Welcome to The Claw Recluse, the largest fansite on the internet for Monolith Productions' classic PC game Claw. Originally started as a hobby in 2004, the site is now home to a community that over two decades has modded the game, developed a new map editor, designed over 500 custom levels, created fan art, and set speedrun records. Thank you for visiting!

TCR is available in English, Polish, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Czech, Russian, Romanian, Arabic, and Hungarian.




1/02/24 Congratulations to TSxD, whose maps claimed both the first (Autumn, 52%) and the second spot (Arcana, 24%) in the level of the year vote. In third place with 10%, we have Mazy Mansions, originally started by Zuczek and completed by Renganathan.

The first level of the new year is Whiskey in the Jar by Andokai Camanis, continuing his tradition of naming them after song titles. Meanwhile, Foxhound_Veteran was kind enough to share with the community a high resolution scan of the Claw manual cover.

4/01/24 Voting is now underway for the best custom level of 2023, and if you need to refresh your memory, Renganathan prepared a video showcase featuring the nominees. Have fun watching and playing, pick your favorites, and then participate in the poll via our Discord bot (thanks to Feladr for managing it). Oh, and happy new year to all Claw fans!

24/12/23 Merry Christmas! We have a perfect custom level to celebrate, too: Fjordsson's Christmas Eve Adventure replaces the level 7 tileset with a winter version and adds a number of festive decorations. We have also brought the complete level pack up to date. Meanwhile, the slightly redesigned Downloads section more prominently features essential resources like the CrazyHook mod (now including cnc-ddraw, developed by FunkyFr3sh).

3/12/23 Another new level from Andokai Camanis, Underground is notably the first one in over five years to be based on Undersea Caves (which remains the least popular tileset). Moreover, TSxD released the Autumn v1.2 update, addressing some performance issues.

21/10/23 New levels: Jailbreak by Andokai Camanis, a well-designed, medium-sized one based on the La Roca tileset, and Toxic Night, part seven of MaximTGMX's long-running Claw's Adventure for the Amulet (CAFTA) series. Note that the latter is hosted off-site due to the size of custom assets used in the map (about 125 MB).

17/09/23 An update for TSxD's and Pejti's Arcana is now available. Version 1.1 replaces the old WAV music with new MIDI tracks (including one for the boss fight), bringing the package down to a much more manageable size. Furthermore, there are some new anti-cheat measures for the hardcore difficulty, one more artifact powerup, plus minor bug fixes.

8/09/23 The speedrun leaderboards were updated. Congratulations to BorisHR, who was on a roll this summer and now holds the top spot on all 14 levels in the 100% category.

5/09/23 Twenty-six years ago this week, Monolith officially announced Claw's release. Right on time, here is an awesome La Roca theme cover, courtesy of Nestalgica.

21/08/23 After a successful beta test, Arcana is now available, brought to you by TSxD with a contribution from Pejti. The level is brimming with surprises and innovations in visuals, design, and mechanics alike. Selectable difficulty and resolution, multiple brand new magical powerups, unique secret areas and unexpected ways to access them, an original boss fight that could easily be part of the original game... it's all there. It even includes the save/load system previously featured in wisztom's recent (and excellent) maps. Have fun!

8/08/23 The flurry of new levels continues with two huge maps: The Thousand Towers by Leprichaun and Fortress Assault by BorisHR. Although both mainly use the Battlements tileset, the latter mixes things up with plenty of surprises that are best left for the player to discover. The former, a classic level that works without the CrazyHook mod, is no less worth playing, and absolutely phenomenal for its designer's debut. Be prepared for a challenge!

24/07/23 Not for the first time, we are celebrating July 24th's anniversaries of some of the most famous custom levels -- naturally, with amazing new releases! First up, we have an entry for Zuczek's contest from Renganathan: Mazy Mansions. Second, TSxD's follow-up to Autumn is nearly finished, and while Arcana will not be officially released today, you can participate in a beta test on Discord right now. Finally, much to everyone's surprise, there is also Renganathan's old, previously unpublished map called In the Castle, recently found in the designer's archives and thoroughly revamped.

Still not enough? Make sure you have checked other recent custom levels: Cannonballin', Cultist Island, and especially John Smith's Adventurer, one of the most challenging ones out there, and a unique throwback to notorious late 2000s classics like Escape and Assassin.

25/02/23 TSxD's next map is out now! Autumn is an absolute top-tier release, putting a seasonal spin on elements combined from several tilesets, naturally using appropriate color palettes and custom music. Be on the lookout for several really unique warps that are very much worth checking out. Enjoy, and feel free to share your impressions on Discord.

1/02/23 The 2022 level of the year winners are Mountain Fortress, originally started by Proximity and finished by Renganathan, and Fizik's eponymous Fizik Who 5, sharing the #1 spot with one third of the votes each. Pejti's Get the Coin completes the podium with a very respectable 20%. Congratulations to the designers! As always, we are looking forward to another year of custom levels, and there is in fact already one new map in 2023, namely Spider-Claw by Henrique Lorenzi.

3/01/23 Happy new year! Until the end of January, you can cast your votes for the best custom level of 2022 on Discord. Naturally, be sure to check out all nominated maps first, which should be quicker than usual with only five contenders this time around. So, without further ado, head to everyone's favorite section on TCR, and have fun!

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