Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker

Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker adds an extra campaign that somehow surpasses the base game, and it won't cost you a penny.

Free, great DLC for an incredible game is a no-brainer recommendation from me.

Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker is a solid expansion that brings a journey full of novelties and allows a little more nuance to the characterization of the two protagonists. Overall, the experience manages to maintain the charm and charisma of the base game and is strongly recommended for those who want to live a little more of what this universe has to offer.

Sea of Stars Throes of the Watchmaker delivers a follow-up adventure to its core game that is worthy of the legacy it inherits.

Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker is a must-play for fans of the base game. Sea of Stars is a must play for fans of the genre.

Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker is a beautiful additional adventure for the game, showcasing the strengths of its visuals and level design. However, some issues with the presentation of combat and the pacing of battles prevent the DLC from reaching its full potential.

You can’t argue against the value of free DLC that expands on an already classic RPG. With more inventive, enjoyable combat and a compelling additional story, Throes of the Watchmaker is tougher, perhaps a tad short, but just as entertaining as the main campaign.

Even beyond being a generously free DLC expansion, Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker has surpassed presumptions. It is a stellar follow-up that reinforces this well-designed turn-based RPG with a simultaneously grander yet more intricate identity that, admittedly, suffers from a tacked-on supporting cast and mildly rushed pacing. Between a moderately paced campaign, much-needed character introspection, and more of a challenge than ever, fans should jump on this new content as soon as possible.

With Sea of Stars, Sabotage set out to create a spiritual successor to 16-bit JRPGs of yore, succeeding in some ways but failing in others. With this DLC, you will find the exact same strengths and weaknesses as in the main game. Throes of the Watchmaker is a very good piece of DLC for a very good game! Though the combat system and visual presentation are triumphs, the story and characters might leave you feeling underwhelmed. It would be interesting to see how Sabotage could improve on this solid RPG foundation, but I suspect they plan to move on to other pastures. Much like how they declined to make a sequel to The Messenger, my money says that their third game will also be a completely different genre and likely outside of our coverage. Given the baffling number of Super Punch-Out!! references present (yeah, the game is still meta), maybe they will be diving into a new take on that classic SNES title! But as this studio consistently delivers mechanically engaging, visual treats to the eyes, I am willing to explore whatever direction they take next!

Throes of the Watchmaker improves aspects of the base game, while offering a new journey under a new theme, while the visuals are one of the big highlights.

Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker tries to improve on the base game’s weak protagonists with a stronger character focus, but unfortunately, it does so with brute force and ultimately falls short. At the very least, its combat remains highly engaging, and even if there are far too many puzzles now, the game’s aesthetics still carry it hard.

Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker is an attempt to make the stars of the base game actual characters, and while it fails at that the effort is appreciated. Still, the game itself is a ton of fun, with great combat, gorgeous visuals, fantastic music, and fun puzzles.