls are simple, consisting of using your leash to grab things as well as lead around The Maw. There is nothing especially revolutionary about the gameplay, but the puzzles are very clever, making The Maw grow is extremely satisfying, and the story is quite endearing. The Maw is the gaming equivalent of comfort food: uncomplicated, delicious, and nostalgic.

The Maw is not without problems, however. The only gameplay problem is that the game is too short. You can breeze through the game in a few hours of casual play, and the achievements, 100% eaten award, and finding the most delicious bug can only sustain the game so long. There is downloadable content in the form of new levels, thankfully, but it does not extend the game a significant amount. The two technical problems that were noticed was the mouse sensitivity and widescreen display modes. There is no way to adjust mouse sensitivity, and the sensitivity is so low that turning around is a gigantic pain. It seems like a way to force players to use a gamepad. The other problem is that the game defaults to widescreen, which means that no matter what resolution you have it set at, if you are using a 4:3 ratio monitor, you will see the black widescreen bars at the top and bottom of the screen.

The Maw is an incredible achievement, both for the industry and for Twisted Pixel. It shows that games can be well-animated and child-like without losing their appeal to adults. It shows that a couple of guys working outside the normal flow can update the platformer model for the modern age. It shows that independent games are just as fun and good-looking as their mainstream bretheren. The Maw is a game that should be played by everyone, enthusiast and outsider alike. You can pick up The Maw from Steam or Greenhouse for $10, and the deleted scenes DLC from the same place. Want to try before you buy? Big Download has the demo available for download!