Clay Monkey: The Master Potter and The Kiln God
Xander Clinthorne · 2023 · Exploration, Casual, Philosophical, Education, Relaxing
PC
Positive100% · 10
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About Clay Monkey: The Master Potter and The Kiln God
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
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
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
Clay Monkey is a quiet, focused experience that doesn’t try to be more than it needs to be. It’s straightforward, meditative, and peaceful, but there’s a lot going on beneath the surface and secrets to discover. The game feels intentionally paced and, importantly, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. You move through an open space at your own rhythm, without pressure to optimize or perform. What stood out most to me was the way the game explores creativity and expectations. The monkey’s journey, eventually having to find his own path separate from the master potter, felt like a thoughtful reflection on making art for yourself rather than for approval. The monkey statues scattered throughout the world offer bits of artistic advice that are sometimes obscure, sometimes enlightening, and often surprisingly inspiring. They felt less like instructions and more like gentle nudges to think differently. I also appreciated how much the game taught me about ceramics, both practically and philosophically. It treats the craft with respect, showing patience, repetition, and letting go as part of the process. If you’re interested in creative practice, artistic identity, or just want a calm and…1 found this helpful
PLAY THIS GAME!!! Especially if you're finding yourself stuck with your own art or projects at the moment! This game is such a sweet and simple little tale about the creation process behind art and how the artist finds their inspiration and motivation to keep creating - no matter the outcome. And in a poetic sense, that is reflected in the game itself and the player's journey playing it. While the main game itself is quite linear and straightforward - when you lean into your curiosity, you begin to find secrets all around the different biomes, and some of those secrets or extra pieces of content were harder to get to and will make you scratch your head. I was stumped by a few of these secrets but because I couldn't find any guides or walkthroughs for this game out there, I had to rely on myself, enjoy the process and explore different angles - which is EXACTLY the WHOLE POINT of this game. I realised that the mentality I was applying to trying to solve the puzzles in the game was reflecting the art advice the different monkey statues around the map had given me. In the end I managed to find every secret (that I know of) all on my own. That was powerful and became a …1 found this helpful
More straightforward than mist monkey, with pretty clear instructions throughout. I think I preferred the openness of mist monkey, but clay monkey is really enjoyable as well -- it's super relaxing, with beautiful artwork and lovely sounds. I would absolutely recommend this game if you're looking for something relaxing, and it's probably easier to get into than mist monkey, but if you enjoy clay monkey I would really recommend mist monkey too!1 found this helpful
play it pleeeeeeeaaaaaaase
I didn't have high expectations and I was rewarded. Enjoyed it.
pretty neat little game
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