Clam Man 2: Headliner — Opening Set
Preview
I love cartoonish games. It all started in the 90s when I played Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle, Sam & Max Hit the Road, and Monkey Island. For many years, the point-and-click adventure was a popular medium for this cartoon aesthetic, until it waned in the awful 00s. The revival of old school adventures and RPGs started in the 2010s, and is now fully developed in the indie market. Clam Man 2 rides this wave of revival while also tapping into Disco-like dialogue mechanics.
I first found out about this sequel while reading about upcoming games influenced by Disco Elysium. I haven’t played the first title, Clam Man, and I don’t think it is a requirement to enjoy the sequel, but it’s there for those who want to try it. This is a madcap fantasy world with anthropomorphic sea animals, and you get to play as—you guessed it—a man who is also a clam that takes up stand-up comedy.
Punch Lines, Not People
The dialogue appears on a column to the right, while the rest of the screen to the left shows the characters and the level environment. The Disco-like resemblance ends there. Similar to another Disco-like, Sovereign Syndicate, the systems in Clam Man 2 are not as complex, though you also get to roll dice for some skill checks. The simplified system is welcome; it makes the gameplay more straightforward and fun.
There is some challenge in the process of finding a way to persuade some characters in the demo, which is a staple of adventure games. I would assume this will extend to the rest of the game. Personally, what I found more compelling was the process of crafting jokes as a comedian. At one point, I opened the fridge in Clam Man’s apartment, and there was a whole dialogue with the food inside. Afterwards, he had the idea for a joke, one of the jokes you can choose to tell at the end of the demo.
Wacky as a Clam
The main draw here is the wacky story. Clam Man starts as a bored office drone, and his boss finds an elevator leading to a new location in the building’s basement. They act like this is some kind of magical adventure in their lives. What they find in the basement is a new comedy club founded by three comedians, each with a distinctive design that I would hate to spoil for other players. I’ll just say they’re great characters.
The art style and animation are simple and effective. This style takes me back to adult cartoons from the 90s, though it’s not as over-the-top and violent as Ren & Stimpy. It’s cuddlier and cuter, but without venturing into children’s fiction and overly sentimental tropes. Even the sillier jokes and bits imply the understanding of an adult. It’s a fine line, and the writers are skilled enough to make it work in the demo.
Misery Loves Comedy
This is one of those games that I hope will find an audience in the budding new subgenre of adventure games with RPG elements and Disco-like dialogue systems. Whatever shortcomings these games might have, they don’t have to live up to the phenomenon that was Disco Elysium. All narrative-driven adventure-RPGs will live in its shadow for the foreseeable future.
I hope Clam Man 2: Headliner will “kill and not bomb” when it finds its way to release. There aren’t many games where you can play as a stand-up comedian, and this just might be one of the most interesting attempts. If Sideby Interactive can manage to bring together this quirky mix of comedic adventure and a fun dialogue system to craft jokes with Disco-like elements, Clam Man 2 will bring the house down.
Disclosure: Clam Man 2: Headliner was previewed on PC with the free Open Mic demo available on Steam.