The story of Maui is often overshadowed by Disney’s Moana because people get Disney fever and forget that many Disney characters have their own mythology. Play on Worlds offers a refreshing story of Maui with their next game, Maui the Shapeshifter.
Unveiled during the Future Games Show at Gamescom on August 21, 2024, this 2D hand-drawn Metroidvania invites players to experience the rich folklore of Polynesian mythology in a way that deviates from the Disney depiction.
Maui is much more than the fun demigod portrayed by Disney in Moana and Disney Dreamlight Valley. He’s not here to help you upgrade your axe. Maui is a cultural hero – someone who changes the world through an invention or discovery – who is known for his cunning ways and legendary feats, such as slowing down the Sun or fishing islands from the ocean’s depths. Play on Worlds’ Maui the Shapeshifter delves into these stories, offering a deeper exploration of Maui’s character as a youthful, yet powerful, figure.
Here, Maui is not the fat man we saw on screen, but a teenager on the brink of maturity, navigating the challenges of his world – a story that feels almost like a coming-of-age story, if demigods have an arrival from. -old stories…?
About Maui the Shapeshifter
For those unfamiliar, Metroidvania is a subgenre of action-adventure games that emphasize exploration, puzzle solving, and gaining skills that unlock new areas of the game. Maui the Shapeshifter presents players with an open-world map set on a vibrant Polynesian island. The game’s sprawling biomes, from jungles to volcanoes, are all hand-drawn, creating a visually stunning world with many secrets to discover.
One of the amazing features of the game is the ability to transform into various animals, each with unique abilities that are essential to overcome obstacles and enemies. Do you want to soar through the sky? Shapeshift into Hoary Bat. Need to break ground? Guess you’re belly bulging like a seal. These transformations enrich the gameplay and tie back to Maui’s mythological mastery of shapeshifting.
Players will be able to swing Maui’s iconic magic fishing hook. It’s not just for battle; the hook will let players enjoy some environmental manipulation and use it to solve a puzzle! As players progress, they can upgrade the hook’s stats, making it even more useful in their quest to protect the island’s wildlife from the corrupting influence of Cemyk, an otherworldly malevolent force.
Maui the Shapeshifter appears to be an homage to Polynesian mythology, presenting Maui in a light that is both true to his roots and innovative in its execution. It is a game that invites players to rediscover a legend, not through the lens of Western animation, but through the immersive and interactive world of a meticulously crafted Metroidvania.
Set to release further steamMaui the Shapeshifter is a must-have game for fans of the genre and anyone interested in experiencing a different side of the legend of Maui.
Want to read about other Metroidvania games on Pro Game Guides? Watch Constance is a colorful Metroidvania that will make the eternal Silksong wait easier and The Animal Well soundtrack is minimalist electronic horror toasted to perfection.
