Sabotage Studio’s second major release, Sea of Stars, proved to be an instant classic for fans of Super Nintendo-era role playing games. Fans of the game were doubly excited to find out that Sabotage had not only planned on releasing additional an additional story DLC expansion, but that it would be free of charge, to boot! Now, that expansion, Throes of the Watchmaker, has released, but how does it stack up to the base game?
Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker
Developer: Sabotage Studio
Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: 5/20/2025
Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker, despite being a story-based DLC, positions itself squarely as a side story from the main quest. In an attempt to help their crewmate Keenathan with some sudden-onset identity issues, the Solstice Warriors agree to the Watchmaker’s request to shrink themselves down and enter a tiny clockwork world she has created. In so doing, however, the duo must confront some truths about their own identities in the process. Along the way, they will solve puzzles, fight a bevy of bad guys, and give themselves over to the dark carnival of Horloge to see their quest through.
A Short but Solid Storyline
The general tale of Throes of the Watchmaker is a fairly straight-forward one, reminiscent of many of the story arcs already present in the base game. The Solstice Warriors visit a new area, see the malaise that has befallen its citizens, and venture into new dungeons to fight monsters and solve puzzles to make their way to the boss so that they can drive the narrative ever forward. Sea of Stars fans will be delighted to see, however, that Throes of the Watchmaker also takes some effort to look inward. It turns out Zale and Valere have both been pushing down some darker aspects of themselves, aspects that they’ll have to face in order to overcome the Puppeteer and her circus-themed minions.
All in all, the storyline does everything it feels like it needs to as a free expansion DLC. It adds some context to certain characters, ties into the grand narrative at least tangentially, but also stands noticeably apart as a side story, completely told in and of itself. The dialogue and plot beats along the way are as enjoyable as any Sea of Stars sub-section is, with the same kind of charm that permeates the entire base game.
New Twists on Classic Mechanics
Throes of the Watchmaker is not content to simply tack on more story to Sea of Stars. Instead, the DLC update has brought with it a whole new set of abilities and combo moves to play around with! To reveal the slightest of spoilers, Zale and Valere are not able to utilize their standard weapons and skills in this new world, forcing them to adopt new methods of engaging with the baddies infesting each hostile zone.
Gone are the Sword, Blunt, Sun and Moon elements. They are replaced with Bonk, Fire, Magic and Laser, and are meted out with unique new weapons and abilities, including all-new ways of interacting with those abilities. If you’ve ever wanted to dole out the damage to your opponents by head-butting fireballs tossed at you by your partner, then Sea of Stars has the DLC for you.
Lastly, Throes of the Watchmaker also introduces a whole new playable character, of sorts. The Artificer, a non-playable character in the game’s main story, finally gets to stretch his fighting muscles (gears?) in the DLC as the Solstice Warrior’s third party member. Arty really feels like the standout star of the DLC, in my opinion, constantly waging an internal war with himself over the least awkward time to join in to the discussions and arguments at hand, usually with the solution already prepared and ready. Not only that, his basic ability involves bouncing cannonballs off of a trampoline to inflict multiple instances of damage in one of the most entertaining ability mini-games that Sea of Stars has yet seen.
The Retro RPG Love Returns
All throughout, Throes of the Watchmaker continues the trend started in the base game of being a love letter to SNES-era RPGs. Sabotage Studio wears these influences fully on its sleeve in Throes, not only content to simply continue the visual style, musical influences and gameplay quirks of beloved titles such as Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG and Final Fantasy, but also to fully engage in direct homages to these games. One of the first major bosses is with a runaway train, and every JRPG fan reading this can already tell exactly what happens at some point.
The DLC’s music feels great, but not in any way that particularly stands out or becomes distracting. Much like the graphics, that have fully maintained the aesthetics of the original, the music does a good job to blend into the background and keep you invested in continuing the adventure.
Final Thoughts
Simply put, Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker is a fantastic addition to the original game. There isn’t going to be anything to find here that would pull non-fans into the orbit of this game, but anyone who has completed the base game and is hungering for more will be more than happy to dig in to this circus-themed dessert dish. Plus, it’s a completely free DLC, so if you already own the game, what are you even waiting for?
