Clockwork Ambrosia Review Summary

Excellent weapon customization and engaging exploration with fun combat and challenging bosses, but flawed fast travel and confusing lack of direction hold it back.

Excellent weapon customization system: Players rave about the deep weapon customization, with many mods and modules allowing varied playstyles and experimentation. Clusters 1, 3, 15, 17, 19, and 22 all highlight the fun and novelty of modifying weapons.

Engaging exploration and secrets: Players love the huge map full of secrets and rewarding exploration. Clusters 6, 7, 9, and 24 describe expansive areas, non-handholding exploration, and solid rewards for discovering secrets.

Fun and smooth combat: Combat is described as fun, chaotic, and snappy, with smooth gunplay and movement. Clusters 4 and 8 highlight enjoyable combat mechanics and smooth movement.

Challenging and enjoyable bosses: Boss fights are intense, tough but fair, and generally a highlight of the game. Clusters 5 and 18 note challenging yet enjoyable boss battles, though some mention a weak final boss.

Exceptional Metroidvania experience: The game is praised as one of the best Metroidvanias in years, blending Metroidvania and Mega Man X elements seamlessly. Cluster 2 emphasizes its fun, challenging, and phenomenal design.

Fast travel system flawed: The fast travel system is criticized for unlocking very late in the game, having too few portal points, and requiring navigation via a text list without map labels or visual reference. Players find this cumbersome and it detracts from exploration.

Lack of direction confusing: The game provides poor direction on where to go, requiring constant map checking and leading to aimless wandering. Key locations or objectives are not labeled on the map, causing frustration.

Map zoom missing: The map lacks a zoom-out feature, making it hard to see unexplored areas or get an overview of the world. This has been acknowledged by developers who are working on a fix.

Numerous bugs present: Players report numerous bugs including glitches, softlocks from clipping into overhangs while air dashing, and getting stuck in falling animations. These bugs occur often and need fixing.

Upgrade materials too rare: Equipment upgrade materials are very rare, especially for armor, and there is no bestiary or encyclopedia to help locate them. This makes upgrading feel like a grind.

Metroidvania genre with exploration: Players consistently describe the game as a Metroidvania with a primary focus on exploration and backtracking. This core genre appeal is reinforced by mentions of a large interconnected world, movement upgrades, and environmental discovery.

Fast travel system: A fast travel system is available, unlocked partway through the game, involving mushroom folk and hidden activations. This helps players navigate the large map more efficiently.

Movement upgrades progression: Players appreciate the gradual unlock of movement abilities, from limited options to more versatile traversal. This classic Metroidvania mechanic enhances exploration and player agency.

Large interconnected world: The game world is described as huge and interconnected with minimal empty space, encouraging deep exploration and rewarding backtracking.

Four core weapon types: The game offers four primary weapons: a pistol, revolver, rocket launcher, and grenade launcher. This clear set of weapons provides variety in combat and synergizes with the modding system.

Crashes during gameplay: Several reviews mention the game crashes, including during mandatory boss fights, screen transitions, on Mt Yore, and frequently to desktop. Crashes cause lost progress and are a significant issue for players.

Steam Deck runs well: Multiple users report the game runs without issues, flawlessly, or is perfectly suitable for Steam Deck. A couple of spots have crashes on Steam Deck, and forcing Proton 9 may be needed due to default settings being wonky, but overall it is considered playable.

Framerate drops and slowdown: Some hits against enemies cause framedrops, possibly due to the computer struggling with projectile physics. There is also heavy slowdown when transitioning between rooms near the end of the game.

Boss freezes: One reviewer reports that the boss freezes during the fight, which is a specific and frustrating bug that can halt progress.

Frame rate lock issue: Removing the 'Lock 60 FPS' setting causes the game to play at a very slow speed, suggesting a performance cap is necessary for proper game speed.

Strong recommendation for metroidvania fans: Many reviewers strongly recommend the game to fans of the Metroidvania genre, often praising its value and gameplay. The game is frequently described as a must-play or hidden gem for genre enthusiasts.

Mixed technical state and bugs: Several reviewers advise waiting for patches due to bugs, technical issues, or lack of polish. A few explicitly recommend against buying the game in its current state.

Comparison to Mega Man X: The game is frequently recommended to fans of Mega Man X and run-and-gun platformers, in addition to standard Metroidvania fans. This suggests a distinct action-oriented flavor.

Worth playing despite flaws: A number of reviewers acknowledge the game has flaws but still find it worth playing. The sentiment is that the positives outweigh the negatives for genre fans.

Praise for exploration and customization: Players who enjoy exploration and customization without handholding are particularly likely to recommend the game. The game rewards blind exploration and offers meaningful customization options.

Game completion: 15.0h.

Session length: 0.5h.

The game delivers fun combat and customization early on, but progression friction in the opening zones causes a dip; players who push through to mid-late game find the experience highly rewarding.

Friction: Unclear progression direction after first few zones; Tedious backtracking and pixel-hunting for hidden paths; Resource grinding for upgrades with no clear drop locations; Weapon balance issues with many worthless mods early on; Map lacks information to guide meaningful exploration; Flat difficulty curve removes sense of progress.

Unlock drivers: Unlocking traversal abilities (e.g., double jump, movement options); Obtaining powerful weapon mods that enable crazy builds; Discovering hidden passages and secrets through careful exploration; Opening up more of the map to reduce aimless wandering.

Old-School Metroidvania Purist: Thorough explorer who adapts to difficulty, uses environment and weapons strategically, enjoys minimal guidance. Motivation: Authentic, challenging metroidvania exploration and combat. Stance: buy.

Gun-Smith Combat Enthusiast: Tinkers with weapon mods, frequently switches gear to exploit enemy weaknesses, prioritizes combat variety over other aspects. Motivation: Experimenting with weapon modifications and discovering optimal loadouts. Stance: buy.

Cautious Critic: Analytical, notes design flaws, may skip content if frustrating, waits for patches. Motivation: Hoping the game reaches its potential through updates; currently playing to evaluate rather than for pure enjoyment. Stance: no buy.

Steam Deck: The game is generally well-received on Steam Deck, with many users reporting flawless performance. However, a minority encountered issues requiring manual Proton selection (forcing Proton 9) and occasional crashes, control lockups, or slowdowns. The need for Proton tinkering pushes the friction score above the seamless threshold.

Linux and Proton: The game is largely compatible with Linux and Steam Deck. One user required manually selecting Proton 9.0 to resolve default issues. Another reported minor movement bugs on Linux. The majority of reviews indicate smooth gameplay, suggesting only minimal configuration is needed.

Demand for language support: Players are requesting Chinese language support for the game, indicating a desire for localization to improve accessibility and enjoyment for Chinese-speaking audiences.