Clockwork Ambrosia review

Pixel art adventure platformers (a phrase I’ll use because I hate the term “metroidvania”) are a dime a dozen, but they continue to find a place in my cold, rusty heart to keep the furnace burning. Clockwork Ambrosia, an indie game made by a small team that worked on it for 14 years, shoveled that coal in and lit the match, but how long could it keep my mechanical heart going?

While sailing her airship over the island of Aspida, Iris found herself caught between a mysterious gunman and a massive, robotic dragon. Amidst the chaos, she was shot down, quickly finding herself in a small village populated by the last surviving remnant of a nefarious corporate tragedy. Before long, the wily engineer finds herself on a bigger adventure. From wilderness to city, from towers clawing at the sky to the heart of the island itself, Iris must help her newfound friends if she has any hope of returning home.

To its credit, Clockwork Ambrosia actually has a decent story with some memorable characters. The dragon and gunman were just the beginning – literally. Robots, ancient technology, and a seedy scientific corporation all mesh together to create a solid storytelling framework. There’s nothing that will blow your socks off, but the beats are enjoyable, and most of the characters are likable.

Like most other adventure platformers, you start with the ability to run and jump. As you progress, you’ll slowly unlock new equipment and weapons that grant more survivability and movement options. Before long, you’ll be triple-jumping and air-dashing major gaps while you fight off enemies and solve puzzles. The drip-feed is satisfying and, because many of the new maneuvers you unlock are movement-related, you’ll constantly have the chance to explore new areas.

While movement feels great, Clockwork Ambrosia’s signature selling point lies with Iris’s weaponry. She has four weapons at her disposal (an energy gun, a revolver, a grenade launcher, and a rocket launcher), and each has a unique playstyle with upgradeable slots that let you augment your kit. As you explore, you’ll constantly find new items to test in these slots. Experimentation with weaponry is one of the more rewarding aspects of the game. You may find yourself using one tool to rapidly demolish armor, then swapping to another to deal heavy damage. A handful of augmentation swaps can completely change how weapons function, too, making the search for more firepower an addictive and rewarding pursuit.

Like so many other adventure platformers, Clockwork Ambrosia gives you access to a map that grows as you explore. You can pick up in-game maps to show unexplored territory. The map itself operates fine, for the most part. Zones are color-coded with a handful of icons for shops, warp stones, and the like. My single biggest gripe with the game, though, relates to the design decision to keep information off the map. While other modern games in the genre will give you a waypoint for story progress, Clockwork Ambrosia expects you to pay attention to what the NPCs say and just hope you know where to go. This is an old-school sensibility that’s often couched in an excuse about encouraging exploration. Let’s be honest here, though – it’s a way to artificially inflate playtime, and runs the risk of frustrating your players.

Let me be more straightforward: I’ve played a lot of adventure platformers over the years, and when an eighth of my 16-hour playthrough is spent wandering, just trying to figure out where to go, it’s a problem. It’s an infuriating design decision that could’ve been alleviated if they’d just put an icon on the map. It’s a shame, too, because the rest of Clockwork Ambrosia is great, but I know genre newcomers who stepped away from the game due to frustration before they had that breakthrough moment.

For all my complaining about the map and pointing me in the right direction, I want to be clear. I don’t hate Clockwork Ambrosia. Quite the opposite, actually. The game’s pixel art is gorgeous, well-animated, and nostalgic. I felt like I was playing a Super Nintendo game again. I love the touch of making Iris’s appearance change depending on the gear she’s wearing, too. With high-energy, pulsing chiptune music, the soundtrack is also a retro-inspired blast. It never felt distracting or out of place. The enemy design is slick, ranging from bats, birds, and rabbits to robotic bugs, soldiers, mechanical dragons, and more. There’s excellent enemy variety, both mechanically and aesthetically. Most of all, I really like the weapon upgrade/customization suite they built into the game. In what feels like a take on Mega Man X combat, you’ll be jumping, dashing, and shooting your way through the hordes scattered across the island. aCombat’s a blast, and their boss design is well-done, too. I just hate wasting my time wandering, and that feels like something they could fix as an option in a patch.

Clockwork Ambrosia is a good adventure platformer with some fun, engaging systems. It looks good and controls well. The story is fun, if a little predictable, but you’ll find the people of Aspida endearing. Navigation can be a bit of a bugbear, but here’s to hoping they enhance that in a patch. There’s a ton to explore and experiment with. For a freshman project, I’m encouraged to see what Realmsoft has delivered, and I look forward to watching them augment their own skillset in the years to come. Give Clockwork Ambrosia a go – just be mindful that you may need patience or a guide.