Lair of the Clockwork God

3/10 interesting idea mixing a platformer with a point and click game platforming is weak point and click puzzles are underwhelming or not at all part of that chunk would rather play one or the other, not this hybrid

The mix of platforming and adventure game mechanics is a neat concept, but it never fully comes together. Some jokes land, but the gameplay can feel uneven and doesn't leave much of an impression. It's an okay experience, just not one that really stands out.

"Lair of the Clockwork God" is yet another of literally thousands of 2D retro platformers infesting Steam and lowering the average quality of all video games everywhere. It's a Nintendo Switch game that somehow landed on Steam as well. This one is different, though, because half the game play isn't platforming, it's Monkey Island ripoff point and click adventuring. I appreciate the blend of genres is a quirky idea and the writing for the game is kinda fun, so the letdown here is totally on a sloppy, godawful technical implementation and an eye wateringly ridiculous price tag for pixelcrap... look, if developers want to get paid the same money as actual game developers who can do video game graphics properly, they have to actually do video game graphics properly. Pixelcrap is not okay, it's 2024. So this is a comedy themed point and click adventure platforming hybrid. You solve platforming problems with one character, then switch to the other one to do the point and click adventuring. Like I said, this is "okay", and the game does work, but there's a lot of problems. One important note is that even though this is an amateur project, it does seem to be sincerely and genuinely made. I couldn't find any flipped assets, plagiarism or any other kind of insincere actions from the developer, but unfortunately genuine intentions alone are not enough to produce a brilliant PC gaming experience. There's an overwhelming amount of mediocre Visual Novel/E-book style cutscenes in this game. So you'll spend a huge amount of time not playing the game, but clicking through endless lines of poorly written VN text cutscenes because the developers couldn't work out how to relate their narrative through the game mechanics, and decided instead it would be better to compete with reading a book for your time. We're here to play games, not watch hours of garbage intersituals. On the upside, the game does feature customisable controls and resolution, so at least some of the basic, minimum requirements have been met. Unfortunately there's a number of other technical defects and shortcomings which contribute to the game being difficult to recommend to gamers. A choice was made to use obsolete, decades old retro pixel "art" as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics. It's unclear if this is due to lack of budget or talent, regardless, the overall visual quality of the game is extremely low as a result. While there are options to change the resolution for the game, all this does is scale up the simplistic 2D art assets used to make the game, which makes little or no difference to the graphics quality. Without any other substantial graphics tweaks, it's not possible for gamers to improve the lacklustre 2D visuals. Because this is designed for handheld/portable gaming appliances, it carries a number of deliberate design deficiencies. Compromises were made to cater to the low power handheld gaming appliances that the game was designed for. These are unfortunate compromises and limitations that PC gamers shouldn't be forced to accept, but it's evident that PC was a second thought for the mobile game developers. The game is deficient as a result of these choices, and would have been so much better without the handicaps that designing games for low power handhelds forces upon a game. While this might run well on a Steam Deck, we must remember the vast majority of gamers here are gaming on PC. These technical defects push this game below acceptable standards for any modern PC game. "Lair of the Clockwork God" didn't appeal much to the people who own a copy of the game, either. It has achievements, and they show us a very clear picture that the game didn't really capture any interest from gamers. The most commonly and easily attained achievement is for talking to a Dragon to get his name (a joke), trivial to get, but less than 40 percent of players bothered to get that far before uninstalling the game. Hardly a success story, gamers just weren't all that interested in the game. The game never really caught on with the millions of gamers on Steam, with a very low peak player count close to launch, and then just a handful of players launching this game every couple of days. This is undoubtedly caused by factors such as those raised in this review. It's always helpful with buying decisions to consider how popular and successful the product is, and unfortunately while this did accumulate a few participation trophy reviews, overall, people just aren't using it. So, should you buy this game? Is this one of the best of the 100,000+ games on Steam? "Lair of the Clockwork God" has the almost unethical price of $20 USD, for which you could easily get any number of older AAA games. Given the defects and quality issues with the game, coupled with the unrealistic price, this is impossible to recommend. For comparison, the $20 asking price for this game could get you games like "Metro Exodus", "Dishonored 2" or "Kingdom Come Deliverance". Quality, professionally made games like those are frequently on sale cheaper than this.

The concept of combining a platformer with a point-and-click adventure definitely sounded good on paper, but Psychonauts basically already did that and did it better without even making it a gimmick. In practice, splitting the platforming and point-and-click halves into two separate characters just serves to make gameplay slower and more awkward, especially given how sluggish Ben is in comparison to Dan. It often feels like he's this albatross around your neck that you're forced to carry because he's the only one who can do the point-and-click stuff you need to advance the game. (And the implication that Ben is actively choosing to make things this difficult doesn't exactly help.) ...Maybe I'd be more willing to forgive that if the writing were better, but I just don't find the series' sense of humor all that funny. In fact, the main duo (especially Ben) come across as so unlikeable that it sapped my will to keep playing (especially given what I know about the ending from TV Tropes). Weirdly, I think this might be the first time I've ever really had that problem, let alone when the characters in question were me. Also, heads up: Devil's Kiss counts toward your playtime if you're hoping to get a refund.

Hands down, this was the game that brought the biggest smile to my face this year. It was funny, sweet, smart and you can tell that is was made with a lot of heart. I'll be honest though - the platforming could get a bit frustrating due to somewhat loose controls, and there were moments where I found myself rolling my eyes at some of the puzzle solutions. But these minor hiccups shouldn't stop anyone from experiencing this gem. If you can look past those small issues, you're in for an absolute treat.

为什么两个人的名字连起来是笨蛋呢

游戏是两个人物配合解密闯关游戏，一个负责肉体蹦跶跳跃，一个负责装逼解谜。谜题还行，but!---- 虽然因为没有本地语言支持给差评不合理，但是作为花钱买游戏的玩家，我觉得我有这个权利~ 考验我的不是游戏的谜题，而是英格利西，不能给好评！

I don't think I've ever laughed out loud at a game mechanic before, but that's the kind of game this is. Despite some slightly cumbersome controls for Ben, the Adventure Gamer, the puzzles are inventive and satisfying. The platforming is pretty solid, and has some fun mechanics that don't outstay their welcome. The dialogue is funny, and the story is original. Thoroughly recommended.

[h1][b] Reseña de Lair of the Clockwork God[/b][/h1] [h2]Resumen del Juego[/h2] Lair of the Clockwork God es ese experimento raro (y peligrosamente efectivo) donde un juego de [b]plataformas 2D[/b] se mete de lleno con un [b]apuntar y clic[/b], y en lugar de explotar en la cara… decide hacerlo con estilo. Es [b]Acción/Aventura[/b] con vibra [b]indie[/b], ritmo [b]casual[/b] y un sentido del humor que claramente no pidió permiso para existir. La propuesta gira en combinar dos formas de jugar que normalmente se ignoran o se insultan mutuamente: saltar como si tuvieras reflejos y resolver rompecabezas como si tuvieras paciencia. Todo envuelto en una comedia con mala leche, guiños meta y una ambientación medio [b]posapocalíptica/ciencia ficción[/b] que se toma lo justo en serio para que el chiste pegue más fuerte. Primera impresión: “Esto es una tontería brillante”. Segunda impresión: “Ok, esto está demasiado bien escrito para el internet”. Tercera impresión: “¿Por qué me está funcionando tan bien este híbrido?”. Y así te tiene. [h2][b]Engranajes Bien Aceitados vs. Tornillos Flojos[/b][/h2] Lo Bueno: Humor negro y comedia meta que realmente pega (sí, existe) Rompecabezas y secciones de apuntar y clic bien integradas con el plataformeo Gran banda sonora que acompaña sin estorbar y hasta se luce Buena trama para ser “el juego que se burla de los juegos” Steam Cloud + logros (21) para los que necesitan validación digital Lo No Tan Bueno: Compatibilidad parcial con mando: o sea, “funciona… pero no te emociones” Si odias los rompecabezas o los plataformas, aquí te obligan a convivir (y a sufrir) Al ser un jugador, la soledad se siente… ideal si tu plan es discutir con el juego y perder El humor puede ser demasiado “controversialcito” para quien viene a relajarse sin pensar [h2]Tabla de Evaluación[/h2] [table] [tr][th]Aspecto[/th][th]Puntuación (0-10)[/th][th]Comentario[/th][/tr] [tr][td]Jugabilidad[/td][td]8[/td][td]El híbrido plataformas + apuntar y clic funciona sorprendentemente bien.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Dificultad / IA[/td][td]7[/td][td]Retos más por diseño de puzzles y timing que por “IA”; justa, a ratos punzante.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Contenido[/td][td]7[/td][td]Suficiente variedad para sostener la idea sin quemarla.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Gráficos / Video[/td][td]7[/td][td]Pixel art 2D cumplidor: no presume, pero tiene personalidad.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Historia[/td][td]8[/td][td]Bien escrita y con timing cómico; no es relleno para saltar.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Ambientación[/td][td]7[/td][td]Ciencia ficción posapocalíptica con identidad clara y buen tono.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Efectos (VFX)[/td][td]6[/td][td]Correctos; no es un festival visual, pero acompaña.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Música[/td][td]8[/td][td]Gran banda sonora: discreta cuando debe y memorable cuando quiere.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Voces[/td][td]6[/td][td]No es su carta más fuerte; cumple sin ser el gancho principal.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Diversidad[/td][td]6[/td][td]Variedad de situaciones y humor, pero no es un juego “amplio” en enfoque.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Rendimiento[/td][td]8[/td][td]Al ser 2D/pixelado, va estable y sin drama innecesario.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Rejugabilidad[/td][td]6[/td][td]Más para vivir la experiencia que para repetirla mil veces.[/td][/tr] [tr][td][b]Total Puntuaciones (Muy Bueno)[/b][/td][td][b]7.0[/b][/td][td]Una mezcla rara que sale bien: divertida, inteligente y con filo.[/td][/tr] [/table] [h2]Conclusión (Muy Bueno)[/h2] Lair of the Clockwork God es el tipo de juego que se siente como una discusión entre dos géneros… y tú en medio tratando de sacar lo mejor de ambos. Y lo logra: es gracioso, tiene rompecabezas con intención y plataformas con ritmo, sin caer en el “mira qué random soy” que suele matar a la comedia en videojuegos. ¿Es para todos? No. Si vienes buscando solo acción, te vas a quejar de los puzzles. Si vienes por aventura tranquila, el plataformeo te va a pedir manos. Pero si te gusta cuando un indie se atreve a mezclar ideas y además tiene [b]buena trama[/b] y música, aquí hay calidad real. Con [b]652 recomendaciones[/b] no es un secreto oculto, aunque ver [b]1 jugador actual[/b] sí se siente como entrar a una fiesta buena… al día siguiente. Aun así, para un título de un jugador, eso no le quita mérito: se juega por lo que es, no por la multitud. [h3]Recomendación de Compra (Recomendado)[/h3] Puntuación Total: 7.0/10 Número de jugadores activos al momento de hacer esta review: 1 Descuento máximo registrado: N/A Veredicto: [i]Recomendado[/i] Si te gustan los indies con personalidad, comedia con colmillo y una mezcla real entre plataformas 2D y apuntar y clic, dale. Solo entra con la mentalidad correcta: aquí no te consienten; aquí te hacen reír mientras te ponen a pensar… y a fallar saltos como si fuera tradición familiar.

Funny.