Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 81 | 12 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 92% | 86 | 380 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 84 | 4 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 38% | 44 | 1 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 4 reviews sampled · 2 total reviews in window · weighted 0.6 up / 1 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (21)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“With their latest, Dan Marshall and Ben Ward successfully extend their lovingly parodic style to a much broader range of genres.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Lair of the Clockwork God is a difficult one to score. What it does well is brilliant, the humour is great, with constant jokes both quickfire and slow-burn, but the gameplay is a more complex matter. While it's not bad by any reasonable metric, it is awkward in places.”
read full review ↗ - 62
“This is one of those titles where I'm incredibly torn on where to put it...”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Fans of adventure games will get a big laugh out of Lair of the Clockwork God. Sadly, the platforming half of the experience is mediocre and unpolished. The experiment of Size Five Games is mostly a success with managing to find a careful balance of platforming and puzzles, but the team needed to refine the experience with tighter quality control. The writing and humour elevate theis from being average, to being worth a look towards anyone who enjoys the adventure genre.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“That's not to say the gameplay isn't good. Both sides of the game are fun to play, and again, controls are well thought out, allowing you to hop between the two to make progress. Most interesting is when the duo have an effect on each other, such as crafting upgrades for Dan using Ben's inventory items. There's a lot going on here, and while it's occasionally a little clumsy, its humour and ingenuity make it a success.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Lair of the Clockwork God is a welcome trip off the beaten path, filled with stellar comedy and a wealth of lighthearted, enjoyable puzzles. The sum is greater than its parts, as I can easily poke holes in the platforming, but that total is still filled with goofy fun. Check out Clockwork God if you want to laugh a lot while controlling two adversarial pals in a quest to, I guess, save the world from certain dooms.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“A cohesive and complementary blend of point-and-click adventure and 2D platformer, Lair of the Clockwork God is a real rib tickler that’s capable of delivering real emotion when it aims to. This is Ben & Dan’s magnum opus and one of the most essential games of 2020.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Bottomless wit and some inspired design choices make this genre mash-up a joy to play.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed this game. It does require you to be a fan of both point-and-click and platform games, but if you are, then this is an absolule diamond-studded must buy.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Lair of the Clockwork God is a genre mash-up that probably shouldn't work, and yet it does. It feels a little unrefined, intentionally so, but there's plenty of comedic fodder in indie platformers, modern gaming and life for Ben and Dan to riff off through the lens of classic LucasArts style adventures.”
read full review ↗ - 83
“The kind of game you'll be quoting for years to come.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Dan Marshall has said publicly that if Lair of the Clockwork God doesn’t sell well enough, it will most likely be Ben and Dan’s final adventure. And if that’s how it transpires, then this game will be a fitting swansong. But if there’s any justice in the world it will sell hand over fist, because it’s a brilliant, joyous, clever and generous experience.”
read full review ↗
Slant Magazine
Nintendo Life
Nindie Spotlight
Cubed3
Push Square
NintendoWorldReport
FingerGuns
Eurogamer
GameGrin
TheSixthAxis
PC Gamer
Thumbsticks…and 9 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- v1.017 NOW LIVE!Jun 9, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- v1.016 Now LiveApr 3, 2020
- v1.014 Now Live!Mar 11, 2020
- v1.013 Now LiveMar 9, 2020
- v1.012 Now Live!Mar 6, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- v1.011 Now Live!Mar 3, 2020
- v1.010 Now Live!Mar 2, 2020
- v1.09 Now Live!Mar 1, 2020
- v1.08 Now Live!Feb 28, 2020
- v1.07 Now Live!Feb 27, 2020
- v1.06 now live!Feb 25, 2020
- v1.05 now live!Feb 24, 2020
- v1.04 now live!Feb 24, 2020
- v1.03Feb 23, 2020
- v1.02 NOW LIVE!Feb 23, 2020
- v1.01 NOW LIVEFeb 22, 2020