$8.99 (−40%)Platypus Reclayed A war fought in clay
Fly a lumpy clay fighter plane against a whole empire, one brightly coloured wave at a time.
Is Platypus Reclayed worth it?
Platypus Reclayed is worth it if…
- you want a couch co-op shooter that stays friendly enough for the whole family
- you grew up on arcade-style shoot 'em ups and want a beloved one back in widescreen
- you like short, intense runs you can replay endlessly rather than long campaigns
- you have a soft spot for handmade craft and stop-motion animation
- you are new to shoot 'em ups and want adjustable difficulty instead of a wall of bullets
Screenshots
Two planes, one couch, double the clay
Local two-player co-op is built in: pick a ship, sit side by side, and split the sky between you. One of you sweeps the top of the screen while the other catches the power-ups dropping from wrecked enemies, and the waves of ships give you plenty to cover together. The tone stays friendly and family-safe throughout, so it works as a game to hand a kid, a partner or a parent rather than a test of your friendship. Runs are short, difficulty settings go from gentle to genuinely brutal, and there is a practice mode for drilling a specific stretch of a level.
Everything is real clay
Every ship, enemy, bullet cloud and background in the game was photographed from hand-built clay models, then reworked in high definition for widescreen. The result looks like a stop-motion film you can fly through: soft, rounded, bright and unlike anything else in the genre. It is not just a fresh coat either, the whole game was reprogrammed from scratch for modern hardware, and bullets are far easier to read against the scenery than they used to be. When an enemy explodes, it bursts into fruit you can catch for points. Even the destruction is adorable.
Weapons, ships and how you pick them
Power-ups drop constantly, and here is the fun part: you can shoot a falling power-up to change which weapon it becomes before you collect it. Many of the new additions are food-themed, and they change how you fly, not just how you shoot. Three ships let you decide between a safer ride with shields and faster frames without them. A run plays out differently depending on which weapon chain you chase, which creates a light, quick decision every few seconds: grab it as it is, shoot it into something else, or dodge past and hope the next drop is kinder.
Modes and difficulty for everyone
The campaign comes with five difficulty settings, from Easy, which a child can play, up to Nasty, which is built for shoot 'em up veterans and unlocked only after you finish the game once. Difficulty changes more than enemy health, and the game stays fair rather than random: enemy spawns are consistent and you get a sound cue when something is coming in from off-screen. Beyond the story there is Score Attack for endless survival and chasing points, practice mode for any part of any level with a weapon of your choice, and Classic mode, which recreates the original 2002 game, squashed 4:3 screen and all. Mod support rounds it out.
Quick questions?
Can you play it solo?
Yes. Single-player is the default way through the campaign, and co-op is local only, so nothing in the game needs another person. Solo players get the same five difficulty settings, the Score Attack and practice modes, and Classic mode. The campaign is short by design, built around replaying runs, so it suits people who like playing alone in bursts rather than settling in for a long evening.
Is it good if you have never played a shoot 'em up?
It is often called a good entry point to side-scrolling shooters. Easy mode is genuinely gentle, starts you with weapon pods already equipped, and the game plays well on a controller or a mouse. The classic loop is simple to grasp: fly, dodge, shoot, collect power-ups. The harder settings scale all the way up to Nasty, so the same game grows with you as your reflexes do.
What makes this different from just remastering the old game?
It was reprogrammed from scratch, with new enemies and mini-bosses, a whole fifth level, new weapons, new ships, extra difficulties and modern quality-of-life touches like off-screen warnings. And if you want the past exactly as it was, Classic mode recreates the original game inside the remake, narrow screen and all. Old fans and first-timers are both genuinely served here.
What is the story about?
Colossatropolis, a packed, polluted city of towering skyscrapers where parking is a nightmare, decides to expand by invading its neighbour Mungola. Mungola's last line of defence is a single squadron of antique F-27 Platypus fighter planes, and you pilot one of them against the Colossatropolan battle fleet. It is a cheerful, tongue-in-cheek setup for a war fought entirely in clay.
