Platypus Reclayed

Some indie games make you think. Some challenge your preconceptions, or make you feel empathy for others, or encourage critical thinking. Some, like the wonderfully addictive Platypus Reclayed, are pure adrenaline-fuelled, heart-racing fun.  

The first thing to strike you about Platypus Reclayed, a thorough remake of the 2002 horizontal scrolling spaceship arcade shooter, is the brilliant claymation art. Just before the main title screen, you get a brief glimpse of how the game was made: the real hand of a creator moulds some clay to spell out the name of the game. This painstaking process stays with you as you marvel at all the models and animations in the game, even feeling somewhat guilty as you shoot them all up, unmaking what has so lovingly been made. There’s something inherently uplifting about the process of creating claymation – the patience, the meticulousness, the love – that makes me think that perhaps humans aren’t so bad after all. (By the way, be sure to check out the ‘Gallery’, accessible from the title screen, in which the development team, Claymatic, share a fascinating collection of photos from their workshop). 

The different landscapes of each of the levels – lush green hills, castellated castles, cascading waterfalls, fleecy clouds, exploding volcanoes, and drab industrial cities – look fantastic and help tell the story of your journey to the centre of the neighbouring nation that’s invading your home country. There’s not much to the story. It’s an old-fashioned tale of good versus evil, which entirely suits the arcade genre the game is drawing upon. It’s all rather playful and funny, especially some of the hilarious weapon upgrades. However, I did feel a certain amount of catharsis in fighting off the wicked invasion of a belligerent force intent on killing and taking the land of other peoples.       

Although all the ships and landscapes look incredible, the frenetic action doesn’t let you dwell on the visuals for long. It is, as you’d expect, high-octane shmuppy gameplay. The pulsing music – remixes of classic chiptunes – only adds to this intensity. Quick thinking and lightning reflexes are required for this bullet hell of a game. 

However, the difficulty settings make Platypus Reclayed considerably more approachable than many in the genre. You can choose from ‘Easy’, ‘Regular’ or ‘Hard’, and there’s an unlockable ‘Nasty’ difficulty for veteran shmuppers. ‘Score Attack’, in which you die after just a single hit, is also a mode strictly for the experts. I switched between ‘Beginner’ and ‘Regular’ difficulty levels, briefly tried ‘Hard’, and didn’t even attempt ‘Nasty’. ‘Easy’ is still challenging, especially for relative newcomers to the genre, like myself. However, when coupled with a ‘Beginner’ spaceship – you can also choose from ‘Beginner’, ‘Regular’ and ‘Advanced’ ships – it is much less daunting, although still pretty frantic. Each of the Platypus ships have different strengths, which change up the gameplay and add variety in terms of playstyle (for instance, the ‘Beginner’ Platypus has stronger shields but lower firepower). 

There’s also a co-op mode that, sadly, I didn’t get to try out myself, but playing with a friend or loved one would presumably make the game somewhat easier. I can already imagine parents enticing their kids into reliving their long-lost childhoods with them by shooting up a bunch of spaceships. I think they’ll have a good time. Perhaps I should have had kids after all!

In short, there seems to be something here for players of many different abilities. There’s even an option to unlock all the available content, which enabled me to try out the final level, which I hadn’t managed to reach (there are five levels, each with five different areas). Shmupping has perhaps never been this accessible and fun before. 

The overall presentation of the game, specifically as an arcade game, is equally meticulous. I felt waves of Proustian joy wash over me as I chased high scores for the ‘Hall of Fame’ and typed my name onto the leaderboard (how long is it since I’ve done this?); and also when using one of my ‘credits’ to continue my run. The first time I used up all my ‘credits’, I vividly recalled long afternoons at the arcade as a kid, desperately fishing for change to feed the coin-guzzling cabinets. Indeed, this is an addictive game, like all the best arcade games of yore. You have been warned. But at least it won’t gobble up all your pocket money.

Platypus Reclayed is also a significant visual upgrade on the original, featuring brand new models and animations. I had a quick go on the original Platypus (2002), which is included in Platypus Reclayed, and although it still plays well, I immediately felt the difference. The gameplay in the latter is considerably more nuanced, the movement slicker, and the weapons and upgrades even more plentiful (you’ll be delightfully surprised at some of them). I’m sure most fans of the first game will want to upgrade to this shiny new version. Indeed, there’s plenty here for almost everyone, newbie and veteran alike. 

The beautiful clay models and gorgeous claymation are certainly the stars of the show in Platypus Reclayed. Playing the game is such a gloriously tactile-feeling experience, which made me want to get my hands on some clay myself! Thanks to the development team, Claymatic Games, I got the chance to do exactly this and make one of the ships I had so much fun playing as in the game. (They kindly sent me a package with three lumps of clay and two cool wee stickers). 

Aside from enhancing my understanding of the creative process that went into developing Platypus Reclayed, making this model (see the fruits of my effort in the photo below) reminded me how joyful this kind of hands-on play can be. Indeed, the feel and smell of the clay and the sense of flow I achieved while making my little model took me back to my carefree days of childhood play, just as the game itself did. We need to make more time in our lives for this kind of play. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to buy some clay.