Clive 'N' Wrench Nintendo Switch Review
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- Опубліковано 26 лют 2023
- Clive 'N' Wrench is a passion project 10 years in the making by a one-man development team. It's a love letter to the 3D platformers of the late 90s and has just released on the Nintendo Switch. Is it worth getting? Well, let's find out...
#clivenwrench #nintendoswitch #review
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Review written by David Morrish and Glen Bolger. Video created by Glen Bolger. - Ігри
![Clive 'N' Wrench [REVIEW]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/6kwRpqTwasQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![Clive 'N' Wrench [REVIEW]](/img/tr.png)
Thanks to Dave for helping me get this one out after a very difficult week. Please do check out his channel, Savedex Gaming, here: - www.youtube.com/@SaveDexGaming
Have you picked this one up? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section!
Looking for eshop credit? Get OFFICIAL Nintendo Eshop Cards and other bits and bobs, at our new website and online store here - switchup.gg/ - Save 5% using code 'SWITCHUP'
If you are a physical collector you can use code "SWITCHUP23" to save 5% at PlayAsia www.play-asia.com
Happy gaming! Glen
Is there any limit in using the code for PlayAsia? 😅
Just to say as someone who cowrote this review, those flaws are really unfortunate and needed to be acknowledged in the score but as a fan of 3D collectathons, I have had a lot of fun playing this even after we finished writing. I'm happy with how this review turned out Glen, well done :)
At least you had fun playing it. Fun is important! 😋
You tore them a new rabbit hole with that review.
gg
Well done Dave and Glen!
Excellent writing 😊
Just one person doing this on their own is an achievement on its own. I can see why this type of game style is rarely done nowadays. Hope there might be a patch to fix what can be fixed and continues this person's journey to make more games.
Good job on getting this review out despite the circumstances! All the credit to Rob Wass for making such a charming looking game in one of my absolute favourite genres. I have been looking forward to this game for a few years now. That being said, after seeing all the problems I will be waiting for a patch before I pick it up. I´m hoping to see Clive ´n´ Wrench again in the "all patched up?" series.
Awww this is so sad to hear. As an indie dev myself this is a huge fear for a lot of us. He should be proud of his ten years of work though and have another go at it some day. Not getting it right right away isn't the measure of failure. It's how you respond to these short comings that make or break you. But even still, ten years man. You don't get that kinda time back
Sorry if this offends but people will spend their hard earned money on this. Surely if there are problems the developer and publisher should delay so that the consumer ( who is fronting up the cash ) has the best possible experience. Ten year development cycle. This needs to be said I'm afraid
People need to consider this was done by one man, over a ten year period. I think it looks, and plays great considering the glitches. He honestly designed the characters, and levels with a great deal of care. Once these things are fixed, it'll be one hell of a platformer.
It’s good to consider that and props to the one developer. But as a consumer you shouldnt be expected to “forgive” something you are paying good money for.
@@benironside1264 No, but when you look at reviews that are giving it 1/10, that's silly too. The game should not have launched with the bugs and performance issues it did, though even major games do (Pokémon Scarlet or Violet, anyone?), and this was made by just one person.
@@dftfire yeah that’s true. Reactionary 1/10 isn’t fair. Personally I wouldn’t measure it on the number of developers but on the quality. And as you say, still disregarding how many people worked on it, it’s no worse than pokemon was at launch and that didn’t get 1/10
Hopefully he will continue to support/update the game
As a bunny dad I approve of any game that has a bunny in it. I see bunny I purchase.
This feels a lot like Jak & Daxter 1. I love it.
Jak 1 is one of my favourite games. I must play this
Was waiting specifically for you guys to review this one! Keen to hear your thoughts, what I have seen online has been a little mixed!
As someone who absolutely ADORES the revival of 3D Platformers (I am a huge Yooka Laylee fan for example), I could never get excited for this game. The art style is uneven and I am not a fan of the realistic look that textures and etc have. It looks lifeless and I wish they went for a more stylized route. For a 1 man team, huge bravo and grats to them for the release! I just wish the game embraced a different aesthetic. Just my opinion.
If you enjoy the game, I'm stoked for you!
Nice to see someone else giving Yooka Laylee some love :) I know what you mean about the presentation in this one. It really feels like a fantastic game just trapped inside a mediocre one. It feels bad to criticise a clear passion project from a solo dev but with a £25 price tag the shortcomings need to be known
I agree about the uneven art style, it's very off-putting. However, this is a totally commendable and ambitious effort! Reminds me of Pumpkin Jack a bit. Also I definitely don't miss that fog of war look or whatever they call that effect that eliminates long draw distances.
@@Gameitupchannel Absolutely agreed! Wishing all the best for the dev. They're very talented and I honestly I bet it was the most terrifying, yet exciting experience to release this after so many years. Hopefully they can patch it up some and I will definitely give it a whirl down the road.
@@Chubby-chinZamboni Ohhhh gosh yeah the long range fog to hide low LODs and keep rendering insanely close to the player. When I saw how heavy it was in some stages I was like OOOF. That is a little TOO close to the olden days. haha! Wishing the dev all the best and I'll be sure to check it out once it get's some patching. :D
I do actually like Yooka (I was a Kickstarter backer, my name's on the credits), but this is the game Yooka SHOULD have been, IMO. If Clive 'N Wrench had a few more people working on it and had a bit more spit and polish like Yooka did, I think it'd be getting a warmer reception. As it is, despite it's flaws, it's a better designed and better playing game than Yooka, IMO.
i hope this gets a next-gen update to add lighting to the game. But as a one-man crew? very impressive
The most-important thing in the next update is to fix any bugs and performance issues. Visual stuff like ray-tracing are not as important as making sure the game runs right. And after that, then he should focus on stuff like adding more options to the game, such as camera rotation speed and ability to remap controls
Honestly, they have a very strong foundation here. It's very dissapointing that they fumbled the ball on the polish department. This is one I really hope get's either good updates, or honestly, a sequel that reaaaally builds on its foundation. But if anything, I just want games like these to do good so the genre isn't lost. After A Hat in Time, it seems the genre has been really lacking a really good game, and that was 6 years ago.
Anyways, thanks for the review! I'll probably pick it up if it has a good-enough sale.
I've been having a lot of fun with it for sure but the shortcomings we mentioned do hold it back too much. It'd be worth checking out in a sale if you like the genre as long as you're aware of its problems
The game does looks fun. Too bad about the issues mentioned.
@@Gameitupchannel I do really like the genre, so I will definitely check it out if it goes on sale
New Super Lucky's Tale was another good one.
@@mvm8397 Haven't gone around to trying that one out, but I've heard good stuff about it. Will definitely keep my eye on it!
I’m on the 3rd world now and I have been enjoying it for the most part but there are some issues that need fixing quick! The camera control is way too slow, Clive feels floaty, some jumps and buttons don’t register consistently, the music sounds off, like there’s a balance issue between the music and the sound effects that can’t be controlled, the enemy attacks and collision is really bad too… hopefully some patched to fix things up comes out soon.
I feel like, not having a N64 as a kid, I kind of missed the boat on this genre, a little.
This game looks pretty cool despite its flaws, and I could see myself picking it up on sale outta curiosity.
Nesquik and Curious George got the niceties of the 90s
You know this was someone’s fan fic in 3rd grade.
cool hope your doing good after your hospital visit
Yea
This
saw this a lot on my feed on the Nintendo eshop, wasn't sure about it but gonna get it, we definitely need more games harkening back to the n64 games like Banjo Kazooie. I mean yea we have Yooka Laylee but these kinds of games aren't out often, it's a little something fun to play so I'll check it out. And it was made by what, one person so if I like this I'll be hoping for more from the creator.
You guys are my go-to for Switch reviews. To be honest I had no idea what to expect from this game and was hoping it was a Conkers type game. Keep up the good work. I look forward to you next video.
This is probably the most fair, constructive critic review I've seen for this game. Others have been downright brutal and even a bit nasty, considering how this was made by one developer. I commend your review!
Thanks for the review. Hope you are feeling better.
Hope you’re doing well and feel better soon ❤
Well I’m loving the game. It’s getting 10/10 from me. The best Banjo clone I’ve ever played.
I really appreciate this review. My heart sank after seeing another prominent review site giving this a mere 3/10, but your review gives me a bit more hope. This might just be a game I can enjoy as long as I'm willing to overlook the flaws (which, for the most part, I am so long as nothing is game breaking). Still, I hope this sees a patch at some point. It looks like a game with loads of potential.
If you're talking about Nintendolife, their review was pretty unfair in my opinion. If you read the main body of text, the reviewer was saying things like the first boss fight was so frustrating that it took him an hour to beat, which is absurd, and claiming the levels are too big when none of them (I'm over halfway into the game now) are any barely any bigger than the worlds in Banjo Kazooie, and certainly don't seem as bloated as those in Banjo-Tooie. I've not experienced the 'freezing' glitch this reviewer had with one of the collectibles...however, I do agree there are (infrequent) frame rate dips, the swimming sections can be frustrating (thankfully these are very few and far between) and also about the boss fights maybe having additional animations to them to shown the boss being damaged more...but all in all these are minor niggles rather than anything that come anywhere close to game-breaking, and there's much more to enjoy here than not enjoy. It's a (slightly) imperfect gem for sure, but one that's well worth a further look. I've had more fun with it than I did with Yooka-Laylee.
EDIT: There was also a day 1 patch when I first fired it up, so I don't know if that fixed any major issues.
@@TromaDogg I really appreciate your extra input. I was indeed referencing Nintendo Life's review. Seeing such a low score there surprised me, as they rarely rate games that low. It's enough to make me wonder if maybe the reviewer had personal beef with the game and/or its dev. Such a shame, though, since it sounds like this particular dev has worked solo on this game for quite awhile. One unfairly critical review from a major site like that can be the death of indie games like this. I'll definitely give the game a shot, since I don't really mind the occasional frame rate drop, etc and the game looks like it has loads of character to its design. Once again, thanks for sharing your experience with the game here. Hopefully I'll end up enjoying the game as much as you have.
Remember that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were also full of bugs and had major performance issues on launch, and Nintendo Life gave those 7/10, and elsewhere I've seen as high as 8.5/10.
Bigger franchises always get more of a free-pass.
@@nicked_fenyx Finding the defense of this game strange. Just because it's Indy doesn't give it a free pass. Nor supposedly being developed by one person ( we have to be careful here because it's been said before and turned out not to be true with other titles ). Publisher will have helped with bug testing, localisation etc. and that is part of development as well. I think a lot of people were excited and that is ok. But there seems to be a lot of purchase justifying going on. It looks like a 5 - 6 out of 10 game for me if you like the genre. Nothing wrong with that but some will rate it lower
@@robsmall6466 It feels odd for me to see your comment, because usually I'm the one saying the same sorts of things you are in terms of not supporting horrendously broken games. That said, I do feel like a few of the reviews I've seen on other sites have overexaggerated the issues present in this game. Perhaps that's because so many people were hyped up for this one, so any issues they encountered felt like a bigger letdown. Personally, I didn't know anything about this game prior to launch, so there was no pre-release excitement on my part to influence things. So far I've only completed the first few areas (maybe 4 hours of playtime total), but I really haven't encountered any major bugs. The biggest gripe I have with the game is the controls being unintuitive when swimming in water - which thankfully doesn't happen very often. Not exactly a broken mess of a game, nor imo one that deserves the 3/10 rating Nintendo Life gave it.
I guess my stance is that I'm more willing to accept these types of imperfections from a smaller indie dev team than I am from a huge game studio (*cough* Game Freak *cough*), simply because the larger studios have more experience, together with more money and people to work on their games and make them the best they can be. For example, I could see a one person indie dev playing this game and thinking the swimming controls feel right to him - he might even get a few people to play test it who feel the same. But a bigger team would have more experience - and more play testers - which might be more likely to clue them in on how unintuitive those short sections feel for the average player. Completely broken games are unacceptable from anyone. But smaller issues like this are slightly more forgivable when it's an indie dev's first big game. At least in my mind.
I bought it on full price, physical copy. I certainly noticed the "rough edges" but thoroughly enjoyed the game. A lot of details and unexpected hidden areas.
I like the looks of it. I'm going to get it because it reminds me of those great 90s platformers.
Looks like a cool game i hope gets a patch to fix those small issues, and from the video some mechanics could be better.
I cannot wait for this one!! (Just like when I hear the bell for a new SwitchUp video)
I could totally be mis remembering the game but when you're in the bedroom level it reminded me off a toy story game I played non stop when I was a kid.. I'm pretty sure it was n64. Kind of want to find that now.
Have you guys ever thought about going back and making videos/reviews for old games/systems? I think it would be very entertaining seeing an n64 game breakdown once a month or something.
The first level is clearly inspired by the first-level in Toy Story 2, "Andy's House", yes
Remind me of Odyssey, wow now i really want Odyssey 2 it was such a good game
Keep the good work guys, almost every day a video its just the best
I came so close to buying this the other day so I;m glad I didn't! That said, it's on my wish list now awaiting on either a sale or a patch or even better: both! I hope you're feeling loads better Glenn!
It would be cool if they brought back jazz the Jack rabbit in this 3d platformer format
I'd be happy for a Jazz Jackrabbit to be remastered/ported as a 2d sidescroller too - such a great game!
Rob be proud on what you did!
The game is amazeing!
Glen, I hope you are better! Thank you for the review!! It’s a shame this game isn’t cleaner. I love the PS2 vibes!
I like my graphics either modern or pixelated, this is not really my thing. Impressive that it’s made by just one person though!
Thanks for the review! I haven't gotten it yet, but I do have the physical edition preordered. Target was running a buy 1 get 1 50% off deal on select games a week or two ago. I bought Bugnax and this. I'm enjoying the former, but dreading how bad Clive 'N Wrench might be. Your review mentioned a lot of the same criticisms other channels did, albeit a bit more mercifully. Nintendo Life gave it a 3/10.
I think some of the reviews I've seen have really honed in on some flaws that, whilst annoying, were no where near as bad as some reviews have stated - at least for us anyway. That's not to knock any one else's review, it's all about opinions but we felt it was fun albeit flawed and quite rough around the edges. Glen
Nintendo Life also gave Pokémon Scarlet and Violet a 7/10... you know, the games that were so-bad at launch Nintendo issued a public apology for!
Rushed to the hospital? Hope everything is okay! Thanks for the informative review!
All ok now mate but was pretty scary at the time. Thanks. Glen
It’s a shame, this peaked my interest from the recent Nintendo Direct. I think it has a lot of charm but perhaps too stuck in that era rather than emulating it to a ‘23 platformer. One for a sale perhaps, like Pine
Maybe a dumb question, is there a way to track patches for a game I do not own? So many games get rushed to retail and patched after the fact.
Probably following the developer's Twitter/website
@@JulesNekro thanks
It has a feel like Banjo-Kazooie, thanks for the review.
Reminds a lot of games I played as a kid!!!!!! Nostalgia!!
Ah what a shame.. I really like the look of this. Hopefully they patch it up so it's a more enjoyable experience. I love 3d platformers and wish there were more of them!
Any patches yet?
It's always impressive seeing certain games developed by a single person. I like the art style of this one. It's a shame it's not a better game. Kudos to the developer for trying his best though
I want a time travelling fridge! For reasons...
Really solid review and I agree completely! I am quite enjoying it in small bursts! Nintendo Life did a number on this game, they should be ashamed. I think a lower price could have helped though!
Yeah, it's no where near as bad as some reviews would have you think as far as I'm concerned but is certainly rough around the edges. Glen
Yeah, it's mad how Nintendo Life gave this game 3/10 calling it a "broken-mess"... yet Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which were so bad Nintendo publicly apologised for, get 7/10!
Damn! Hope you're OK now. It's really important to take care of your health, so please don't overdo it just for the sake of the channel. We'll keep supporting you no matter what!
As for the game, it's unfortunate that it looks somewhat half-baked. Maybe the developer should have spent a bit more time on it... That said, I might give it a try if I hear at least some of the issues have been patched. It's the kind of games I usually enjoy playing.
Thanks mate, appreciate that. Glen
I dunno why but seeing this makes me wish they'd remake (or at least re-release) Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg. That would be some real nostalgia bait.
I do miss a good collectathon game. Pinning for some solid banjo kazooie atm
Just because the main-character wears a backpack and has a buddy with them, don't go into this game expecting it to be like BK.
If that's what you want, Yooka-Laylee would be a better one to go for. This game is more like the first Spyro, where the focus is mostly on exploring the levels and picking everything up, and less on solving puzzles, mini-games and doing missions for characters
Get well soon
This will be one possibly down the line if it gets a nice sale. Hopefully it gets that polish
Yeah the game is pretty rough but I got on the presale discount. 😅 The controls are janky, sometimes don’t register but you can also pull off some crazy jumps. You hold L to run but if you jump while holding it you do a long jump which then can be tied into a double jump and then a helicopter so you can get some pretty serious distance. Underwater if you hold L and Y you can swim very fast. Pressing R in the air does a ground slam but if you press it after a double jump you do a forward tackle of sorts. Definitely a fun little game that’s also pretty crazy. But I haven’t had any game breaking issues.
I looked forward for this game but I think I’ll just wait and hope it will get better before spending €40. :(
Clive"N"Wrench , Ratchet & Clank, YOU CALL THAT COINCIDENCE, I THINK NOT
It was done intentionally😀, Clive even has "Clank" on his back
Hope you're doing better
😎🤙👍👍
I saw this on Strictly limited just yesterday. Man I'm glad I waited on purchasing because it looks rough. I love collectathons but might pass this one up. Did the same with Kao the Kangaroo and pre ordered over at LRG and now I'm just waiting for the game to ship. I know you guys did a patched up but I hope I'm not disappointed.
These all seem like patchable issues. If some work gets put into it then I would probably pick this up.
Not for me I'm afraid, contemplating metroid prime remastered, my Octopath Traveler2 will be dropping through the door tomorrow so probably no time for any other game for a while. Cheers Glen.
Playing this on ps5. It would be more enjoyable if it wasn't buggy. The most obvious one, is the actual walking is broken. Always ends up as if tr character is struggling to move. Jumping and using the run buttons help, but still.
Must say, didn't experience that. The controls were probably the strongest element.
@@SwitchUpYt maybe its a bug on PS only.
Hmm, what a bummer. From the stuff seen so far, it seemed to be a nice game. But when seeing actual gameplay ... it is a nightmare how that looks like on now-a-days machines. It really looks to be like an N64 game, environment seems pretty empty and simple.
With the final judgement level, it is absolutely how I felt when seeing the actual gameplay.
Thx a lot for the review, it helped a lot in my shopping decision ...
Well…it’s the big show
I got myself Demon Turf instead of this one. ;)
You’re Dr. Dorkass
i will never understand why some modern games still insist on using A for attack. this isn't the original NES. there must be a precedent here: B is jump, Y is attack. always.
i got this but then i liked Balan Wonderworld which others didnt :D
I was looking forward to this one so a tad disappointed but will still give it a go when it's on sale. Hope you're ok after the hospital rush Glen.
I would play it but I have X-Box.
Looks good to me 🤷
Shame, this has great potential. Hope you are OK too Glen!
Cheers Siobhan, yeah on the mend now thankfully. Glen
It is a fantastic achievement for one guy to have put this together all themselves.
For anyone saying there aren't many 3D platformers out there for the Switch, have you even played Splatoon 2 / 3? They are the best 3D platform games on any console.
Ratchet and Clank at home:
Eh I don't care, I'm a sucker for games with themed worlds based on historic locations.
I desperately wanted this to be good but I am certainly glad I didn't dive in on this. It's crazy for a one man project as I couldn't do this- but it's a shame that it has a few spanners in the works.
Man, I love most of the animations that your character does, but I _hate_ that he just swings the monkey around for his hover move. It just feels too forced to justify the hovering; there’s better options that could have been done instead.
I think it's a tribute to "Whiplash". I'm not sure what else they could do though, except make Clive spin his ears, similar to Rayman spinning his hair.
In some levels he could have a cape with his costume, and use that to glide (like in Gex 3), but that would mean you'd not have the ability in stages where you weren't wearing one
I was always more into the 3d platformers that were challenges like Mario 64 than collectathons like banjo. Also the character design really strikes me the wrong way. Its is suposed to be like those old 64 games were characters were most very generic mascot like creatures. Even banjo suffers very much from that. But just because of it you don't need to fallow such generic safe route. They are so uninteresting. Also look like buffed quick bunny and curious george with pants. looks well done and has thta banjo feeling, so I the creator did a really good job. But I just think you could have done something more.
If you're after a Mario 64 style challenge based platformer then Hat in Time and Poi are both good examples on Switch
I understand the influence of the game (ps1/n64) but the soundtrack is really outdated :(
Damn. That’s disappointing. I was hoping for another Banjo or Jak & Daxter type of game….
This is clearly inspired by Jak on PS2, disapointed that the reviewer -does not know- mention the game.
Except the developer said he was inspired by games from the N64 and PS1 era in terms of the gameplay.
Is it "clearly inspired" by Jak and Daxter?
For one, that game had a style where the whole world felt like one big place, whereas this game has a level-selection hub. This game also doesn't have any power-ups equivalent to the red, yellow and blue Eco of that game. And story-wise they aren't similar either: one is about dark Eco, one about stolen plans for a time-travel device.
Sorry but I don't really see the comparison myself.
I really really really want to like this game, and I kinda don't. I adore Banjo, Mario Odyssey, Super Lucky, and I can be forgiving if the game itself is fun, such as Poi and Woodle Tree 2, which are flawed and amateurish, but still fun. This game, though, is clunky and frustrating. The bosses seem to require luck to beat. The hit box is unintuitive. It's a mess. I hope it gets patched, but honestly it seems like the problems run to deep.
A passion project of 10 years... 10 years of work to be released before it's truly ready.
It's too bad they couldn't do better with this game.
The game is OK. Wouldn't go as far as to give it such a low score like Nintendo Life did. But I would at best give it 5 out of 10. So many better 3d platformers for the Switch than this.
It's mad how Nintendo Life gave this game 3/10, calling it a "broken-mess"... yet Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which were so bad on-launch Nintendo issued a public apology for, get 7/10!
I can see what they were going for however a game tributing this era of 3D platforming shouldn't look and play like it was actually made in that era. Definitely agree that more polish is needed and improvements with boss transitions. Sale for sure.
Nothing like Blue fire for this 3d platforms games
I don't like the game resolution style. Looks like a pc game if that makes sense?
This game looks very generic. I get that they were going for that nostalgic 90s feeling - which they successfully attained - but even back then originality was where these games would differentiate themselves from each other... And this just doesn't look that original?
Great job for the one man team! But this will be a pass for me
this bad game is not worth 29.99 to me this game only worth 15.99
Ps2 graphics.......
Yeah, that part was intentional. The glitches however....
@@SwitchUpYt reminds me more of early pc resolution if that makes sense
Its over priced for my taste but then it's also been getting bad reviews so that's unfortunate.
Ugh. Looks like Great Value Banjo-Kazooie.
Looks cheap and shovelware-ish.
Looks like a PlayStation 1 game. Lots of issues as well there that’ll keep me from buying it until it’s on deep sale
PS1 never had a resolution that sharp
The rabbits face is creepy.
This just looks charmless and empty.
And Jank.
Such a shame I was really hoping for this one to be a banger! Hope you’re okay Glen? Eep!! 😱🫶
Thanks Fee. Yeah, had quite a scare but on the mend now. Glen x
@@SwitchUpYt Phew! 🫶