Clive ‘N’ Wrench Review

Clive ‘N’ Wrench is a platform game inspired by Spyro the Dragon, a game that promises a lot, but will it really live up to it?

Clive ‘N’ Wrench is a 3D platform game, its protagonist: Clive, a rather charismatic rabbit and a monkey that always walks on his back, Wrench. The name of the game is quite direct, it leaves no room for doubt.

According to its publisher”Clive ‘N’ Wrench is a love letter to 3D Platformers”. Saying this commits them a lot, since it raises our expectations and we will already be very encouraged to compare the game with the different platform games that have been great during the course of history.

As expected, there is no complex story here, no, none of that, our adventure will take us to a 50’s refrigerator, behind the great villain of the game to stop his evil plans. (Yes, nothing original but never expect a complex story).

This is a simple game, as expected, we use very charismatic animals that will make us feel empathy with them. The different levels are quite colorful and filled with good lighting. Something quite curious about the game is that it is full of retro references, which take us back in time, there is even a restaurant called Pacino’s Bistro, this is quite cool, so the whole game has this vibe that you are playing a modern platform game. , but with a lot of influence from the games of the past and even from the popular culture of the past.

And of course, this is not only at the stage level, but also in the gameplay. It’s a lovely touch and an effort to carve out a niche while seemingly sticking to the building blocks of hit 3D platformers.

This is all great stuff, but this game is lacking in my opinion, so let’s not forget that we are playing on the current generation of consoles, and there are already loads of platformers out there that have explored everything Clive ‘N’ does. Wrench, for example, Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet ‘N’ Clank (even in the name it seems too similar), are replayed games that do the same or even more.

Its originality lies in its inclusion of time travel. Then we have many basic actions. I also love the battles with the different bosses, they are very original and each new character you meet is a very original and unique character.

With your control you can do many things, you have a double jump, you can run, you can do a mid air cancel, you can do long jumps, crouch jumps and a kind of somersault. This is all very basic, but it adds some complexity to the game that is always welcome.

Clive ‘N’ Wrench has a great level of detail in each level, it’s something simply impressive, I’m still not entirely convinced with the textures of the game’s settings, I don’t know, I’m not completely excited. But I can say that it has a large number of details that in many moments left me impressed.

At the level of sound effects and voice dubbing it is quite curious and original, you will always have many voices, gestures, sounds, which will not necessarily be words. The music in the game is always very appropriate to the situation and the sound effects are quite good.

Conclusion.

Clive ‘N’ Wrench is a highly entertaining game, with a formula that has given very good results over time and with many nods to past glories. It’s not the newest, but everything is very well done and with a huge level of detail, which definitely makes this a solid platformer.

This review was made thanks to a copy for PS5 provided by Numskull Games