MINI REVIEW: THE LAST CLOCKWINDER (PSVR2) - A SATISFYING, CHILLED OUT PUZZLER

In a nutshell, The Last Clockwinder is a blend of solving puzzles and building factories. It’s not the most original idea, but it’s executed really well, taking advantage of virtual reality’s unique perspective to create some truly engrossing gameplay.

Set within the Clocktower, an enormous tree acting as a safe haven for various plant species, it’s your job to get everything running again. With the Clockwinder’s gloves, you’ll create looping clones of your actions to automate the gathering of fruits, activating machinery, and more. Once you hit record, whatever you physically do in the short timeframe will be replicated on a loop. This allows you to, for example, pick a fruit, then throw it across the room. You can then create another clone to catch it, and continue the process.

Thanks to solid tracking of the PSVR2 Sense Controllers, it all works wonderfully. There’s a lovely tactility to the game, as all the actions come from your own movements. Successfully making an ever-repeating production line, crafting molecular structures from sticks and fruits before throwing them into a receptacle, is a super satisfying feeling. You’re soon able to create clones of differing lengths of time, and as you explore the Clocktower, you’ll discover new plants, learn more techniques, and uncover the story (which is mostly there as set dressing). It introduces new ideas while upping the difficulty at a great pace.

Though not strictly necessary for progression, there are efficiency targets to aim for, challenging you to maximise production while minimising the number of clones. Aside from that, this is a very laid back experience. Chill music builds as you create more clones, and there are no fail states or time limits — just clone yourself to make looping factory lines and move on. It’s pleasingly open-ended, and time can melt away while you work out a solution.

Despite some low-res textures, a pleasant art style tops things off nicely, and a decent range of comfort options is there if required. The Last Clockwinder isn’t a big, showy experience, instead using VR to really root you to the puzzles. Enjoyable throughout and no longer than it needs to be, this is quietly one of the better games among PSVR2’s launch lineup.