Clockwork Ambrosia has been on my radar since the demo was released, but I didn’t have enough time to give it a go. I’ve since had time to play with the full release of Realmsoft’s alleged Metroidvania (’alleged’ based on my criteria – I don’t think this is brutal enough to be one), and have differing opinions on it. The bottom line is I like it, though it’s not without some niggles and surprises.
As Iris, you’re minding your own business, floating in a steampunk blimp that gets knocked out of the sky. Crushing to the ground, her primary goal is to get it fixed and return to whatever it was she was up to. Fortunately, she’s a gearhead and pretty proficient with a gun, too. That’s the premise, but it isn’t without some ambiguity.
There wasn’t much to follow in Clockwork Ambrosia, the best description was being shot down as above, then crawling through various dungeons similar to The Perfect Pencil and Cathedral. Like those comparisons, you’ll locate a map for the area and then periodically check in each time you get lost and think you’ve exhausted every area. Usually, you’ll encounter some blocked paths that only become apparent when you unlock a new weapon or mod.
Before all that, it’s typically flipping a switch and creating a new path that inevitably has you going full circle and unlocking a shortcut that wasn’t far off from where you started. There’s a good deal of satisfaction when these pathways open as the area becomes familiar with a fair amount of eureka moments, where you aren’t constantly relying on the map. A couple of times, this can get frustrating as you’re effectively waiting to unlock one key feature before you can move on to the next location.
However, one of the key USPs of Clockwork Ambrosia is the level of customisation with your weapons (you can also equip a fair amount of gear that can be upgraded, too). The starting weapon is a little weak, but pretty serviceable when starting out, then you get a missile launcher that shreds enemies. More importantly, it can blow up walls to access new paths, or a grenade launcher will create holes in the floor to descend into another scene.
These weapons are good as they are, though numerous mods can be found and purchased from vendors that significantly improve the damage it does, the spread, number of projectiles, as well as redirecting them to shoot up instead of in front of you. This is quite a tricky mod, though quite the standout, as in Clockwork Ambrosia, you can’t aim your shots. It’s either to the left or right, along with those mods. This proved somewhat challenging as I’d just come off Super Alloy Crush, which appeared to be a similar type of game, though the latter is so much more swift and arcade-like. Clockwork Ambrosia is a little more methodical.
The reason for this is figuring out the switch puzzles, beating some cool bosses, and finding the right loadouts for the job. Platforming is a little sluggish in some areas, and overall, it feels a little faint. Don’t get me wrong, the visuals are cool, and those weapon customisations are great; however, the tempo was erratic due to the stopping and starting when dying, as Iris isn’t that tough.
With a generous amount of savepoints available, it is still quite easy to go off, solve some puzzles, locate and modify some gear and then die. Brief retries let you repeat a scene, only with one health bar and no option to replenish it unless reaching the save point. As a result, you’ll die, then have to repeat everything again. I personally found tinkering with my loadout by the save point was the best way of doing it.
Clockwork Ambrosia is a good game, though, as mentioned, I can’t help but compare it to Super Alloy Crush and both games, while very similar, are also very different, more so in the pace. Story is not the be-all and end-all, but in a game that has many RPG elements, I’d like to have a bit more time to get to know Iris and understand why I really need to get her back up in the sky. Nevertheless, as repeatedly stated, it’s a good game, and I’d encourage you to try the demo. Especially if you enjoyed the Cathedral: Crow’s Curse demo, only with a Metal Slug-like arsenal.
