Clockwork Aquario Reviews
Clockwork Aquario is a very short 2D platformer that may or may not be worth your time. It’s a fascinating play knowing how long it took to release and it looks great but you’ll quickly experience all that it has to offer.
That such a project (so inspired by the love of retro) goes ahead is always a joy. The game itself blames certain imbalances in the difficulty curve and becomes somewhat short, but it is undoubtedly agile, friendly and direct, in the style of those arcades that stole the fourth decades ago, without it "hurting" us to empty the wallet.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Clockwork Aquario is a fantastic action-platformer that blends quick-moving playable characters and enemies alongside an inventive attack strategy.
Clockwork Aquario is a wonderful example of how awesome of a time in games we are truly in. A forgotten gem that likely would have never seen the light of day makes an appearance some 30 years later. I had a blast with its simple mechanics and gorgeous art style. If you are like me and grew up hanging out in arcades far too much, this one will spark that childhood nostalgia we all strive for as we grow old and jaded. Definitely recommended.
Clockwork Aquario is a great title if you are looking to be transported to the arcade from your house. It's bright, colourful, and has a fun co-op mode so you can share the experience with a friend. If you have a Switch this is a title to check out!
It is fabulous to find a game that was once lost be brought back to life but not only that, brought back to life with such care and commitment. Yes, it’s really short but you will love beating up robot penguins and crazy fish heads and you genuinely will feel a sense that you have been given the privilege to play this game at long last. This has to be in your game collection not just for the nostalgia but quite simply because it is one superb piece of gaming.
Clockwork Aquario has been a long time coming, but it was definitely worth the wait. An obvious labour of love, this ill-fated arcade gem has been improbably recovered, restored, and reassembled, and it never feels like anything less than a carefully unearthed treasure that's been polished until it shines. It won't take long to beat - and it shouldn't, because a good 30-year-old arcade platformer is supposed to be short and sweet - but what the game lacks in length it more than makes up for in entertainment and raw creativity, with stages pitting you against everything from mechanical flying fish to a gigantic egg-dropping robo-penguin. It's the sort of game you come back to again and again because you want to rather than have to, and we feel lucky to have it.
Clockwork Aquario is a restorative labour of love 27 years in the making. What’s not to like?
Was it worth the wait? Absolutely; a restoration project of this magnitude is worthy of note, if nothing else — but when the final game ends up being a lot of charming fun on top of all that, then yes, it most definitely was worth the wait.
It's a great retro novelty, capable of filling the hearts of fans. It just doesn't melt them due to poor longevity.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Clockwork Aquario is just a wonderful arcade experience that had me grinning throughout. As a retro gamer and Wonder boy series fanboy this seemed like probably the best early Xmas present I could ask for this year (that’s gaming related). Now putting my fandom to the side I will point out this is a very short arcade game with very minimal extras. Some may feel this doesn’t justify the price of entry. However, this art style is gorgeous, the game is co-op and the feel-good factors I had playing this more than justifies the praise that this product deserves. Clockwork Aquario may have been deemed unsuitable for the industry back in the day but it sure fits in now and I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to experience it.