You know that joke in the intro of Banjo nuts and bolts, where they make fun of collectathon platformers by pretending to start the game...And it's a bit where they fill every inch of spiral mountain with a floating nothing maguffin and go "yeah it's banjo tradition to collect as many pointless objects as possible" only to go "No this is too painful to watch no one wants this anymore". That joke is upsetting in the context of Banjo because the og games weren't like that in the slightest. They were adventure games that were fun to explore, not mindless collectathons where you're just guzzling down meaningless collectibles by the hundreds. That annoyingly reductive perception of the genre, is what this game genuinely is like.

I could easily ramble on about the overall unpolished nature of Clive 'n' Wrench, but I honestly can't say I find stuff like that to effect a game's quality. There's not a single game that has me going Wow it would be so great but ooo the glitches man it ruins the whole thing I have it in my heart to defend this game and say it controls well, your moveset is fun, and there's occasional aspects of this game that feel like someone put their heart and soul into it for ten years (because that's what happened). I love unloved 3D platformers man. Like yeah the swimming controls were clearly never figured out so they just never did any real swimming sections...And the final collectible refused to spawn until the third time I completed the mission....And after getting the achievement for 100%ing the game, it still said I was missing one collectible. To get my reward I had to find out online that there's a pot that infinitely spawns that may or may not be an intentional failsafe for that situation...And load times are somewhat bad even on PS5... So yeah, it's rough as hecc, I mean what other game in this genre has a glitchy collectibles counter like that? What other game in the genre doesn't have a level stats page for that matter...But anyway, literally none of that matters to me. Poorly made games can be fun. This game though, is pretty miserable.

My experience was a bit of a roller coaster. Starting with me ignoring this game due to its Nick Jr. mobile phone game lookin' artwork. Then I snagged it physically for like 3$ at gamestop and I found that it had an earnest albeit amateur style to it that I was kind of vibing with. And the first level taking place in a house while you're tiny had some Toy Story 2 game vibes and I was all for it. But very quickly I realized this game's fatal flaw that would get worse and worse as I got further.

This game is designed like Spyro Enter the Dragonfly. Which is to say, as I alluded to at the start, the main collectible is scattered by the literal thousands in every single inch of every map. Sometimes not even spaced 2 feet apart. It wants you to just arbitrarily step on every single possible location to collect them all. There's such a balance to a good collectathon, stuff like Banjo keeps every collectible feeling satisfying and important to collect. BK is designed AROUND the collectibles. 100 notes per level let's make sections specifically to hide a few notes in, or a platforming section for a jinjo, y'know some kind of game design. This game feels like they made a boring featureless map and filled it to the brim with as many collectibles it could fit to hide how little is going on. This game will really ask you to find ONE THOUSAND floating timepieces in a SINGLE level and has the gall to not actually design anything around collecting them. As far as I know there's no gates or anything, they're truly pointless unless you're going for 100%. Which makes me wonder if an any% playthrough of the game would be more enjoyable. I imagine it would leave me feeling less actively negative but no less unimpressed, as the star/jiggy equivalent here is also treated pretty poorly. Occasionally they feel good to find but there's a lot of repeat challenges and otherwise they're often just sitting out in the open. Something about them just doesn't feel that fun to collect.

Like I said, I have it in my heart to stick up for this game and say it's actually alright. This is the exact kind of thing I WOULD be into. I want shorter games with worse graphics made by people who are paid more to work less and I'm NOT joking. But good heavens man don't make Spyro Enter the Dragonfly your blueprint for collectathon world design. I almost want to try again and just ignore everything but the required coins, just so I can come back and give this a more respectable score like a 2 1/2 or something. But running around, my eyes glued to the featureless floor, picking up worthless floating things for 7 hours was pretty miserable I cannot lie. And if collecting things in your collectathon platformer with very little platforming in it is boring, there's only so much I can really say.

Clive ‘n’ Wrench é uma verdadeira carta de amor aos grandes games de plataforma dos anos 90, misturando tudo que havia de melhor neles. Simples, cativante, extremamente divertido e com uma trilha sonora viciante, ele acaba sendo um prato cheio para os fãs do gênero. Apesar de não escapar de problemas, Clive ‘n’ Wrench consegue mostrar muito potencial e, acima de tudo, nos transporta de volta para a era de ouro do gênero.

Review completa em: https://psxbrasil.com.br/analise/clive-n-wrench-review/

While it's less "retro-feeling 3D platformer on a similar level as Banjo-Kazooie" and more "retro-feeling 3D platformer that evokes the same feelings as those random N64 games you'd pick up at Blockbuster like Gex 64 or A Bug's Life", I'm man enough to admit that this is 100% My Jam. I know when I'm being catered to, especially now that the game's hovering around the 10-20 dollar mark.

Clive 'N' Wrench is the latest of passion project collectathon 3D platformers starring a wacky little critter made by people who grew up in the 90's to appeal to other people who grew up in the 90's. While most of these 3D platformers borrow influence from the N64 greats, what sets this particular game apart is that it feels more PSX-influenced in its mechanics. Rob is a huge Muppet Monster Adventure, Spyro, and MediEvil fan, and it definitely shows up in the DNA of the game.

But is it a "good" game? Well...probably not. But my feelings are complicated.

As stated in a previous review, I have a bit of a soft spot for janky platformers as long as they aren't boring or feel like they're intentionally wasting my time (looking at YOU, Balan Wonderworld). Clive 'N' Wrench passes my Game Feel test, even if the whole game experience feels a little undercooked. Ironically, the lack of polish, ugly graphics/textures, and general jank feel to it makes it feel more like a PS1/N64 platformer than Yooka-Laylee ever did. Damning the game with faint praise, I know, but it's hard to describe this perfect blend of Odd Choices That Should've Been Ironed Out More beyond "yeah, this is what gaming in the Clinton Years felt like". Some levels just have 1000 of a single collectible for no reason at all but damnit if it isn't making me smile.

I think what Rob nailed was the movement tech in this game. I like that Clive just has a ridiculously high jump with a hover reminiscent of Spyro's glide in that you could just traverse through an entire stage provided you gave yourself enough height at the start of the glide. It makes the game rather easy, but I like turning each play area into a jungle gym. Sadly, the movement tech didn't translate into Clive-Wrench's attack moveset, leaving them with only a wimpy little spin attack that I could never quite feel out the hitbox for, meaning that I usually took damage whenever I attacked an enemy. But, as I said, this game IS pretty easy so deaths were more of a temporary annoyance than a setback.

My one major complaint (beyond "yeah fine I guess the game could've used a bigger budget/team to make a much better product") is that none of the characters feel all that interesting. I like how you see the bosses' influence within the worlds as a result of their partnership with the main villain - and I think the character design, concept and names are all fun - but then it's missing that extra Sly Cooper-y spice of them having some witty banter with our heroes. I can't believe this game manages to fumble a goofy mad scientist, a bayou witch frog that runs a casino, and a vampire named "Vlad the Impala" this badly by having them all be completely silent. Doesn't help that the boss battles range from completely terrible (Baroness Samedice) to It's Okay But Could've Been Longer (Vlad) and the boss levels range from That's Fine (The Unitaur) to The Actual Worst Thing In This Entire Game (Captain Bluebeard).

In the end, it's rough around the edges and wasn't worth its original asking price of 40 dollars, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't having fun with this goofy little game. Even if the models are kinda scary-looking.

Also what a massive power move to just include Kensington and the Museum from MediEvil 2 in your video game. The events of MediEvil are canon to Clive 'N' Wrench and I think that's beautiful.

Stumbled across this in a second-hand shop for €12, which sounded a heckuva lot more enticing than the 30 it normally goes for on the eShop, and while I think it's a bit cringe to evaluate games by whatever price you get them for, I reckon that's pretty good considering that the game is large but ultimately just decent.

It set out to be a tribute to classic late 90s 3D platformers, but I think it ended up more successfully emulating the lesser-known, well-intentioned imitators of their day. Undeniably has a personality and a sense of playfulness about itself, plenty of big levels full of stuff to do, even plays moderately okay. But stages are perhaps a bit bloated, combat's workable yet busted, and the music just doesn't quite work out. less Banjo-Kazooie & Spyro and more Stuart Little 2 & Kao the Kangaroo (sorry to fans of the latter two lol).

Still, that's an equally worthwhile result in its own right, especially considering this thing was in the works for a decade and almost entirely made by one guy. It's a miracle this even exists in the first place, and that it's a pretty alright game too. I can't say I've got a whole lot of affection for it, though I enjoyed exploring levels a fair bit. It scratched an itch I had for that style of collectathon many of those aforementioned imitators often excelled at in spite of everything, and maybe I can recommend it on that account.