A mellow cover of Eric Burdon and the Animals’ “San Franciscan Nights” softly plays in the background, and visible dialogue from a character named Michael appears in the scenery around you. He discovers the sketchbook that he and his former girlfriend, Kenzie, used to draw in together during afternoons spent at backyard patios in the Mission District. While he revisits the memories they shared, you approach a landmark that’s highly reminiscent of — but not quite — the Palace of Fine Arts.
Released by Annapurna Interactive on Tuesday for Steam, PS4 and PS5, “Maquette” is a first-person, story-based puzzle game that brings an animated version of San Francisco to life, inviting the player to follow the fictional couple as they experience a meet-cute in a coffee shop, fall for one another and move on. To progress through this storyline, the player explores and…

