Clive 'N' Wrench

I wish there was a "meh" recommendation option. I love collectathon 3D platform games. This one is just buggy, and the monkey (Wrench, get it?) is so uncanny and bizarre looking. I WANT to love it, I want to enjoy it. I will try to play the game to completion because I've started it, I will not aim for 100% completion because it's agonising, but there are so many problems, getting stuck in the body slam pose and gliding through the level, clipping on random things in the environment, or even falling through the environment... the music is "fine" but sometimes it just stops or it will EXPLODE out of no where. The humour is kind of like Banjo Kazooie, but the characters have that terrifying uncanny look to them. I did enjoy the boss fights I've played so far, I also like that you get a nice hat that fits the world you're visiting. I just kind of expected more and that makes me sad. So whilst I can't recommend, I'm not saying never touch it, if it goes on sale and you like 3D platform collecting games by all means, but don't get your hopes up. I am sorry but after 6 hours now. I cannot do anymore... it's one big bug... sad times.

After over a decade of work, it's clear Clive ‘n’ Wrench was made by a developer who's passionate and a huge fan of the old school mascot platformers like Banjo Kazooie and Spyro the Dragon. Unfortunately, it's also clear that a lot of the game was mostly made by one guy. The animations are stiff and lack that polish, character animations become choppy if they're moving too fast, objects tend to pop in and out at a distance, and there are a handful of glitches that can pull you out of it. HOWEVER, the game runs and there’s an ending to play to. Now maybe that doesn't hold much weight for you if you've been raised on high budget console games that have been tested to perfection and are almost guaranteed to run when you put the disc in. I've played and loved those games too. But I've also played the hobbyist indie titles, the games that never make it out of that beta stage and the developer gave up on it after working on it alone for three years. Because video game development takes a lot of effort. When any project like this is finally finished after several years, it’s because there’s usually one crazy wacko at the helm who’s crazy enough and passionate enough spend literal years of their time to get the job done. I watched Clive and Wrench get worked on all these years, got excited as the levels were shown off and the characters were teased. And despite its flaws, I’m happy to finally see it released and hope to see more sequels to come! Bottom line, this game was made with love, but probably not worth the full retail price. If you see it drop below $10 and you want 10 hours of a bright mascot platformer with interesting character design and fun jumping mechanics, then buy it.