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The Watchmaker has an interesting premise and fun gameplay mechanics, but there are some issues along the way. There’s some slowdown during some segments with lots of moving pieces around and enemies to take care of, and some of the levels can prove to be a bit trickier since the layout makes the areas in a stage feel too similar. The Watchmaker is out on PlayStation 4 at a $14.99 price.

I really wanted to like this game because using a person’s age as a timer is a unique idea, but I found myself too aggravated at little things issues. Sure, it has some awesome graphics and music, but after adding up all the cons, I actually came to dread playing The Watchmaker. It’s not the idea of the game, it’s that I generally hate timed puzzles, especially if input lag is a problem. In my opinion, the game has a fantastic in concept and it was poorly executed at too many points.

Although my own experience with this game has been a profoundly negative one, I can’t completely condemn it. After all, the graphics are delightful and the premise is an engrossing one. Even if the execution of said premise makes my blood run cold, I know that some people can’t even get out of bed without solving some overwrought contraption affixed to an hourglass. To those people, I offer you The Watchmaker. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll put a tiny crack in the side of your controller. But in the end, perhaps that building frustration will give way to something more profound, more elusive. Unlike me, perhaps you will claim victory over this Sisyphean torment cleverly disguised as a video game. To you, I bid good luck, and may you succeed where I have failed.

The Watchmaker presenta unas curiosas mecánicas donde el tiempo cobra una gran importancia y sirve para poder autogestionar las situaciones coherentemente. Los puzles conseguirán ofrecer un reto manteniendo la idea de la velocidad a la que tendremos que resolverlos y no perecer en el intento.

While I appreciate the art style of The Watchmaker and I have some sympathy for what the game is trying to do, I’m sorry to say the bugs and other frustrations, some of which are inherent in the game’s design, made me want to give up playing after only a few short hours, most of which were spent wandering aimlessly around the second level after a broken puzzle prevented me from progressing.

The Watchmaker es un juego que parte de unas ideas muy interesantes, pero que por desgracia no se encuentran bien ejecutadas técnicamente. A pesar de llevar varios años en el mercado, no se ha hecho el esfuerzo de corregir todos los errores que ya estaban presentes en su lanzamiento en PC. Nosotros por ejemplo nos hemos encontrado con varios errores que nos han llevado incluso a tener que comenzar la partida de nuevo. Por suerte, el juego es relativamente corto (unas 5 horas de duración) y tampoco nos costará demasiado volver a empezarlo si surgiera ese caso. Si os gustó la parte de resolución de puzles de Breath Of The Wild y algunas de las mecánicas que vimos por ejemplo en Portal, puede que este juego os tenga un buen rato entretenidos.

Así, por medio de la reflexión y revisión de corrientes artísticas y la influencia de acontecimientos pasados, The Watchmaker crea un arte rico, crítico y atemporal. Al mismo tiempo, esta originalidad le ayuda a cuestionarse aspectos de la vida e incluso a servir como fuente de inspiración para crear nuevos discursos artísticos.

But even so, the concept and story carries most of The Watchmaker’s charms. Art and narrative are solid, while puzzles can be very rewarding at their best and tedious and frustrating at their worst. In the end, it’s a competent puzzle game which uses its cool gimmick to strong effect; worth the eight hours I put in, but not something I’d choose to revisit – unless I had much more time on my hands.

The Watchmaker is an ambitious title that seems to have missed the mark. All is not lost however, and if the developers are still working on it, it could possibly turn into something quite enjoyable to play. Every downfall doesn’t feel like a permanent woe for Micropsia Games–they could turn it around! And I’ll tell you something: if it does get turned around, polished a bit more–I can certainly see myself sinking some serious hours into this title.