Clam Man 2:
Headliner

Clam Man 2: Headliner is a point-and-click game where you play a disgruntled clam who quits their day job to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. Unusual for a point-and-click, play is as much affected by your role-play character design choices as the responses to each scenario. It stands out for its absurdist, tongue-in-cheek humour and the story that evolves depending on the character you create at the start.

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You play an anthropomorphic clam who, tired of desk-job drudgery, decides to quit and start life anew as an aspiring stand-up comic. You begin the game by choosing the background of your character, selecting traits which affect how you talk and perform in different scenarios; for example, you might perform best under pressure, or be particularly observant of other people's emotions - these statistics affect the options available to you and what happens in each situation.

Play involves exploring the town, interacting with the aquatic townsfolk and doing gigs to earn a living. In each conversation and comedy routine, you have multiple choices for what to say and do. The success of your choices is affected by your character's statistics. You can also complete missions to gather items to level up your stand-up routine and hopefully gain an edge in drawing a crowd each night. There's no fail state, but how the game unfolds can be radically different.

The result is a non-violent game where your choices are at the heart of what happens, be it for better or worse. Looking back at what you've done and second-guessing the implications of your actions is part of the fun. Multiple play-throughs with different character statistics offer new outcomes and ways to progress.

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Our examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked Clam Man 2: Headliner 7 days ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 6 days ago.