The Clockwork Man

About

In The Clockwork Man, players explore a steam-powered Victorian era, assisting engineer Miranda Calomy on a global quest to reassemble her grandfather's mysterious invention. Featuring hand-painted hidden objects, immersive puzzles, and an innovative hint system with a robot sidekick, this game encourages replayability with changing object locations and freeplay mode.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

50%

Audience ScoreBased on 62 reviews

story12 positive mentions

stability7 negative mentions

The game features beautiful graphics and a charming steampunk aesthetic that many players appreciate.
The hint system is innovative and adds a layer of strategy to the gameplay, allowing players to find hidden objects more easily.
The game offers a unique experience with zoomable and scrollable scenes, making the hidden object gameplay more engaging.

The game is very short, typically taking only 2-3 hours to complete, which many players find disappointing.
Objects are often extremely tiny and difficult to identify, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
There are numerous technical issues, including compatibility problems with Windows 10 and bugs that can hinder progress.

story
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
62%
8%
The game's story is set in a steampunk Victorian world and is generally described as simple, short, and lacking depth, with many reviewers noting plot holes and a fast pace. While some appreciate the intriguing elements and good voice acting, others criticize the overall execution, calling it dull and filled with filler content. The narrative serves primarily as a backdrop for hidden-object gameplay, and many players feel it could benefit from more development and coherence.
- “I love the steampunk vibe, the details in imagery, and the concept of the story.”
- “The hidden world's plot is much more involved than #1 and, in my opinion, fascinating.”
- “If you enjoy point and click searches with an interesting storyline, this is a definite winner.”
- “There isn't really a story.”
- “The game is too short and the story is totally dull.”
- “The story was pretty miserable and irrelevant.”
gameplay
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
61%
17%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the relaxing hidden object mechanics and unique elements, while others have criticized it for being buggy and lacking depth. The game features zoomable and scrollable scenes, but many found the hint system unreliable and certain puzzles broken, leading to a tedious experience. Overall, while the charming visuals and storyline are praised, the gameplay issues detract significantly from the overall enjoyment.
- “The gameplay consists of levels where you have to point and click on objects to collect or use in the level.”
- “Very good hidden object game with loads of unique gameplay elements to spice it up a bit, good storyline, great graphics, and is a decent length.”
- “I found the gameplay fun and relaxing.”
- “One of the puzzles was broken; it lacks other gameplay elements that you usually find in other hidden object games.”
- “The gameplay elements are so buggy they're almost broken, making it a very tedious and exhausting gameplay experience.”
- “It's a nice game, but there's hardly any game time... I accidentally left it running for a day, so it recorded as 9 hours, but I think it's closer to 1.5-2 hours of gameplay.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their high quality and detailed artwork, with many reviewers noting the appealing character designs and unique visual elements. However, some players expressed frustration with the small size of objects in scenes, which detracted from the overall experience. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere.
- “High quality art throughout - I especially appreciated the detailed artwork in the close-up of each object I found.”
- “Nice graphics and good character designs.”
- “Very good hidden object game with loads of unique gameplay elements to spice it up a bit, good storyline, great graphics, and a decent length.”
- “High quality art throughout - I especially appreciated the detailed artwork in the close-up of each object I found. But then why make them so darn tiny in the scenes? More on that below.”
- “Maybe it's my imagination, but it seems the graphics are better in the second game, though I'm pretty sure they used the same game engine.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
13%
38%
The music in the game is generally described as pleasant and cinematic-quality, though some users noted issues with volume balance, making it difficult to hear voice acting. While the music is enjoyable, it lacks a smooth looping and can feel jarring at times. Overall, it enhances the atmosphere but is not considered spectacular.
- “The music was good, though it didn't loop well and tended to be a bit jarring when it did.”
- “In both games, the music isn't spectacular but it's pleasant to listen to.”
- “All that being said, the art was beautiful, the few mini-games and point-and-click sections were intuitive enough, the voice acting was hilariously over-the-top, and the music was cinematic-quality.”
- “The audio volume is too low compared to the music volume by default, but there were settings for these to fix it.”
- “The default sound level has the music as loud as the voice acting, which makes it impossible to hear what people are saying.”
- “Initially thought this would be a Burton-esque steampunk point-and-click adventure, but despite the grand music, it turned out that the Clockwork Man is mostly a hidden object game with the occasional puzzle.”
stability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is notably poor, with users reporting significant bugs and sluggish performance, particularly on Windows 10 despite troubleshooting efforts. While the story and voice acting are praised, the overall gameplay experience is marred by technical issues, making it feel tedious and frustrating.
- “I actually did like this game when I was on an older version of Windows; unfortunately, it doesn't run on Windows 10 even after some troubleshooting.”
- “In itself, it is a forgettable and buggy game.”
- “As it stands, it's all a bit sluggish and buggy (I have a very powerful PC, so hardware is not the issue).”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its over-the-top voice acting and amusing accents, as well as a recurring theme of characters being messy or disaster-prone, which adds a comedic twist to the hidden object puzzles. While the random assortment of items in the scenes can feel chaotic, there are moments of genuine hilarity, particularly in a unique gimmick level and the absurdity of the protagonist's cleaning challenges. Overall, the humor is a standout feature, despite some shortcomings in the story and puzzle design.
- “On the positive side, some of the accents are hilarious.”
- “All that being said, the art was beautiful, the few mini-games and point-and-click sections were intuitive enough, the voice acting was hilariously over-the-top, and the music was cinematic-quality.”
- “It's hilarious how everywhere Miranda goes, people ask her to clean up a big mess.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and exhausting, primarily due to frequent hidden object segments set in a messy environment. While the story and voice acting are praised, the buggy gameplay elements detract significantly from the overall experience.
- “Unfortunately, the setting of the adventure, New Coventry, is much like its real-world equivalent and full of people with messy, run-down houses, so the hidden object bits are frequent and rather tedious.”
- “The story is awesome with very good voice acting; this saves the game from being a total disaster. However, the gameplay elements are so buggy they're almost broken, making it a very tedious and exhausting gameplay experience.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While the graphics and character designs are praised for their quality, there is little mention of depth or progression in character development, suggesting that visual appeal may overshadow more substantive growth in the characters themselves.
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game effectively captures and maintains a steampunk atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience for players.
- “It also does a pretty good job of maintaining a steampunk atmosphere throughout the game.”