Clock Tower: Rewind is a survival horror from 1995 and one of the genres pioneers. Being translated and released outside of Japan for the first time, having this title on Steam opens up the game to newcomers and allows fans to reunite with Scissorman. That being said, I did find this game very unfriendly to newbies, having not been acquainted with the original, it was difficult to enjoy this with a new set of eyes. To be perfectly clear though, this game is NOT A REMASTER. I repeat, it is NOT a remaster. It plays like an emulated title with awful controls and all the jank you would expect from a ’95 game, so I recommend keeping your expectations in check prior to launching!

Note I have not played the original, nor have I actually heard of it before. Therefore, this review will not focus on comparisons.


Pros

• Translated into English and officially released outside of Japan for the first time
  
• Minor additions such as a new animated opening, theme music and behind the scenes interviews
  
• Throwback to old-school survival horror

Cons

• Abysmal menu screen that resulted in me losing my save a few times and having to start the game afresh
  
• No options to alter sensitivity, rebind keys or adjust audio
  
• The game encourages controller usage but seems widely un-optimised for it
  
• Not very welcoming for newcomers

I tend to review wholesome, puzzle, horror and narrative-driven games. If that sounds up your alley, please feel free to check out my curator page, I'd really appreciate your support! Cookie Reviews.

You play as a teenage orphan named Jennifer who is recently adopted into the Barrows family. You arrive to a creepy, large mansion and are soon on your own… being chased by *dun dun dun* the SCISSORMAN! The Scissorman has a pretty apt name, he is a man who has a pair of huge scissors who chases you around the place… relentlessly! If you don’t know his lore, think of Mr X from Resident Evil, but without the menacing footsteps. He shows up out of nowhere and the chase is on. Hiding is the only option to escape this nightmare!

I know I am late to the party with Clock Tower, but as a newcomer, I had a huge smile on my face watching this lunatic chase me around while I slowly fast-walk away. I am sure this had a different effect on those who played the games original, especially those who played when they were young… but in todays day and age, there is nothing scary about him (which is fine with me).

Jennifer must explore the mansion to escape. Pick up bits and bobs, complete inventory-based puzzles and escape the blades of Scissorman. Although the latter is easier said than done. Your health is in the form of stamina, and you can stop moving to allow it to slightly heal. You can sometimes hold Scissorman back by button mashing, but it will cost a lot of stamina. Once he is chasing you, he is difficult to lose. You can only hide in very limited spots and often he found me there too. If you die, even if you haven’t manually saved, you will respawn shortly before (I appreciated this) but Scissorman will continue to chase you. This can be frustrating to escape him if you’ve found yourself in a dead end with low stamina as you’ll find yourself in an endless loop.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3358815756

Puzzles were interesting and pretty straight-forward for the 90’s era, just be prepared to search every inch of your screen for some pixel hunting. One slightly annoying feature is that when you find something or unlock it, an obnoxiously big pop up blocks your entire screen to announce it. All is good and well with this unless you’re mid-chase with Scissorman. The popup completely blocks all the interactive hotspots and can ruin immersion or even lead to death.

When you die, you must skip a very slow loading screen but if you click multiple times, BEWARE, you may accidentally click “start new game” and not “continue game” (which is the next option below) and if you haven’t manually saved….. you have lost your entire save file and must start the game from the beginning – YAY! I could not open the menu to save on my Xbox controller as the usual menu button just paused the game (without bringing up any menu (?) so I didn’t think I could manually save…… Yes, I learnt this the hard, painful way.

Quality of Life changes – ?
I do not recommend this game if you do not like old games, nor if you don’t have any patience. Perhaps there are some quality-of-life updates in this release, but I can’t say that I see them in the actual GAME very well. The UI is a mess and is very confusing. On controller, you must hold B and keep holding it alongside the thumbsticks to use an item? I still can’t figure out how to open the menu on controller to save my game (it only works when pressing escape). There’s a total lack of settings for basic necessities like sensitivity, audio and key rebinding. Using the thumbsticks to guide the cursor felt like running a marathon and often the sensitivity was way too fast that it just skips over hotspots entirely, so I resorted to playing with mouse and found this much easier (despite the game recommending controller on startup). I understand that these struggles may not happen to those a bit more familiar with these more classic games but alas, I don’t think it should feel this tricky, especially considering the $AU30 price tag.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3358815851

On the storepage, listed “modern inclusions” are an art gallery, music player, behind-the-scenes creator interview, save states and “other modern inclusions.” AKA no additions to the gameplay.
I stressed it in the introduction, and I’ll say it again, this isn’t a remaster and plays like a direct emulation. I recommend setting your expectations accordingly before beginning this adventure and you shouldn’t be disappointed.


Clock Tower: Rewind is a 16-bit classic with large black bar borders. No real complaints about the appearance of the game, I quite liked that the visuals were preserved.

There is a new animated opening and vocal theme song that plays right at the beginning of the game, but the rest of the game is fairly silent. The shuffling of footsteps, loud shrieks, overdramatised groans fill the void but there is little else (unless Scissorman shows up). I enjoyed the simplicity and nod to the past.

This game was played using a a mix of controller and mouse (due to poor settings), and with the following PC specs.:
AMD Ryzen R5 7600x 5.4 GHz
32GB DDR5 5200 CL36 RAM
Radeon RX 6800 XT
2560x1440 resolution
NVMe 3.0 SSD
Windows 10

Replayability value: Yes, to achieve different endings


If you are a long-term Clock Tower fan, or if you wanted to play it but couldn’t due to the region lock, this game is definitely for you. If you like 90’s survival horror and are looking for a throwback fan-service, this should also suit you. However… if you are a newcomer and looking to dive in for the first time (like me), it may be a bit tricky to become invested in the game. Admittedly, I really struggled with the outdated UI and lack of gameplay quality of life changes. For the pricepoint of $AU30, I did expect a bit more than a direct emulation of a nearly 30 year old game which is disguised as a PC port fresh release. However as stated above, if you’re already familiar with Clock Tower or don’t mind the jank, this may still be a game for you

Follow our curator page, IndieGems if you enjoyed this review and wish to see more like it

Clock Tower: Rewind is a survival horror from 1995 and one of the genres pioneers. Being translated and released outside of Japan for the first time, having this title on Steam opens up the game to newcomers and allows fans to reunite with Scissorman. That being said, I did find this game very unfriendly to newbies, having not been acquainted with the original, it was difficult to enjoy this with a new set of eyes. To be perfectly clear though, this game is [b]NOT A REMASTER[/b]. I repeat, it is NOT a remaster. It plays like an emulated title with awful controls and all the jank you would expect from a ’95 game, so I recommend keeping your expectations in check prior to launching! [b]Note[/b] I have not played the original, nor have I actually heard of it before. Therefore, this review will not focus on comparisons. [b] [u]Pros[/u] [/b] [list] [*] Translated into English and officially released outside of Japan for the first time [*] Minor additions such as a new animated opening, theme music and behind the scenes interviews [*] Throwback to old-school survival horror [/list] [b] [u]Cons[/u] [/b] [list] [*] Abysmal menu screen that resulted in me losing my save a few times and having to start the game afresh [*] No options to alter sensitivity, rebind keys or adjust audio [*] The game encourages controller usage but seems widely un-optimised for it [*] Not very welcoming for newcomers [/list] [quote] I tend to review wholesome, puzzle, horror and narrative-driven games. If that sounds up your alley, please feel free to check out my curator page, I'd really appreciate your support! [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34936724/] Cookie Reviews[/url]. [/quote] [h1]Story[/h1] You play as a teenage orphan named Jennifer who is recently adopted into the Barrows family. You arrive to a creepy, large mansion and are soon on your own… being chased by *dun dun dun* the SCISSORMAN! The Scissorman has a pretty apt name, he is a man who has a pair of huge scissors who chases you around the place… relentlessly! If you don’t know his lore, think of Mr X from Resident Evil, but without the menacing footsteps. He shows up out of nowhere and the chase is on. Hiding is the only option to escape this nightmare! I know I am late to the party with Clock Tower, but as a newcomer, I had a huge smile on my face watching this lunatic chase me around while I slowly fast-walk away. I am sure this had a different effect on those who played the games original, especially those who played when they were young… but in todays day and age, there is nothing scary about him (which is fine with me). [h1]Gameplay[/h1] Jennifer must explore the mansion to escape. Pick up bits and bobs, complete inventory-based puzzles and escape the blades of Scissorman. Although the latter is easier said than done. Your health is in the form of stamina, and you can stop moving to allow it to slightly heal. You can sometimes hold Scissorman back by button mashing, but it will cost a lot of stamina. Once he is chasing you, he is difficult to lose. You can only hide in very limited spots and often he found me there too. If you die, even if you haven’t manually saved, you will respawn shortly before (I appreciated this) but Scissorman will continue to chase you. This can be frustrating to escape him if you’ve found yourself in a dead end with low stamina as you’ll find yourself in an endless loop. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3358815756 Puzzles were interesting and pretty straight-forward for the 90’s era, just be prepared to search every inch of your screen for some pixel hunting. One slightly annoying feature is that when you find something or unlock it, an obnoxiously big pop up blocks your entire screen to announce it. All is good and well with this unless you’re mid-chase with Scissorman. The popup completely blocks all the interactive hotspots and can ruin immersion or even lead to death. When you die, you must skip a very slow loading screen but if you click multiple times, BEWARE, you may accidentally click “start new game” and not “continue game” (which is the next option below) and if you haven’t manually saved….. you have lost your entire save file and must start the game from the beginning – YAY! I could not open the menu to save on my Xbox controller as the usual menu button just paused the game (without bringing up any menu (?) so I didn’t think I could manually save…… Yes, I learnt this the hard, painful way. [b] [u]Quality of Life changes – ?[/u] [/b] I do not recommend this game if you do not like old games, nor if you don’t have any patience. Perhaps there are some quality-of-life updates in this release, but I can’t say that I see them in the actual GAME very well. The UI is a mess and is very confusing. On controller, you must hold B and keep holding it alongside the thumbsticks to use an item? I still can’t figure out how to open the menu on controller to save my game (it only works when pressing escape). There’s a total lack of settings for basic necessities like sensitivity, audio and key rebinding. Using the thumbsticks to guide the cursor felt like running a marathon and often the sensitivity was way too fast that it just skips over hotspots entirely, so I resorted to playing with mouse and found this much easier (despite the game recommending controller on startup). I understand that these struggles may not happen to those a bit more familiar with these more classic games but alas, I don’t think it should feel this tricky, especially considering the $AU30 price tag. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3358815851 On the storepage, listed “modern inclusions” are an art gallery, music player, behind-the-scenes creator interview, save states and “other modern inclusions.” AKA no additions to the gameplay. I stressed it in the introduction, and I’ll say it again, this isn’t a remaster and plays like a direct emulation. I recommend setting your expectations accordingly before beginning this adventure and you shouldn’t be disappointed. [h1]Visuals & Sound[/h1] Clock Tower: Rewind is a 16-bit classic with large black bar borders. No real complaints about the appearance of the game, I quite liked that the visuals were preserved. There is a new animated opening and vocal theme song that plays right at the beginning of the game, but the rest of the game is fairly silent. The shuffling of footsteps, loud shrieks, overdramatised groans fill the void but there is little else (unless Scissorman shows up). I enjoyed the simplicity and nod to the past. [h1]Technical & Stats [/h1] [quote][b]This game was played using a a mix of controller and mouse (due to poor settings), and with the following PC specs.:[/b] AMD Ryzen R5 7600x 5.4 GHz 32GB DDR5 5200 CL36 RAM Radeon RX 6800 XT 2560x1440 resolution NVMe 3.0 SSD Windows 10[/quote] [b]Replayability value:[/b] Yes, to achieve different endings [h1]Conclusion[/h1] If you are a long-term Clock Tower fan, or if you wanted to play it but couldn’t due to the region lock, this game is definitely for you. If you like 90’s survival horror and are looking for a throwback fan-service, this should also suit you. However… if you are a newcomer and looking to dive in for the first time (like me), it may be a bit tricky to become invested in the game. Admittedly, I really struggled with the outdated UI and lack of gameplay quality of life changes. For the pricepoint of $AU30, I did expect a bit more than a direct emulation of a nearly 30 year old game which is disguised as a PC port fresh release. However as stated above, if you’re already familiar with Clock Tower or don’t mind the jank, this may still be a game for you [quote] Follow our curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/] [b]IndieGems[/b][/url] if you enjoyed this review and wish to see more like it[/quote]