Welcome to Indie Watch, a regular feature here at P2 where our Editorial team take it in turns to highlight 2 or 3 Indie titles that have them excited. It is our chance to show off some games that you may have missed and a way to help boost the things we love most about the industry. Join us each week for a new edition.
Indie Watch – Sword of the Sea & Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker
Sword Of The Sea
I haven’t experienced a title that has soothed my constantly restless soul quite like 2012’s Journey. What ThatGameCompany achieved was spectacular, affecting players in ways that few games have, while the moment that the player reaches credits, and you come to realise that the other wanderers that you crossed in your journey were other humans, on their own journeys of discovery, tugs on the heartstrings in ways that few games ever have.
While Sword Of The Sea, the latest from Giant Squid, itself a studio with several ex-Journey developers on it, doesn’t quite hit the same heights as the game that inspired it, largely due to the game implementing a few too many gameplay systems, which can intrude a bit much on the visual and auditory bliss. Sword Of The Sea is stunning, and the gameplay systems are superb, and work well as a gameplay experience, but are a bit much if you’re just trying to enjoy the vibe of the world.
Sea & Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker
Developer: Sabotage Studio
Release Date: May 20, 2025
Format: PC, Switch, PS5, Xbox Series
Buy Sea Of Stars Here
Sea Of Stars was already one of my very favourite games of 2023, and Sabotage has done an exceptional job of updating the game, as well as releasing post-launch content to further improve the title. Now, all of their work post-launch has led to this – Throes Of The Watchmaker, the major (but free) DLC for Sea Of Stars.
While Sea Of Stars is already one of the best classically inspired RPGs of all time, Throes Of The Watchmaker, but for those who’ve made it to the game’s conclusion, you’ll get another ~8 hours of additional content to bask in, continuing the story of Zale and Valere, introducing new characters, a new story arc where you’ll begin by being tasked to perform a cleansing on the clock in exchange for the enchanted pocket watch, but amounts to much more as the intrigue around the Watchmaker unfolds.
Throes Of The Watchmaker extracts the best elements of Sea Of Stars’ visual and auditory styles, pairs it with the highest-end combat from Sea Of Stars’ endgame, and mixes it all together to provide players with pretty much the best chapter in the game yet.
