Into the M.A.W. is a co-op space shooter for PCs that has a party of up to 4 players take on various roles and direct the ship toward its next destination or enemy. It sounds cool in concept and is even better in execution!
We recently attended a demo, ultimately swapping to a stream which detailed an overview and a walkthrough of the game briefly discussing the team’s goals, interests, and of course – the game itself, over the course of its initial two chapters.
Teamwork is key
Into the M.A.W. features a heavy emphasis on teamwork, where each member is crucial to the ship’s operation. There are a total of 4 roles to choose from, with The Captain, Pilot, Gunner, and Engineer being among the available choices. I primarily focused on my favorite role, The Pilot here.
The job of the Pilot (as the name implies) is to navigate the ship, to steer it clear of any obstacles, and utilize cloaking tech periodically to confuse enemies. The other roles are rather self-explanatory, and the game does offer competent AI-controlled members should you need them.
I did manage to fire up the demo post-preview though, and play through a part of it. I had to navigate the ship through the treacherous vastness of space (with the Pilot role), avoiding asteroids and face off against enemy craft when needed.
While the controls were admittedly disorienting at first, I quickly got the hang of it, blazing my way through.
Gameplay, visuals and non-gameplay elements
The first chapter had us going through ‘Deadbeat Dick’s’ locale to destroy some asteroids, which was cut short by an emergency message from ‘Tress’. Here is where things got interesting.
I was presented with 3 choices, each promising a different outcome. We ended up going with ‘safeguarding’ an ‘artifact’, which culminated in a dogfight in space. All through, we had to manage the ship’s functional capabilties simultaneously.
Relying on team members to do their jobs efficiently, along with proper communication appeared to be the key to a successful encounter/mission here.
There are Easy and Standard modes, with the Easy mode being targeted toward a more casual experience. I do, however, think that the Standard mode is fairly well balanced and should be recommended for most.
The often bleak scenery was accompanied by interesting, tongue-in-cheek signs and structures that I found to be quite humorous.
Chapter 2 had us battling in a space arena, and ultimately picking a side between the space pirates and cosmic police for a showdown.
The emphasis on teamwork and resource management was even more pronounced here, with our Engineer allocating resources and our Captain dictating (and marking) our next move.
We did die once though (by sheer accident – by jumping headfirst into lava) which brought us to the Retry menu.
This menu sets us back directly to the last chapter, with the option of choosing between the different available story branches. It’s a neat addition that seemed to list out an easy way to retry a stage with its multiple possible paths.
Taking damage also affected mobility, and thereby our navigation speed by a fair margin, given that we suffered heavy damage to the left engine.
Regardless, we did ultimately manage to succeed on our second try, and it was quite an experience.
You also get multiple options in dialogues that affect critical points of the campaign, which seems to be a major highlight of the game.
The chatter between NPCs was also particularly amusing, with a lot of personality being thrown into them.
The game has a strange, retro aesthetic to it, right down to its sound effects and user interface – which was quite appealing – I love this sort of stuff!
Some (minor) concerns
It also supports Linux systems out of the box, and seems like the perfect candidate for the Steam Deck – bar control mapping. In its current state, the game lacks a predetermined control scheme for controllers, which may be off-putting for some.
Thankfully, it is possible to remap controls easily, and the developers are interested in adding Steam Deck support later down the line, if the community so desires.
Single-player options also do seem to be rather limited at this time.
Closing Thoughts
Our Captain provided some commentary while navigating us through the game, and I did find my brief time with Into the M.A.W. to be rather enjoyable. This seems like the ideal game for LAN parties while chilling with some friends, and the co-op focus is definitely indicative of that.
I’m not entirely sure of a single-player experience though, as this game seems better off playing with other people and not solo.
Despite not being an expert in this particular sub-genre of video games, I was left with a strong impression and look forward to what the team cooks up in the latter parts of the game.
