Lair of the Clockwork God

Comedy in video games is an historically treacherous minefield. For every Portal, there are a dozen titles that mistake pop-culture references for punchlines and frantic screaming for wit. Size Five Games, led by developer Dan Marshall, understands that true interactive humor cannot simply be written onto a game; it must be baked directly into its mechanics. Lair of the Clockwork God is the culmination of this philosophy, acting as a clever, cynical, and deeply mechanically satisfying send-up of the video game industry. Nominally a sequel to the developers’ earlier point-and-click adventure titles Ben There, Dan That! and Time Gentlemen, Please!, this title shifts its structural paradigm entirely to explore the friction between traditionalism and modernism.

The premise is delightfully absurd. Lifelong friends Ben and Dan must stop multiple simultaneous apocalypses by teaching a giant, world-saving AI computer human emotions through custom-designed levels. Yet, the real magic lies in their mechanical divide. Ben is a stubborn, die-hard point-and-click purist who refuses to run or jump, viewing physical platforming as beneath his intellectual dignity. Dan is a hyperactive, modern indie platformer protagonist who runs, wall-jumps, and shoots, but is entirely incapable of interacting with items or holding conversations. The game positions itself not just as a hybrid, but as a hostile negotiation between two distinct eras of game design. By pitting these opposing philosophies against each other, Size Five Games crafts a cooperative puzzle-platformer where narrative satire and mechanical execution are indistinguishable.

• Genre-Splitting Dual Protagonists: Players control both Ben, a traditionalist adventure hero who interacts with items and characters, and Dan, a nimble platforming protagonist who maneuvers through physical environmental hazards.
• Mechanical Synergy & Upgrades: A design loop where Ben uses his classic adventure puzzle-solving skills to craft upgrades (like double-jumps or specialized boots) that Dan then uses to bypass hazards and access new areas.
• Self-Referential Satirical Narrative: A narrative framework that directly satirizes video game tropes, classic point-and-click adventure logic, and the commercial pressures of the modern indie game scene.

The Mechanical Synergy

Lair of the Clockwork God operates as a dual-engine machine, and its brilliance lies in how these engines feed into each other. If the game had merely let players switch between a platformer and an adventurer in separate rooms, it would have been a gimmick. Instead, Size Five Games establishes a tight mechanical dependency. Ben is physically vulnerable; he cannot cross basic spikes, climb ledges, or escape danger. Dan, while highly athletic, is functionally brainless in the context of the game’s puzzles; he cannot pick up items, speak to NPCs, or understand why a combination lock requires a specific code.

This creates a fascinating gameplay dynamic where progress is gated by a mutual exchange of services. To help Ben cross a chasm, Dan must carry him, or find a way to manipulate the environment. To help Dan bypass a laser grid, Ben must explore the surrounding areas, combine seemingly useless inventory items—ranging from discarded junk to literal garbage—and solve a traditional lateral-logic puzzle. The loop becomes especially rewarding when Ben’s puzzles culminate in crafting upgrades for Dan. By literalizing the progression loop—where the point-and-click hero is the one actually building the double-jump boots and the grapple guns for the platformer—the game highlights the sheer absurdity of standard video game progression while keeping the mechanical loop fresh and engaging.

The Pacing and the Cognitive Load

Integrating these two distinct genres does not come without friction, and that friction is both a thematic strength and a minor mechanical weakness. The transition between fast-paced platforming and slow, methodical puzzle-solving can occasionally feel jarring. A high-stress, kinetic sequence with Dan can halt entirely the moment control switches to Ben for a multi-stage inventory puzzle involving an existential AI.

This juxtaposition is, of course, the primary source of the game’s humor, but from a pure user experience standpoint, it demands a high degree of cognitive shifting. The onboarding friction is low because both genres are individually familiar, but the constant switching forces the brain to adjust its pacing on a dime. The platforming physics are also built for the cooperative puzzle framework rather than for precision: Dan is quick, but his jump arc and momentum are deliberately looser than modern platforming stalwarts like Celeste. It is competent platforming, but the mechanics clearly exist to serve the puzzle design rather than to stand entirely on their own merits as a premier platforming experience.

Narrative as Design

Lair of the Clockwork God‘s biting commentary is what makes it special. The game serves as a sharp critique of the current games industry, taking aim at everything from predatory monetization and live-service models to the pretentious tropes of modern indie games. The writing is incredibly sharp, utilizing a dry, satirical British wit that breaks the fourth wall with reckless abandon. Yet, it never feels cheap. The satire works because it is built into the verbs of the game. When Ben complains about the ridiculousness of platforming, or when Dan points out the absurdity of combining a piece of gum with a coat hanger to unlock a door, they are articulating the exact thoughts of the player. This alignment of player perspective and character motivation is a rare achievement in game narrative.

Visually, the game adopts a clean, stylized vector aesthetic that fits its lighthearted, satirical tone perfectly. The character models for Ben and Dan are expressive despite their simplicity, communicating personality through subtle animations—such as Ben’s stubborn, hands-in-pockets walk and Dan’s eager, bouncing idle stance. The environments are well-designed, successfully conveying the distinct visual languages of both dark, gritty point-and-click backdrops and bright, hazard-filled platformer levels.

A 2D game of this scope is light on hardware, and the minimalist user interface smartly stays out of the way to allow the contrasting gameplay styles to take center stage. The audio design also deserves praise; the soundtrack shifts dynamically to match whichever character is currently active, transitioning from atmospheric, slow-tempo tracks for Ben to energetic, synthesizer-driven chiptunes for Dan, reinforcing the mechanical shift with acoustic cues.

On Steam, a controller is the natural fit for Dan’s platforming sections while offering a radial-menu system for Ben’s adventure-game inventory. Purists can opt for the classic mouse-and-keyboard setup, which suits Ben’s point-and-click segments, though Dan’s platforming is designed around analog directional input and loses some of its fluidity without it.

The Nintendo Switch port is a particularly good fit. The game suits the hybrid console’s nature, making it a strong choice for portable play, and the text size—a common pitfall for indie ports on the Switch’s small screen—is designed to remain legible in handheld mode. For those who want the duo’s comedic journey on the go, the Switch version is arguably the most comfortable way to experience it.

Lair of the Clockwork God is a standout achievement in design and comedic writing. Size Five Games has achieved something rare: a game that is hilarious while offering deep, satisfying mechanical systems. The friction between its two genres is not a bug; it is the entire point. While the platforming controls lack the precision of the genre’s finest, and the pacing occasionally stumbles during abrupt transitions, the cleverness of the puzzles and the sharpness of the narrative more than compensate. We rate it highly and recommend it as both a vital piece of interactive critique and a fun experience.