Maquette review — A haunting puzzle game about love and loss

Something was amiss in Maquette’s idyllic landscape. The leaves traded their pastel reds and purples for more muted tones. The trees were monstrous, their limbs twisted and full of thorns. Even the houses, once pristine and full of promise, were falling apart, as if someone stopped caring for them a long time ago.

This was just one of many moments in Maquette that shows the interconnection between its diorama-like world and its story. Out now on PlayStation 5 (the version I reviewed), PlayStation 4, and PC, Maquette is an inventive puzzle game that follows the relationship of Kenzie and Michael, a couple who lives in San Francisco.