When you make an homage, or a pastiche, you run the risk of appealing solely to a certain generation. But if you want newcomers to love it too, you\u2019ll need to transcend the nostalgia with actual innovation.<\/p>\n
Luckily, Numskull Games\u2019 Clive \u2018N\u2019 Wrench<\/a> manages to do this. With challenging gameplay, inspired aesthetics, and a wicked sense of humour that courses through the whole thing, this back-to-basics title creates freshness out of simplicity.<\/p>\n As we at RadioTimes.com<\/a> come from the generation of 3D platformers, we\u2019ll try to remove the nostalgia goggles for our Clive \u2018N\u2019 Wrench review and remain objective. However, fans of the golden age of 3D platformers will feel particularly catered for every time they cross the word \u201ccheckpoint\u201d.<\/p>\n The zany characters and humour remind us of Gex and Crash, and the familiar time travel setting conjures off-the-wall realms: aliens in ancient Egypt, voodoo-gangsters in a swamp, toxic waste in Victorian London. A lot of the PS1 platformers had a time travel themes: Crash 3: Warped, Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time, Ape Escape.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a nifty means of using lore to create a variety of disparate locations, and Clive \u2018n\u2019 Wrench takes it to another level. Also, their time machine is a 1950s fridge-freezer \u2013 a cool flourish that adds to the game\u2019s plethora of pop culture motifs.<\/p>\n Speaking of the lore\u2026 an anthropomorphic rabbit called Professor Nancy Mericarp, scientific genius and furry icon in the making, has been spending her years working on a time machine. One morning she wakes to find it\u2019s been stolen by the evil Dr Daucus.<\/p>\n To help her thwart his evil plans, her cousin and apprentice \u2013 the titular Clive and Wrench respectively \u2013 team up to travel through time themselves in pursuit. Clive, of course, is also a rabbit, and Wrench is a small monkey who sits on Clive\u2019s back.<\/p>\n We take control of the two of them as they traverse 3D environments. As well as the usual controls \u2013 jump, double-jump, sprint \u2013 we can extend our jumps by spinning Wrench above our head like a helicopter rotor (he doesn\u2019t seem to mind). This lets us glide rather than fly, so the timing of our jumps is essential. It starts off easy, but the levels soon get tough.<\/p>\n A stand-out sequence takes place in the aforementioned Egyptian stage. After saving all the aliens on the map (each stage has cute creatures to save), an underground tomb is unlocked which will test your precision and patience.<\/p>\n From moving blocks and wheels to timed switches, it took us a few tries, and gave us a few tantrums, but getting to the end resulted in the best of endorphin rushes.<\/p>\n As well as the platforming, fighting enemies is a big part of the gameplay; from gun-toting mobsters to toy robots to the giant bosses. The first boss is fought after the Victorian London level, and he\u2019s a Jack the Ripper-cum-Sweeney Todd type who throws scissors.<\/p>\n We have to use his chopping attacks against him by leading his attacks towards ropes, the chopping of which results in a giant mallet crashing on our foe\u2019s head. All the while we have to dodge the attacks ourselves, jump off the falling platforms, and beat the regular enemies who also roam the environment. It\u2019s yet another example of how the game\u2019s simple gameplay creates fresh challenges.<\/p>\n These challenges get better as the game goes on, so we urge you to stick with it if you\u2019re unsure at the start. We felt a bit underwhelmed to begin with, because there is a bit of jank; music and sound effects sometimes cuts out, and objects in the environment occasionally clip away.<\/p> We hasten to add that we played the PS4 version, and there may yet be a patch to fix this. Either way, the more we played, the less these issues bothered us \u2013 they\u2019re only really noticeable when you\u2019re not engaged, i.e. the tutorial.<\/p>\n We haven\u2019t completely finished it yet, but we can\u2019t wait to carry on. It\u2019s one of those games that doesn\u2019t take itself seriously and is all the better for that. Much like all the old 3D platformers, come to think of it. Clive \u2018N\u2019 Wrench doesn\u2019t do anything revolutionary, but it does remind us that games don\u2019t have to. Sometimes they just need to have character.<\/p>\n Certain puzzles require solving riddles first, in a cheesiness reminiscent of Uncharted. And some objectives have tongue-in-cheek names that reflect the environment \u2013 humour that reminds us of the objective names in the old school Tony Hawk titles.<\/p>\n If you grew up with Banjo, Crash, and Spyro, then Clive \u2018N\u2019 Wrench was made for you. It will remind you why you fell in love with games. Even if you didn\u2019t, though, you might find something in the simplicity. Mastering the controls, exploring the worlds, fighting the bosses, it\u2019s rewarding, and you\u2019ll have a smile on your face the whole time.<\/p>\n Clive \u2018N\u2019 Wrench launches 24th February 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5 and PC via Steam<\/a>. You can order the game on Amazon<\/a> or buy it directly on your device.<\/strong><\/p> ![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/Clive3-467e196-1.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C349"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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