The shoot ’em up genre comes in all shapes and sizes, with a good chunk of them leaning heavily on typical sci-fi stylings. Platypus: Reclayed from Claymatic, however, immediately stood out due to its unconventional visual flair, opting to break the mould (probably literally) of many a SHMUP and present with a unique look. Rather than flashing lights and chrome, it opts for a much more tangible look, with pretty much everything you see in-game made from real clay.
This delightfully out-of-step handmade aesthetic is brimming with evident charm — but, this ‘Reclayed‘ version is not actually the first outing for this claymation shooter. The game originally launched, as simply ‘Platypus’, for the PC in the early 2000s. The initial 2002 release offered players a fun and challenging horizontal shooter with an admittedly unusual yet appealing look.
Now, over 20 years later, the game is back — having been faithfully reworked and, as the title suggests, reclayed.
All of the in-game clay models you see whilst playing have been created by hand. That means each ship, enemy, explosion, tree, skyscraper, and more has been sculpted once again out of real clay, and then photographed for use in-game. The result is a striking visual style that feels cohesive, tactile, and surprisingly refreshing.
The first time I booted up Platypus: Reclayed and got into the opening level I found myself quickly grinning at the charming aesthetics of it all. Firing out some initial bullets across the screen and watching as they collided with one of a handful of spaceships twirling towards me was a delight — the enemies explode in a captivating animated boom.
However, I quickly found there was no time to actually hang around to admire the scenery, as before long Platypus: Reclayed was throwing wave after wave of flying saucers and various spacecraft at me, tasking me with dispatching them at speed.
Over the course of five levels, each with its own set of five areas, you’ll journey across land, sky, and sea taking on a solid variety of enemies, all of which present their own satisfying challenge in terms of understanding their flight patterns, firing patterns, and speed, along with how to ultimately approach dealing with each of them.
You’d be mistaken for allowing this game’s endearing facade to fool you into thinking this shoot ’em up would be less of a challenge than your average SHMUP — make no mistake though, Platypus: Reclayed packs a meaty challenge here.
Thankfully there’s three levels of difficulty options at hand (Easy, Normal, Nasty) so you can tailor the game to match your familiarity with shoot ’em ups. I tried all of them, and found enjoyment in the base ‘normal’ mode. It took plenty of attempts for me to see everything this game has to offer. Yet despite having only a handful of levels, I sunk the best part of ten to twelve hours into it, learning the enemy arrangements, which power-ups work best in a given situation, and how to best progress to the next level.
There’s a real arcade sensibility running through Platypus: Reclayed — something made inherently obvious thanks to the two-player co-op mode. At any point during gameplay a second person can jump in and help take down a few UFOs. This ability to drop-in whenever is a nice touch, and may well prove handy when wanting a little extra firepower (pulling someone in to help clear a level is a totally legitimate strategy).
On the whole, this is a solid, well-made, and overall appealing horizontal shooter. It looks great, plays well, and presents a tough challenge. Veterans of SHMUPs will find a knotty trial in the Nasty mode, whereas newcomers will find an approachable and fun-looking shooter at the easier settings.
It’s not a game I was familiar with prior to playing this faithful remake, but some 22 years on, I’m glad to see it reintroduced and reworked, so that modern audiences, including those on console, can enjoy the experience on offer.
Platypus: Reclayed is a welcome return for a one-of-a-kind SHMUP, offering a clever blend of tactile charm and classic challenge — playing with clay has never been such fun.