Ship v Maze Review (PC)

Ship v Maze is about as simple as they come; guide a ship through a maze, and try to last as long as possible until you hit a wall, at which point we hit restart and try again. It is, by nature, incredibly pick up and playable, moreish, and offers bite sized challenges that have suited me perfectly between other, bigger games.

The mazes are made out of various set shapes and configurations, with each new attempt having a randomly generated sequence of parts meshed together. This keeps runs fresh and prevents us from simply learning a level beat by beat. It does mean some runs can feel a bit easier or harder depending on what sequence the game comes up with, but it never feels unfair or too easy at all. 

Mazes might have more circular geometry, or moving parts, or zig zag corridors, or any other manner of combinations, though each level is themed around a certain type so we’re not completely in the dark going in. 

There are three speeds on offer too. Slow is the best place to start, though for my money Fast offers the best balance of challenge and speed. Insane is, well, insane and will test even the fastest reflexes.

In order to make it through the mazes, we control the ship by simply guiding it left or right. There are no brakes, and acceleration is handled automatically, gradually speeding up the longer we survive. The turning circle of the ship is finely tuned for the sizes of the maze, creating many moments where I scraped around a corner by a hair’s breadth, and the ship is responsive enough to have us pulling off quick maneuvers on some of the harder stages.

Stages are unlocked by surviving for 60 seconds on the previous one, and even on slow that is not always as simple as it sounds. 

I began on Fast and was adamant that I’d carry on with that speed even as some of the early levels repeatedly got the better of me. However I had to concede at a point, and was pleased to learn that clearing 45 seconds on Slow unlocks the Fast speed on that level as well. I have no idea if I’ll be able to survive for long on Insane, but the pick up and play nature of the game means I can always try when I have 5 minutes free.

I’ve played this almost exclusively on the ROG Xbox Ally X and while it might not push that handheld to its technological limits, it has proven to be a perfect place to play. This is exactly the sort of game I would have spent hours playing back on the Game Boy when I was a kid, and playing on the Ally X evokes some of that same feeling, only in a bit more vivid colour.

Of course, it will only last as long as you want to challenge yourself (and the leaderboards) but for a little palette cleanser in between other titles, Ship v Maze is a great choice. 

Conclusion

Short, sweet, simple and challenging arcade action that is easy to pick up and play, and very moreish thanks to super fast restarts egging us on for ‘one more go’.

This game was tested and reviewed on PC (via Steam). All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by the publisher.