The Last Clockwinder is a middling execution of a really cool idea. Puzzles are based around automatons who will repeat the player's recorded actions indefinitely on timed cycles, allowing the player to set up chains of actions to accomplish tasks. So, the player records themselves picking and throwing fruit, then moves to the destination of the throw to catch and harvest the fruit. This is really fun and a great use of the VR medium.

There is a narrative underlying the puzzles which is mildly interesting, told through decently written conversations, executed by adequate voice actors. So, overall a pretty middling experience. The lack of tutorializing is largely subtractive, as most of the fun of the game comes from setting up intricate assembly lines rather than trying to intuit how to interact with new objects.

This isn't exactly a must-play for the PSVR2, but I do hope developers play this and take some cues from the more innovative elements. Sadly, without a really strong narrative or better puzzle scaling the game doesn't really have anything to hold onto long-term.

Reviewed on Oct 21, 2023


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