Throes of the Watchmaker DLC reviewed on Steam Deck

The adventure of Zale and Valere that makes up the base Sea of Stars game was one for the ages. I was compelled to award it the highest score our site could give when it launched in the summer of 2023 (check out the review here). Nearly two years hence and the folks at Sabotage Studio have delivered another gift: this one in the form of a free 8 to 10-hour DLC campaign entitled Throes of the Watchmaker. Accessed as part of the post-game for Sea of Stars, Throes of the Watchmaker dresses itself in a carnival theme, complete with two new classes for the protagonist pair and a new but familiar character to round out the trio. I’m not one who normally returns to many games after rolling credits, even for zero-cost extra content, but Sea of Stars was always going to be an exception, and I’m definitely pleased that I made time for it.

The premise of the DLC is that the party returns to the Clockwork Castle to assist the Watchmaker with a miniature world of her own creation, Horloge, in which an evil has taken hold and spun off into a cursed carnival, complete with dopplegangers of Valere, Zale. and the Watchmaker herself. After being granted the ability to shrink down to size, the party make their way into Horloge to solve its mysteries and set things to rights. Here, Zale exchanges his sword swinging for fire-based juggling, while Valere becomes a nimble acrobat. Friendly robot companion Arty, whom players will likely recognize, brings cannon and laser-based abilities to bear against the hostile denizens of Horloge.

After a brief introduction area, a sprawling city space offers shops, NPCs, and mini-game challenges to test your mettle. You also get to ride a train on the overworld map to take you from place to place, including more requisite RPG fishing holes. The familiar recipes and cooking mechanics return here, too, but progression is a little more limited in that levelling up features no choice in terms of stat boosts; instead, the three party members see all of their stats tick up after each of the seven or so maximum levels to gain. Some of these level-ups bestow a new ability, and a variety of gear can be found or purchased to keep your team fighting fit. Early on, the combat is pretty tough, especially for those who haven’t played Sea of Stars since release, but once you figure out the timing for the new attacks (yours and your foes’), the going gets easier.

One of the most noticeable aspects of Throes of the Watchmaker is its abundance of puzzles within the three major dungeons. Enemy encounters pop up periodically, but they feel much less prominent compared to the block pushing, order-of-operations type activities that require more brain power and less manual dexterity compared to the battles. If you enjoyed the smattering of puzzles from the base game, you’ll be well served by the DLC; if you were more fond of the story and combat, you may find those slightly lacking in comparison. That said, the quality of the puzzles and a new power transfer-type mechanic inspired by adding Arty to the team still make for a satisfying bookend to the Sea of Stars campaign.

None of the above sentences hammer home the relentless charm that continues to pour forth from the characters and situations you encounter, but references to classic Super Nintendo games in particular made this ‘80s and ‘90s kid grin from ear to ear. If this is the last we see of Valare and Zale, it’s a fitting send off for the pair, but I hope Throes of the Watchmaker isn’t the last adventure in the universe that started with incredible action-platformer The Messenger. Sabotage Studio, you’ve got my curiosity AND my attention.