Spectacle of stars.
When the time finally came to revisit Sea of Stars for the Throes of the Watchmaker DLC, I wasted no time punching my ticket to the cursed carnival. An excuse to jump back in the shoes of Valere and Zale and play more of a game I consider to be a masterpiece? Say less. But with Sea of Stars being one of the few games I’ve given a ten out of ten to– The Messenger just so happens to be among that list as well– I couldn’t flee from the creeping thought that if Throes of the Watchmaker wasn’t as shiny it could somehow dim the glimmer of that world if it didn’t deliver in the same way the base game did.
Before we can even dive into the quality of Throes of the Watchmaker, I have to reckon with my own corkscrew of a brain for twisting me up before I even allowed myself to sit down and experience the next eight or so hours that it took me to deal with the Puppeteer. My relationship with DLC is that normally I don’t have one. Even for games I adore, dragging me back is often met with apathy. Predisposed and conditioned for whatever reason to just not return to the single player games I’ve loved and have felt satisfied with.
Perhaps Throes was predestined to fall short for me for those reasons? Maybe my anxiety swelling up below the Sea of Stars would capsize the Vespertine way before we even made it to Clockwork Castle? I think it had me critiquing Throes of the Watchmaker harshly, or at least unfairly in the early hours. When in the end, I wound up really enjoying my time with the expansion, the over-the-top theatrics of it all, and even happier that it gave me a handful of hours back in that world.
Throes of the Watchmaker has Valere and Zale joining forces with Artificer as a third playable character while the rest of the party takes a breather on this substantial side adventure nestled deep within Sea of Stars. While the party getting a shake up isn’t the only major change to your troupe, the Solstice Warriors have new classes and outfits to match. Valere trades in her Lunar Monk abilities for those of the Acrobat class, while Zale ditches Solar Blade Dancing to become a Juggler both heroes with new fitting specials and skills to accompany their new roles. These changes with Arty joining the party and the new classes for the heroes have purpose within the whimsical story that unfolds as you seek to help free the Watchmaker from the evil lurking inside the world of Horloge. These little moments to explain why this world within the world have their own rules, no matter how silly they may be at certain points, are the extra little winks and nods that push Throes continually towards spectacle and charm.
As much as I missed going on huge combo streaks with Valere’s Moonerang, it was a treat having to learn new skills that required locking down new timing rhythms. Whether it was expertly swinging from Valere’s trapeze or eviscerating foes with Zale’s flaming juggling— each new ability brought the same level of theming that this lengthy DLC so comfortably dances with. Arty had some of the more eccentric skills some of which involved trampolines and moving all over the screen when in heated conflict— and as someone who played too much of Fire on the Game & Watch Gallery for the Game Boy growing up this skill never ceased to strike a smirk across my face.
The combat in Throes of the Watchmaker continues to stand just as tall as it did originally. Properly allocating turns and abilities in order to break locks on enemies always leaves me with a sense of accomplishment. Weaving an additional layer of strategy over timed button presses refused to get tiresome in the DLC as the variety of enemies and boss fights kept the puzzling nature of bouts fresh and fluid without seemingly retreading too much familiar battle design. A battle system that remains a triumph even within the spectacle of Throes of the Watchmaker.
With less world to cover, each area of Throes of the Watchmaker felt overflowing with puzzles both in the traversal and quest progression that offered challenge and made each passageway all the more exciting and alive. With collectible items and treasure chests to be opened there was a surprisingly decent amount of optional puzzling and landscape combing to invest in. Utilizing mechanics from Sea of Stars and introducing another that allows you to move specific platforms to designated areas to reach new heights or cross over chasms helped flesh out the adventure every step of the journey. The depth to areas continued to iterate as it slowly built upon itself as you made your way through the tents and train tracks of this truculent circus that never overstays its welcome.
Part of why I loved Sea of Stars so much was the cast of party members and supporting characters, their personal arcs, and the bonds burgeoning between them as the story unraveled. Losing many of those characters for this excursion was a void that wavered between being filled by the much smaller party and the villains at large. Initially, this was one of my bigger points of contention I had with Throes of the Watchmaker but as I spent more time within that narrative and allowed the story beats to blossom, I ultimately landed on a positive note with where things went. Nothing could ever hit as hard as a Flask of Borrowed Time but the brief dissection of mirrored versions of oneself and facing the ugly side of your reflection left me with a tiny bit of introspection that I’m still pondering now. Trying to stack Throes of the Watchmaker against the full game continues to be the wrong way to critique this DLC but I’m just working through my feelings in real-time and you’re just going to have to deal with that I guess.
Memorable boss fights, swapping boat travel for zipping around on a train, and the humorously penned dialogue you’ve grown to expect from a Sabotage joint all coalesce to balance out this side adventure as something whole for the characters it chooses to focus on. If anything, Zale and Valere were the least interesting party members in Sea of Stars so them having a few small moments in Throes of the Watchmaker to have to confront their own internal problems was a welcome bonus to revisiting these characters again.
Throes of the Watchmaker is dripping with pixel perfection, exceptional puzzling, cadenced combat, and chuckling wit that you’d hope an expansion to Sea of Stars would be drowning in. Even though its narrative sauce isn’t as robust as the base game so excellently bonked it out of the park it doesn’t make it any less appetizing as a sprinkle of seasoning atop an already Michelin quality dish. Throes of the Watchmaker gave me an excuse to exist in that world again for just the right length of time without being bored and any fan of Sea of Stars who’s looking for another helping should scoop this onto their plate the next time their hunger pangs are pulsing without thinking twice.
We played Throes of the Watchmaker on Steam with a code provided by the developer. Full disclosure, I also backed Sea of Stars on Kickstarter.
Throes of the Watchmaker releases May 20th, 2025 as a free update to Sea of Stars on Xbox Series X | S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 & 5, and Steam.
For all things Sea of Stars, Throes of the Watchmaker, and indie game related, be sure to keep it locked to Pass The Controller. For more Sea of Stars content check out the inspired cocktail Cosmic Ocean, our spoiler-free review on episode 383 of the Pass The Controller Podcast and our Spoilercast on episode 384. For a deeper dive on all things gaming and nerd culture, listen to the Pass The Controller Podcast with new episodes weekly on your favorite podcast platform. Want to continue the conversation with us and our community? Join our official Discord server.
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