Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Brute Force starts from a sensible place for DLC: it picks up after the Bulb Valley level instead of asking you to treat it like a disconnected side attraction. If you were invested in The Maw’s progression, that continuation gives the new puzzles immediate purpose. You are not just replaying familiar ground for achievements; there is a fresh complication waiting in the Brute Bounty Hunter.

The worthwhile addition is the expanded use of creature powers. Beetull and Gastro powers bring more tools into the puzzle pool, which is exactly where an add-on like this needs to make its case. New objects and puzzles suggest a continuation that wants you to engage with the game’s central problem-solving rhythm rather than merely chase a new set of collectibles.

That focus also defines its limits. Brute Force is an add-on, not a wholesale new direction for The Maw. Give it a chance if the original’s puzzles were the reason you kept playing and you want more situations built around the creatures’ abilities. If you had already run out of patience with that format, the new powers may not be enough to change your mind.

Graphics

The added cinematics give Brute Force some extra visual punctuation, while Beetull and Gastro are the most concrete new faces in the action. Their inclusion matters because their powers are tied directly to the new puzzles, making them more than background creatures.

Story

Picking up after Bulb Valley gives this DLC a real place in The Maw’s storyline. It feels like continuation content rather than a detached challenge pack, which is valuable when you have just finished that portion of the game and want to know what comes next.

The Brute Bounty Hunter is the key new story ingredient. A bounty hunter is a direct, useful source of pressure: the DLC now has a named force pursuing the action rather than relying solely on another batch of puzzle rooms to carry your interest.

The new cinemas help frame that continuation. They will matter most to you if the base game’s light story beats and its central character journey were part of the draw; if you only cared about solving puzzles, they are a welcome extra rather than the main reason to buy in.

Overall Experience

Brute Force understands what DLC for The Maw should do: continue the story, introduce a clear new adversary, and feed the puzzle game a few new creature-powered ideas. It does not need to pretend it is something larger. The payoff is more time with the game’s core loop, now with Beetull and Gastro contributing to the challenge.

New achievements are a nice nudge for completion-minded players, but the puzzles are the real measure of its value. You should come in wanting more of The Maw, not expecting this add-on to transform it into another kind of game.

That makes the recommendation easy. Fans who reached Bulb Valley and enjoyed the original’s creature-centered problem solving should pick it up for a compact, properly connected follow-up. Everyone else can safely treat it as optional, because its strengths are extensions of what The Maw already does rather than a fresh entry point.

Retro Replay Score

7.2/10