Clive 'N' Wrench Reviews

this game is plagued with animation glitches and other minor bugs, but if you're willing to stick it out until the 2nd level, you'll find a pretty enjoyable collectathon! the cutscenes are very awkwardly paced and the story wasn't very deep, but the gameplay was fun, and thats what matters with a game like this. i will say, i'd recommend picking it up on sale though...

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.

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.

i cannot recommend this game enough. while it has its flaws, i find it to be something you can overlook when you take into consideration that a majority of the game was made by one guy. the game is full of very clear passion for the project, its clear that the developer wanted to make an amazing game much like the 90s platformers many grew up loving. the collectibles are very well distributed across the levels, and the music in each level is just fantastic. as mentioned, it does have its flaws, the controls are not perfect, clive does not always control as you want him to, character models glitch out and you can get stuck on invisible walls more often than id prefer. the boss battles are also very unmemorable. most of the bosses you dont fight at all, and while i especially found that charming with the mantis boss, it also leaves me wondering what the point of the bosses was, when you dont get to fight them most of the time. all in all, the flaws i find with it, i can excuse to the fact that its one very passionate guy behind the game. if you are willing to look past this, to get used to controls that can be a bit rough at times, then i cant recommend this game enough. the amount of detail, references to other cartoony platformers, clear inspiration from them, i cant help but smile every time i play it.