Developer: Claymatic Games
Publisher: Claymatic Games
Platform: PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PS5
Platypus Reclayed – Review
The Shoot ’em up (Shmup) genre has died out over the years, with only a handful of new titles emerging or rereleases of very old, popular titles with slightly improved resolution. Even so, it’s a genre gamers can easily get into, and there are so many different titles that are aimed at players of totally different skill levels. Today we’ll be reviewing one of those titles, but this one is actually a proper remaster/remake of a twenty-two-year-old title, namely Platypus Reclayed. This quirky Shmup might offer only slightly more than the basics, but it does bring a lot of charm and polish to the table.
Story
There is absolutely no story to be found in Platypus Reclayed, which is also perfectly fine. You basically choose your claymation aircraft, and you start blasting all enemies that are gunning for you. It’s a standard Shmup experience, which doesn’t need a fleshed-out narrative. That being said, quirky games such as these are perfect to go with an interesting plot, but we felt the gameplay stood tall enough on its own.
Graphics
Platypus Reclayed looks absolutely amazing. The claymation action looks so crisp, and we absolutely loved all the animations and tiny little details. It was extremely satisfying seeing visible damage on enemy vessels, and even though there was limited enemy variety, the boss battles looked stunning. The performance was also buttery smooth, which made things even more impressive. We were really impressed with the visuals, and the team truly set the standard for how remasters/remakes should be done. That being said, we sometimes struggled with awkward camera movement, and when a second player joins a game in progress, their aircraft may get nearly the same color as the first player, which is a bit annoying. These were only minor blemishes on an otherwise spotless experience.
Sound
The sound design of Platypus Reclayed is quite good. You’ll have an upbeat soundtrack accompanying you from start to finish, and the SFX are also quite decent. While there are no really memorable tunes to be found here, we were still somewhat captivated by the music while playing.
Gameplay
Platypus Reclayed is a fairly traditional Shmup title, even with its new lick of paint and updated engine under its hood. The game is very straightforward, as you pick an aircraft, a difficulty level, and you’re good to go. If you lose all your lives and credits, it’s game over, and you have to start over from zero. There are different difficulty levels players can choose from, easing themselves into the experience. You can play the game with a friend locally, which is a huge plus for a title such as this.
Truth be told, the gameplay is very basic, but that’s alright. You just fly around evading enemies and their bullets, and you try to rack up the highest score possible. When shooting certain types of enemies, power-ups or fruit can be dropped as loot. The power-ups give you bullet types, while the fruit can earn you additional lives. Collecting multiple power-ups of the same type sadly does not increase your weapon strength, and getting hit by enemies will immediately downgrade your weapon to the base weapon again. The game does not have additional weapons like bombs that can clear the entire screen of enemy presence. It’s clear that Platypus Reclayed is still very much a product of its time, and as a result, many mechanics are very basic. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but if you’re used to more complicated Shmup titles, then this one might be a tad less interesting due to this. The boss battles did provide a nice change of pace, however, making sure things never felt too simplistic in terms of game design.
Conclusion
Platypus Reclayed is a great way to remake a classic while keeping its original core intact. The game proved to have an entertaining gameplay loop, albeit a somewhat simplistic one, but it also had a lot of charm thanks to its amazing visuals and upbeat soundtrack. We personally loved the fact that we could play the game with a friend locally, as it added a lot of fun to the overall experience. If you’re looking for a polished, classic Shmup, then Platypus Reclayed might be worth looking into.
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