Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker Review – A Magical Curtain Call

Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker on Nintendo Switch

2023 is probably one of the best years for video games in recent memory. Between games like the Resident Evil 4 remake, Street Fighter VI, and Baldur’s Gate III, there was a non-stop stream of classic games releasing, but arguably, Sabotage Studio‘s Sea of Stars was my favourite.

I’ll admit, I’m an easy mark for a game like Sea of Stars. I love classic SNES JRPGs, rich world-building and complex narratives, and deep and rewarding combat systems, all of which Sea of Stars has in spades. I spent weeks seeing the story of Zale, Valere, and best boy Garl come to its conclusion, and I had no major sticking points back then. Even to this day, most of my complaints are nitpicks, like the weaker characterisation of Zale and Valere. But again, those are quibbles at best.

Now, a year and a half later, Sabotage Studio is back with a free expansion to the base game, called Throes of the Watchmaker. I always love it when a company decides to make a story expansion, but making it completely free is a shocking yet pleasant surprise. But while some people may begin Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker expecting it to be some seismic new addition to the base game like Phantom Liberty was to Cyberpunk 2077 or Knife of Dunwall was for Dishonored, that isn’t the case here. This is just a small and compact little expansion that reminds you, for better or worse, that this is more Sea of Stars.

Unlocked after beating the main game, Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker sends Zale, Valere, and their new robot buddy Arty into the clockwork world of Horloge. The reason why is a bit convoluted, most revolving around how a man named Keenathan isn’t actually named Keenathan (just roll with it), but upon arrival, their powers are drained by the evil Puppeteer, and they’re thrown into jail. The Puppeteer then makes evil clones of Zale and Valere, and in order for the party to save Horloge from the awakening of a monster called the Dweller of Scourge, they must defeat their evil clones, then stop the Puppeteer before she awakens the Dweller.

Honestly, the plot takes a backseat after the first hour or so. A lot of exposition is given to the player before entering and upon arrival in Horloge. Compared to the base game, the stakes are noticeably lower, but the tension of Zale and Valere losing their powers and having to fight their dark reflection is a nice, if tired, concept. To make matters worse, we’re told rather than shown that these clones, much like the Shadows in Persona 4, embody their darker traits, traits that are eyebrow-raising at best. It’s been over a year and a half since I last played Sea of Stars, but character traits like Zale’s desire for recognition and Valere’s repressed anger seem manufactured solely for the DLC’s plot.

Then again, combat was the focus of Sea of Stars, not its story. Much like in the base game, the lock system is present in Throes of the Watchmaker, where attacks are aligned with one of four damage types. When an enemy is preparing a powerful move, you’ll have to hit them with a certain amount of unique damage types to weaken the power of their attack. Fully destroy all of their locks, and their move will be cancelled. While each of the six characters in the base game could utilise multiple damage types, the three characters’ attacks are far more limited, making strategy more important than ever before.

Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker does somewhat artificially inflate its difficulty by intentionally obscuring the locks. When an enemy is charging their attacks, unless you’ve already destroyed their locks in a previous encounter, you’ll have no idea what moves you need to hit them with, leading to some cheap moments in the early game that feel like trial and error. It does get easier as the game goes on and you unlock more powerful moves and level up, but I wouldn’t blame you if you died a few times starting the DLC.

The funny thing about Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker is that it isn’t all that difficult. While there are a good handful of bosses, none of them are all that challenging. My favorite fights were against Narcis King, Zale’s clone that uses mirrors to charge his ultimate attack, and the Puppeteer, who turns their entire fight into a game of Wheels, which is the surprisingly in-depth tabletop game from the base game, but the challenge came from crafting an effective strategy rather than brute force.

Probably a big reason for this is that you can only have a max level of six, meaning that once you reach that level, you’ll have unlocked all of the abilities and moves you’ll need to beat the game. Sure, you can find armour, weapons, and stat-increasing candy, but there are so few of them that you don’t really have to think when customising your party. Just equip the item that has the better stats, and you’re good to go. It’s basic, but it keeps the pace going.

While that may seem like a damning argument against Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker, I actually think it’s one of its strengths. Grinding is a non-issue here, since you’ll easily be at max level before you reach the final dungeon. Instead, the combat has you focus on using your limited skills and abilities to maximise your advantage in combat. Each character has an MP meter, and all of your best moves require MP. Once that’s used up, the only way to gain more MP is to either use an item or hit an enemy with a basic attack.

It’s all carried right over from the base game, but because you can’t just constantly swap between characters when you’re in a pickle, strategy comes to the forefront. Now you have to really prioritise who should attack, who should heal, who should use a partner-based attack, and who needs to defend. At points, I had to actually stop to consider my actions, which rarely happens in JRPGs anymore.

Outside of combat, a lot of the mechanics from the base game make their return. Wheels is back with four new players to test your skills with, as well as a new in-game character class called a Warlock, you can fish for resources, you can cook new recipes (provided you have a recipe for them), and you can even collect new collectibles called Time Runes, which will unlock a secret ending if you have all 12 of them. There are also some character-specific mini-games that you unlock as you earn new moves, but they’re underwhelming at best and clunky at worst.

The DLC also features a whole host of puzzles, with the best being relegated to acquiring the optional Time Runes. The game’s four dungeons all have their own unique set of puzzles, but I’m not exactly in love with these dungeons, especially the combat-focused Were-Rock. The dungeons that revolved entirely around puzzles were always a hit, like the Ivory Tower and Big Top, but I never found any of these puzzles particularly brain-taxing.

Honestly, the world of Horloge is the star of Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker. This blending of circus and steampunk aesthetics is wonderful, and as always, Sabotage Studio’s spritework is to die for. Everything looks so fluid and seamless that if you were to tell me that Throes of the Watchmaker took this long to release solely because of the animation, I’d believe you. It’s some of the best spritework I’ve ever seen, and adding in a score that blends circus tracks and pirate shanties is an instant win in my book.

Much like the base game, I can’t say there’s anything inherently wrong with Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker. It’s not quite as immaculate as that modern-day classic, but it isn’t trying to be. It’s meant to be a fun little bit of post-game content that keeps players occupied for about 8-10 hours. Most of the mechanics, presentation, and lore carry over, so if you like Sea of Stars, then you’ll almost certainly like Throes of the Watchmaker. It won’t change your opinion of the base game, but if you’re okay with then, you’ll get along well with it.

Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker is now available for free on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam.