Sea of Stars’ Throes of the Watchmaker DLC does not address core issues I had with the original release, but as a free DLC that takes a surprising direction by the end, it almost felt well-deserved. It starts by surprisingly touching on a minor plot point around someone’s identity, which ropes the Solstice Warriors into making a deal with the eponymous Watchmaker to clean up another of the Fleshmancer’s messes. While the threat is much smaller this time, it is just as dangerous, taking place entirely within a clock that was supposed to have power over time itself. Trusting the Fleshmancer led to this not only being perverted from its initial purpose, but The Watchmaker herself was tricked into creating a dark clone of herself called The Puppeteer.
Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker
Developer: Sabotage Studio
Price: Free
Platform: Switch, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC (reviewed)
MonsterVine was supplied with a Steam code for review
The Puppeteer was sealed by The Watchmaker in that clock, but this left an entire clockwork ecosystem at her mercy. Even worse, A Dweller incubates in that very clock as The Watchmaker saw no other option but to seal the device and bide her time. As our heroes Valere and Zale enter the clockwork world, they enter the town of Horloge only to discover they are not only powerless, but must embrace The Puppeteer’s twisted vision in part to take her on or be replaced by evil doubles, The Narcis King and The Feral Queen.
It is strange to have a DLC you needed to beat the game for to take place in the story before that happens, but I imagine, much like me, many people have finished up their initial, New Game+, or secret ending run of Sea of Stars and are ready for new content regardless. While the DLC advertises new classes for Valere and Zale as well as a new party member, there’s a catch. The new character, The Artificer (a.k.a. Arty), and the new Acrobat class for Valere and the Juggler class for Zale come at a trade-off. Your party shrinks to three with only Zale, Valere, and The Artificer available, which left me without the much more interesting and powerful characters that join your party later in the game. Valere and Zale’s new classes are also not a class promotion, but have you start over as a sidegrade in Metroidvania fashion. While there are story reasons for this, I found myself at a game over screen more than I would have liked because certain abilities and characters were not available to me in this DLC.
A big part of Throes of the Watchmaker is the fact that the main characters have dark reflections of themselves they have to face, to bring an internal battle external. The problem is, Zale and Valere are barely characters as is. I know they grew up together, and they have dedicated their life to the cause of being Solstice Warriors, but not much else. Zale likes doing push-ups, and Valere, I can say even less about. While it is common for games to have ciphers as their main characters, other party members introduced later have actual reasons to draw a player’s attention. Garl is curious, friendly, and gregarious to a fault. Seraï holds a great secret and knows much more about Zale and Valere’s fight with the Dwellers than she lets on. Resh’an is a complicated and somewhat tragic figure who wants to put the world right, but cannot do so himself. The Artificer is the result of Caël and other kids making a pact to share a body and help the Solstice Warriors. So when the Throes of the Watchmaker asks me to believe Zale’s reflection, The Narcis King is his attention-seeking given form, or Valere’s reflection, The Feral Queen, is her unbound by rules and putting herself first, I have no reason to disbelieve their internal struggles. On the other hand, I have no reason to believe Zale and Valere struggle with these issues either, as it isn’t present in Sea of Stars before this DLC. I found the Narcis King a bit more believable, and the actual fight more interesting, as it is implied that Zale is in the “younger brother” role. The Solstice Warriors train from childhood to confront Dwellers, so while I understand they are very serious and have a duty they put before themselves, this should not exclude them from having a personality. The Narcis King’s grand castle with plenty of giant gaudy statues did much more for me than The Feral Queen’s nondescript nighttime lycan gathering zone.
As with the base game, there are plenty of puzzles, secrets, recipes, fish to catch, Wheels players to challenge, and minigames to chase after if you choose to. The minigames are inoffensive and reward you with items that make the quest a bit easier.
Without completely spoiling the ending, my opinion changed a bit on Throes of the Watchmaker. In this ending, you are greeted by dancing townsfolk with wide smiles on their faces. The numerous references to great RPGs of the past are even more visible in this DLC, with a “Crazy Train” being suplexed. I started to ask myself, “So what if Sea of Stars is taking a victory lap?” It feels like even more cutscenes are in Throes of the Watchmaker than the base game, and Sea of Stars sold incredibly well, so much so that the developer’s first year projections only took a single week to achieve. While Throes of the Watchmaker is not a complete overhaul that solves issues I still have with the base game’s release, if you enjoyed Sea of Stars before, you will probably enjoy this free expansion after some time away, with the additional Dawn of Equinox changes implemented as well.
The Final Word
Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker is a great DLC for those who were already hooked on the base game and crave more, though it may leave others wanting. New classes and a new party member don’t make up for the lack of character development for our main duo, and I did not appreciate having my party shrunk and helpful skills removed. A gorgeous and bombastic ride seems to be Sea of Stars’ goal here, and on that note, they do not disappoint. If you were craving more Sea of Stars or have been away from the game, this free DLC awaits a brave Solstice Warrior or three to mete out justice once again.
MonsterVine Rating: 3.5 out of 5 – Fair