Horror has been a mainstay in gaming for many decades now. Its origins can be traced back to the very beginning of the industry itself. While games with horror elements would be released throughout the 80s to varying degrees of success, none of them seemed to really stand out in any meaningful way. This would change in 1989 with the release of Sweet Home for the Famicom. Sweet Home features a variety of enemies, several playable characters, weapons, and multiple endings. 1992’s Alone In The Dark would expand on this, being the first 3-D horror game ever made. This is where the survival horror formula was essentially solidified. In 1995, Human Entertainment took their shot at the genre, a game that would go down as a quintessential horror classic of the era, Clock Tower. For many years it was trapped as a Japanese exclusive, but thankfully, Capcom and Wayforward have given fans their due with Clock Tower Rewind. Only in 2024 did this title see an official Western release.
Clock Tower Rewind is a remastered version of the 90s classic. It is a point-and-click survival-horror game, which, as the title suggests, takes place in a haunted clock tower. The story is simple; orphan Jennifer Simpson and several of her friends are adopted by a wealthy man named Simon Barrows. They are escorted to his manor by Miss Mary. When Mary goes to retrieve Mr. Barrows, she disappears. Jennifer goes to investigate, whereupon she runs into a homicidal demon child known as The Scissorman. While fleeing The Scissorman, Jennifer uncovers murals, artifacts, and literature occult in nature. Seeing that something much deeper is at play, she must explore the manor and uncover the sinister secret of the clock tower and “The Cradle Under the Star”.
As charming as old-school point-and-click adventures can be, the gameplay is sadly one of the title’s weaker aspects. The movement of the character can be a bit sluggish. I played it on the PS5 and when pressing down on the bumper buttons, the player will react and run in the corresponding direction. That is fine, but where the game staggers is the mouse cursor itself. On consoles, it’s always awkward to get the feel just right for these types of games. When running from the Scissorman, trying to highlight a door to hide in a room, only to run right past it, can be irritating. On PC, I imagine an actual mouse would be more fluid. Also Jennifer will take her sweet time when coming out of hiding. Whether it’s coming out from under a bed, descending a ladder, or climbing over a cabinet, she moves with no sense of urgency.
Certain item placement is randomized. This might make the game confusing to anyone unaware of this. For example, when replaying the game, the player searches a box they found a key in previously, only to find it empty this time around. This isn’t terrible, as the randomization is limited to two set locations. If the item isn’t in room A, it will always be in room B. However, once you know where rooms A and B are, this becomes more of a nitpick than anything else. As the title suggests, there is a rewind feature. However, unlike other titles that implement this, the rewind will only go back around ten seconds, making it feel extremely half-baked. Considering the short length, there is a good amount of replay value to get the 9 different endings. That being said, requirements for these endings can seem extremely arbitrary if you don’t know what you’re doing.
There are some improvements in the Rewind version. In the original, the player would walk very leisurely upstairs, even during a chase sequence. Scissorman encounters were also more scripted, in the original version you could play through the game with no more than 2 run-ins with him. The rewind, while limited, CAN be useful if implemented carefully. A huge welcomed change is the save feature, when is that not convenient?
Where Clock Tower Rewind shines the brightest is in its presentation. The pixel art is very slick and polished. The look of this game is very much a love letter to the Giallo films of Italy, especially Dario Argento. In fact, Jennifer and Scissorman’s designs are directly inspired by the characters in the Argento film, Phenomena. The music is reminiscent of a John Carpenter film, with its synth style and use of alarming blares when the monster is near. The game’s aesthetic is a brilliant mix of dreary, dream-like, grimy, and beautiful. Each room will range from a demonic shrine, a dilapidated bedroom belonging to a child, or a pristine foyer with extravagant stained glass. The Scissorman, a demonic child in a school uniform, is one of the most unsettling and disturbing-looking horror villains in gaming. No spoilers, but if you think he’s ugly, wait till you meet his twin.
Despite Clock Towers’ shortcomings, it has withstood the test of time and has become a certified horror classic. Alone in The Dark, Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Clock Tower are what made the 90s a definitive era for the genre. While it might not have the same longevity as those series, it has solidified its place in survival-horror history. Thankfully, with a mainstream release, Clock Tower Rewind can satisfy the old-school crowd as well as a brand new generation of fans. With a creepy mansion, beautiful 90s pixel art, an unsettling occult story, and an iconic villain, Clock Tower Rewind is a much-needed revisiting of the golden age of the genre. Find a good hiding spot, save your friends, and for the love of god, don’t run with scissors!
-Fil Zahnko
Verdict: 8/10