AAA Clock + Cyber Protocol

Genre: Compilation / Application / Arcade / Puzzle

Players: 1-4 Competitive (Local Splitscreen)

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Review:

AAA Clock + Cyber Protocol is AAA Clock + Clumsy Rush is a Compilation of the Application AAA Clock, released in 2021, and the Puzzle game Cyber Protocol, released on Nintendo Switch in 2019.

Here is what I thought of each of the titles in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Grade
AAA Clock	Application / Arcade	1	C
tl;dr AAA Clock is… well, a clock Application. It’s functional and has a decent amount of options, but it’s still just a clock. The included unnamed game is an extremely simple, shallow Arcade-style game that you’ll tire of quickly, leaving you with… well, the clock. $10 is a bit pricey for what’s here, but the frequent sale price of $2 is much more acceptable… if you really need a clock.
Cyber Protocol	Puzzle	1-4 Competitive (Local Splitscreen)	B-
tl;dr Cyber Protocol is a sliding Puzzle game where your movements through levels and avoiding hazards simulates a cyberpunk hacker breaking into a computer system. The gameplay doesn’t do anything especially new or different, but the audiovisual presentation is outstanding. Puzzle fans should certainly give this game a look.

This is a bit of an odd pairing of titles, and I’m not quite sure what the thinking was behind this. Is this for those who wanted to get Cyber Protocol who would also appreciate a gimmicky clock Application bundled in with it? Is it for those interested in AAA Clock who wanted an actual game to play after they buy it (and not just the shallow unnamed game included with AAA Clock)?

While AAA Clock is gimmicky and doesn’t really have much to offer beyond the actual clock, Cyber Protocol is a decent sliding Puzzle game, and I would argue that it’s the star of this bundle (despite the meme-worthy attention AAA Clock has gotten).

In terms of value, buying this bundle at full price will save you one whole dollar off of the prices these two games go for separately. On the bright side, the $2 sale price is the same price that either one of those two games will individually drop to during a sale, so if you’re going to get one of these two games on sale, you might as well get the bundle which amounts to getting one of the two for free.

I should also note that the AAA Clock + Clumsy Rush Bundle offers a similar sort of deal, and while Clumsy Rush is a very different sort of game than Cyber Protocol, it is also, I feel, a much worse one. I think that for most players, this is going to be a far superior package.

In a way, AAA Clock + Cyber Protocol ends up being a good bundle by default. AAA Clock doesn’t really add much to the package here, but Cyber Protocol was already decent, and depending on the sale price, you’re basically getting a gimmicky clock app packaged in it for free. Or, to look at it another way, if you were already going to get AAA Clock, picking this bundle on sale gets you that as well as a solid Puzzle game along with it. It may be a very strange pairing, but no matter which way you approach it, you’ll probably be satisfied with it… at least if you get it on sale.

tl;dr – AAA Clock + Cyber Protocol is a Compilation of the clock Application AAA Clock and the Puzzle game Cyber Protocol. It’s a strange pairing, and AAA Clock is gimmicky and doesn’t bring much to the table, but if you get this bundle on sale, it’s basically like getting AAA Clock for free along with a solid Puzzle game. Definitely do wait for a sale though – the full price doesn’t offer much in savings over buying these titles separately, and I suspect you’re likely not extremely interested in both.

Grade: B

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