This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format.

Certainly one of the more bizarre titles we’ve looked at, Clock Simulator is a peculiar collection of rhythm-based minigames, most using a clock aesthetic. If there is any indie experience that deserves to be dubbed a 'time waster', then this is certainly it.

The main mode – also used as a basic tutorial – simply requires you to keep time perfectly, becoming the second hand on a rather basic-looking wall clock. For every second that isn’t precisely hit, you’ll be penalised by the hand shrinking. It’s about as basic as gaming can get, yet is bizarrely addictive.

Playing through one of 11 single-player games may leave you so tediously bored yet stubbornly invested that your mind may seep into an existential crisis, endlessly arguing with yourself back and forth as to the nature of the human purpose, before you look down, realise you’ve stopped ticking, and start over again. You may consider the game’s 11 minigames (plus two multiplayer variations) to be good value. However, do consider, dear reader, the deceptively cunning similarities between the minigames, many of which are only slight variations on the source game.

The time gods do, however, bless us with another companion for reaction test gameplay: a rope-jumping pig. This at least adds some element of variety. You can even stop clocks and jump pigs with a friend for twice the existential terror. The visuals are incredibly minimalistic, utilising only a handful of block colours, accompanied by a quiet, ambient soundtrack.

Clock Simulator is quite conflicting. The hilariously silly concept might make it a novelty and its core gameplay is so frustrating that it becomes addictive, but there are much better reaction testers to spend your time and money on. Yet, the offer of multiple modes and a strangely peaceful and relaxing vibe give it something that might appeal to those who wish to relax by killing, or rather, controlling time.