A simple monkey escapes clay-digging drudgery to pursue ceramic artistry, guided by an ancient kiln god. Players explore handcrafted top-down landscapes across seven biomes in this indie RPG simulation, gathering materials like clay and minerals while using tools such as the ginko leaf to swing and sticky mushroom for traversal. Zelda-like gameplay includes open-world wandering, mild combat, secret locations, and a meditation mechanic to collect inspiration that unlocks a hidden level and ending.
The kiln god provides clear directions and authentic ceramics education from a college professor's expertise, keeping the compact world easy to navigate on PC and Steam Deck. Some choices shape the path to firing the kiln and preparing work for a juried art exhibition. Casual adventure fans who enjoy calming exploration and creative accomplishment will find it rewarding.
This is the story of a simple monkey, with a very limited understanding of material science, who escapes a life of drudgery digging up clay to find inspiration and become a ceramic artist. With the help of an ancient kiln god, she embarks on an inspirational journey to learn about sourcing her own ceramic materials from the earth.
Can she gather her clay and minerals and fire her kiln safely?
What will she choose for her muse?
Will her work be ready to show at her first juried art exhibition?
There are several handcrafted top-down landscapes to to explore, “Zelda-like” gameplay, atmosphere to soak-in and information about ceramics and the creative process. Players will find secret locations across the world and use a meditation mechanic to gain inspiration that will eventually help unlock a secret level and ending. The Kiln God will teach you about ceramics and where to find the materials needed for the next step of her artwork.
Clay Monkey is a game created by a professor in Ceramics who specializes in creativity, so the information is authentic and accurate. The experience of playing the game may be calming and leave players with a feeling of accomplishment. There is an open-world exploration aspect to the game, but the rich world of Clay Monkey is compact and the player will not get lost thanks to the Kiln God’s clear directions. Players will enjoy wandering the seven different biomes, each with their own music, obstacles, materials and inspiration to collect. Also, the main chapter is a cute Chinese Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey!
Features:
Ginko Leaf to swing
Meditation Cushion
Sticky Mushroom
Education
Inspiration to collect
Some choices matter
Materials to find
Secret locations
Some mild "combat"
Runs on Steam Deck
What the game doesn't have:
No intentionally addictive gameplay
No high tension music
No procedurally generated world
No complicated crafting system
“Clay Monkey was designed to share the ceramic education I teach at college with the rest of the world through the comfortable digital format of an old school video game. It is a celebration of clay, art and creativity” -Xander Clinthorne
