A Clay-Animated Shooter That Hits Hard
It’s humbling, but there’s been a few occasions recently where I have come to the crushing realisation that I’m not as good at playing video games as I used to be. The latest example came with Platypus Reclayed, the arcade inspired side-scrolling shooter that hides a solid test of skill under its cutesy exterior.
Platypus Reclayed is in fact a remake of the original Platypus game, released way back in 2002. Anthony Flack, the brains behind the original, has returned to lead the team at Claymatic Games in bringing the indie classic bang up to date in a vastly changed gaming environment.
Claymation Carnage
Mungola has come under attack from its neighbour, Colossatropolis, who is attempting to expand its empire due to overpopulation. Your job is to guide your adorable little ship, which is in fact the legendary F-27 “Platypus”, through a series of frantic, hostile environments without getting blown to smithereens.
By now you’ve probably picked up on the clay theme (which is a most, most welcome alternate to the done to death pixel option). This is the same visual art style as in the original game, but things are taken to a whole new level in Platypus Reclayed. The clay animation looks absolutely stunning in high resolution 4K, especially as enemy ships gradually crumble until they eventually explode. With the brilliant use of colour too, Platypus Reclayed is a joy to watch in motion. It’s gorgeous.
Sausages and Ships: Weapon Upgrades and Enemy Variety
There are four different locations in Platypus Reclayed, each with five levels to blast through, the final being a boss battle each time. All the while you’ll need to keep an eye out for different coloured enemies which will drop time limited weapon upgrades. These are pretty much crucial to you surviving for more than five minutes and there are all sorts of different options ranging from the more common lasers and rockets, to donuts, sausages and even fish. There is something quite wonderful about destroying hordes of Colossatropolan ships with a barrage of sausages wiggling their way towards their target.
There’s a variety of enemies you’ll be faced with in Platypus Reclayed, each with sporadic movement and firing patterns. When your screen gets busy, things get tricky to say the least. As with any SHMUP worth its salt, quick reflexes are demanded at almost all times to avoid kamikaze pilots, homing missiles and everything else aimed your way.
Simplicity and Score Chasing
It’s also worth keeping an eye on your score, as it will fill a little meter in the corner of your screen. Multipliers, coins and fruit all go towards awarding you an extra life when the meter is filled.
The beauty with Platypus Reclayed is in the simplicity, as all you need to press is the fire button as you guide your fighter through the aerial battlefield. This lack of complexity adds to the experience without compromising on the difficulty making Platypus Reclayed perfect for short bursts of play, or dedicated high score chasing.
Finding Your Balance
If you haven’t guessed already, Platypus Reclayed is far from easy. My humbling came pretty early on, as I dived in on the normal difficulty and soon got my backside handed to me. Cue my move to “Easy” which in all honesty was still flipping challenging, especially in the final area. Despite exploding many, many times I always wanted to go again, which is a difficult balance not many games achieve.
Rather than just being able to adjust the difficulty, you can also choose different fighters which also make life easier or more challenging, depending on what you are after. For example, to take the heat off you can opt for a shield which will help preserve your lives. This combination means players are more likely to find the right balance, instead of their playthrough being a walk in the park or an absolute nightmare. Although I settled for the easy option, I went for a fighter with no shield to balance the challenge.
Co-op, Score Attack, and Nostalgia
You can also head to each area in practice mode, or try score attack and see how far you make it with a single life. The great news is that two player co-op is always available in Platypus Reclayed, meaning a friend can drop-in at any time with the simple press of a button.
Platypus Reclayed just feels like a game that could have easily been doing the rounds in the arcades back in their heyday, thanks to each perfectly crafted element right down to its superb soundtrack. It’s frantic, eerie and sometimes outright stressful, but always fits the scene perfectly. Oh, and if you fancy seeing just how far things have come since the original game, well you’re in luck as it is included here.
A Top-Tier Shooter That Demands Attention
Platypus Reclayed really is impressive on every front. Far from being style over substance, it’s an immensely satisfying, yet challenging, shoot ’em up experience. I haven’t been as engrossed in a shooter of this type since the mighty R-Type, and it has fully delivered on the promise to keep me coming back for more. After giving it a lot of thought, I was only ever coming to one conclusion.
Platypus Reclayed is one of the best shooters I have played in a very, very long time. It’s tight, tricky but overall tremendous fun. Long live Mungola!
Important Links
Reclaimed, Remade, Reclayed – The Legendary Platypus Returns on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch & PC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/reclaimed-remade-reclayed-the-legendary-platypus-returns-on-xbox-playstation-switch-pc/
Buy Platypus Reclayed on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/platypus-reclayed/9PB1V7QPW66X/0010
