Maize is an "absurdist" adventure about sentient corn

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Every now and then a piece of email lands in my inbox that I cannot ignore. Like this, for instance: “Maize is a first-person adventure game about what happens when two scientists misinterpret a memo from the US Government and create sentient corn.” Sir, you have my attention.

“Maize is an absurdist, first-person adventure with a cornucopia of highbrow puzzles to solve, talking oddities to meet, and mysteries to be harvested,” developer Finish Line Games said, that will take its cues from Monty Python and “the funnier episodes of The X-Files.” Players will explore a farm and an underground research facility, and makes friends with characters including a “grumpy Russian knock-off” of Teddy Ruxpin.

That's the extent of it so far—even the site at maizethegame.com has nothing beyond the promise of “coming soon”—and Finish Line's previous project, an HD remake of the 2001 combat racer Cel Damage, offers no insight into what Maize might bring to the table. It could be a conventional first-person comedy game, or it might be something more akin to Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist.

Either way, this is definitely one of those games that I really, really hope lives up to its promise. We'll keep our ear to the ground (Get it? “Ear” to the ground? Because it's corn, right?) and let you know when we learn more.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.