Maui

About

Maui is a single player casual action adventure game. It was developed by Kokua Games and was released on April 26, 2016. It received neutral reviews from players.

Maui is a free action-adventure game based on Hawaiian mythology. The game features an innovative "stat grid" that lets you switch stats on the fly to face any situation.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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55%

Audience ScoreBased on 284 reviews

graphics15 positive mentions

gameplay13 negative mentions

Unique and interesting Hawaiian cultural and mythological theme that is rarely explored in games.
Cute, colorful, and nostalgic art style reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker with fitting Hawaiian-inspired soundtrack.
Free with easy achievements, providing a short and pleasant experience suitable for a casual playthrough or cultural introduction.

Poor optimization causing low and inconsistent frame rates even on decent hardware, making the gameplay frustrating or unplayable for some.
Clunky, unresponsive controls and camera issues with no in-game settings to adjust sensitivity or keybindings, leading to awkward and frustrating navigation and combat.
Numerous bugs, glitches, and lack of polish including quest progression issues, missing or broken achievements, and limited gameplay depth and length.

graphics
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
68%
7%
The graphics are generally described as simple, stylized, and cartoonish, drawing strong comparisons to Wind Waker's cel-shaded aesthetic with a charming and colorful island vibe inspired by Hawaiian culture. While many appreciate its unique and cozy art style, the visuals are often criticized for low quality, lack of graphical settings, and performance issues such as lag and low FPS, detracting from the overall experience.
- “The graphics are pleasing to the eye, very reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, and the music is very soothing.”
- “Cute game with colorful graphics and a nice Hawaii feeling.”
- “Its a free adventure game that has pretty great, if very simple visuals, and decent but simple gameplay.”
- “While this is on PC, it has all the hallmarks and deficiencies of a console game, from the clunkier than needed control scheme to the less than cutting edge graphics.”
- “On the important subject of visuals, this features fairly low quality stylized/cartoony low poly 3D graphics.”
- “It tanks down to 5 fps as soon as the level loads in, and the graphics look like Nintendo 64.”
story
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
64%
6%
The story draws on Hawaiian mythology with a simple, short heroic quest that some find charming and culturally informative, while others see it as primitive, underdeveloped, and lacking depth. Though it has potential and a few enjoyable moments, many players criticize it for being too brief, repetitive, and hindered by poor gameplay execution that detracts from the narrative experience. Overall, the story is seen as a decent concept that could benefit from more development and polish.
- “Join titular character Maui on his quest to gain the favour of the four gods of the island.”
- “It may be a bit short, but I like the story and that it teaches you a bit about actual Hawaiian culture and mythology.”
- “Has a story from ancient Hawaiian lore and uses Hawaiian language.”
- “The story is too simple, and the gameplay even more; you just go around the map collecting things.”
- “But that's the best thing I can tell about the story, because it is primitive and boring. I didn't even want to continue reading or playing after the first 10 minutes.”
- “It's terrible in everything: picture (really, it's the anime from 2000s), mechanic (primitive battle mechanic, terrible interaction with the objects, like you can look at one tree, but the game still focusing on another, which is like on 90 degrees from your direction), story (kinda useless princess saving), navigation (like it's hard to skip the boring text, navigate in menu etc.).”
gameplay
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
53%
27%
The gameplay is generally simple, short, and easy to grasp, with some interesting mechanics but limited depth and polish. While the game shows potential and offers enjoyable moments, it suffers from bugs, poor optimization, unrefined controls, and repetitive tasks, making the overall experience somewhat forgettable. Despite these issues, many reviewers appreciate its free, brief, and creative nature.
- “Quick and fun little game with interesting mechanics.”
- “Overall the gameplay is alright and there isn't really much wrong with it; the AI could be improved a bit, but I find a lot of the things in the game hilarious to mess around with, like trying to catch the pua'a and the magic healing kalo. I do wish that the game would be a bit longer, a bit more challenging, and have a couple of the mechanics more apparent.”
- “A well-built free-to-play game that has lovely colors, culture, and gameplay.”
- “The combat and other mechanics don’t stand out at all.”
- “I can't though due to poor/unresponsive gameplay, poorly implemented mechanics, poor system performance, and glitches.”
- “The 4 ability mechanics don't feel like they make a difference outside of the one puzzle they are intended for.”
music
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
44%
7%
The music in the game is widely praised for its catchy, soothing Hawaiian-inspired soundtrack that complements the art style and atmosphere well. While the repetitive loop can become tiring due to the lack of a mute option, the overall tribal and ukulele tunes effectively enhance the relaxing and charming experience. Some users noted the music is not entirely traditional Hawaiian but still fits the game's theme nicely.
- “Within the first 3 seconds of the menu screen I fell in love with the music and the cute art design reminds me of the local-made picture books for the keiki.”
- “The graphics are pleasing to the eye (very reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker), and the music is very soothing.”
- “The soundtrack is also killer, making this game a good casual game to play.”
- “The music loop got kinda annoying; any sort of change would have been nice.”
- “The music is off; it doesn't sound like traditional Hawaiian music, which affects the game's authenticity.”
- “Music is repetitive, but at least it matches the environment and keeps me in a good mood.”
stability
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
95%
The game's stability is widely criticized for numerous bugs, glitches, clunky controls, and poor performance, with some players unable to progress or enjoy the experience. Frame rate issues and unchangeable settings further hinder gameplay, though a few users report fewer problems and appreciate the cultural aspects. Overall, stability issues significantly detract from the game's appeal and playability.
- “It has terrible frame rate, you can't change the settings and the default sensitivity is way too high. There are many glitches from the very start of this game, so I was unable to enjoy it.”
- “Clunky, slow moving and with very little variety. You scavenge for a few bits of fruit, wave your sword at a couple of enemies in what passes for combat, and unless you get lost on the tiny mostly empty island, you'll find yourself finished and wondering how a game this short has so many glitches and bugs.”
- “Tho the graphics are ugly like on console, the controls are quite clunky and on some computers the programming acts like hell of buggy (I couldn't even pass the tutorial or do some screenshots). The Hawaiian topic is highly seducing and fascinating.”
optimization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
70%
The game's optimization is widely criticized for poor performance, including low and inconsistent frame rates, high CPU usage, and frequent glitches, leading to a frustrating and unresponsive gameplay experience. Additionally, the lack of options to adjust settings further hampers performance improvements. Despite being free and short, the game requires significant optimization fixes.
- “I will recommend it because it's a short, free, and very cute game, but the optimization needs to be fixed because choppy gameplay is not fun and makes the game frustrating.”
- “There is no options menu where you can alter the settings to decrease performance demands and improve gameplay smoothness.”
- “The game has clunky controls, poor visuals (you can even see the pointer moving around as you play), and is unoptimized.”
- “However, the optimization is downright awful, with FPS being between 10 - 20, when KF2 runs at 60 on high settings.”
- “Congratulations, the most poorly optimized game I have ever seen in my entire life goes to - Maui.”
- “Optimized like crap though, consistently used 40-60% of my CPU, which is just unbelievable.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is appreciated for its playful and amusing elements, such as quirky activities like catching the pua'a and magic healing kalo. While generally funny, the humor is tied to simple gameplay moments rather than deep comedic writing, and some users wish for more content and clearer mechanics.
- “I find a lot of the things in the game hilarious to mess around with, like trying to catch the pua'a and the magic healing kalo.”
- “Funny little game.”
- “The funny thing is, I have been living in Hawaii; Maui my whole entire life (14 years) and I have never been to the mainland.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Grinding in the game involves repetitive tasks like pighunts, root farming, and harvesting coconuts and bananas, which can be time-consuming but also include engaging combat encounters. Players may need additional resources or lives to effectively manage the grinding process.
- “If you manage to get it running somewhere, prepare for pig hunts, root farming, coconut and banana harvesting, and some intense fights, of course.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its deeply emotional and wholesome experience, captivating players on a profound level while also offering educational value.
- “Very wholesome and educational.”
- “I have never been so emotionally captivated by any one thing in my life as I was when I discovered this game.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Users have mixed expectations for the game's character development, hoping for a strong story but noting that progression feels somewhat linear despite the open-world setting.
- “Looks like the game will have a decent story behind it with, I hope, good character development.”
- “Despite being open world, the game is exceedingly linear due to enemy stats and character development.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is charming and enhanced by cute, fitting music, creating an enjoyable and pleasant gaming experience.
- “Charming atmosphere and cute music too!”