PLATYPUS – The Claymation Shoot ‘Em Up

PLATYPUS is one of those games that quietly slipped under the radar. There was a fair bit of excitement during its early development, but by the time it finally launched, most people had already forgotten about it. The marketing push at release was almost nonexistent, and to make matters worse, the publisher only released it in a handful of countries and regions.

At its core, PLATYPUS is a classic side-scrolling shoot ’em up, but what truly sets it apart is its unique claymation art style. When it was released in the early-to-mid 2000s, it was one of the very first shooters to use this handcrafted look — and honestly, there hasn’t been much like it since. The only other claymation-style game that comes to mind is Clay Fighter from the late ’90s, though that was a beat ’em up rather than a shooter.

The game was later ported to the PSP, thanks to MumboJumbo, who also went on to bring two other solid titles to the platform — 7 Wonders and Luxor.

The original version of PLATYPUS was developed by Anthony Flack and published by Idigicon.

https://steamcommunity.com/linkfilter/?url=http://www.C64Audio.com

As an indie title, PLATYPUS truly stood out from the crowd thanks to an impressive feature set. How many PSP games back then offered a multiplayer mode, a full campaign, detailed stats screens, and more? These might sound standard today, but back in 2006, such depth was rare for an indie release — especially on a handheld console.

Another highlight of the game is its soundtrack. Every track (or at least most of them) is a remix of classic SID tunes from the legendary Commodore 64 era. This fantastic selection was made possible through the brilliant folks over at C64Audio.com, who granted permission to use these remakes. Below is the credit information found on the game disc:

Platypus Music — supplied by C64Audio.com. All pieces used by permission.
Option Screen: “Flash Gordon” by Rob Hubbard — performed by Alistair “Boz” Bowness and Chris Abbott.
Title Screen: “Wizball 2000” by Martin Galway — performed by Gareth “Tonka of Iridium” Dolloway.
Level Select: “Shadowfire” by Fred Gray — performed by Darren Izzard, Chris Abbott, and Alistair Bowness.
Level 1: “Comic Bakery” by Martin Galway — performed by Tomas Danko.
Level 2: “Sanxion Loading Theme” by Rob Hubbard — performed by Chris Abbott.
Level 3: “Ocean Loader 4” by Jonathan Dunn — performed by Alistair “Boz” Bowness.
Level 4: “Driller” by Matt Gray — performed by Darren “SeDi” Izzard.
Boss 1: Excerpt from “Trap” by Ben Daglish — performed by Chris Abbott, Alistair “Boz” Bowness, and Jason “Kenz” Mackenzie.
Boss 2: “Armalyte” by Martin Walker — performed by Fabian Del Priore, Tom Boecker, and Phil “Puffy64” Reifke.

It’s an absolutely stellar lineup of remixed C64 classics — and, honestly, one of the main reasons I couldn’t put PLATYPUS down back when it was released.

THE OST CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE.

The level select screen is a great example of PLATYPUS’ unique charm — it perfectly captures the look and feel of the game’s levels.

The handcrafted claymation style is present throughout the entire game, and even this full-screen image showcases the incredible amount of time and effort that must have gone into creating it.

PLATYPUS features a weapon system that can be a bit frustrating at times. Power-ups are time-based, so if you accidentally pick up a weapon you don’t like, you’re basically stuck with it for the next 30 seconds — unless you manage to grab another one in the meantime.

New weapons are earned by defeating specific waves of enemies. Once you clear an entire wave, a star-shaped collectable appears. Shooting this star cycles through the available weapon types — yellow, blue, green, red, and so on — letting you choose which one to pick up.

Unfortunately, most of the weapon types feel underwhelming, and in my experience, only the yellow one (shown in the screenshot above) is truly worth using.

Here’s the green weapon in action — it looks great, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, appearances can be deceiving, as it’s so weak that most enemies simply slip past you untouched.

At the end of the level, you get a nice stats screen, which is a proper motivation tool to get better in the game for sure.

As you progress through PLATYPUS, the screen gradually fills with more and more enemies. It never quite turns into a full-on bullet hell shooter, but things can get pretty hectic, and it’s easy to take a hit or accidentally crash into something amidst the chaos.

From a technical standpoint, the game isn’t particularly advanced — there are no massive bosses, flashy effects, or cutting-edge tricks on display. However, fans of classic parallax scrolling will be pleased to know that PLATYPUS features a solid multi-layer, six-way scrolling effect that gives the visuals real depth.

The controls and core mechanics work well together, offering a smooth and enjoyable experience. Still, despite its charm, the game ultimately carries that unmistakable “shareware” or public-domain feel — endearing, but unmistakably modest in scope.

It’s truly amazing to think that PLATYPUS was created entirely by one person — Anthony Flack — and that every element in the game was handcrafted. Even more impressive is the fact that he only had a single lump of grey clay to work with! He sculpted each object individually, photographed it, and then digitally coloured everything in Photoshop.

The reason behind this unusual process was simple yet fascinating — there was actually a shortage of coloured clay in his home country of New Zealand at the time.

Eventually, you’ll come across several boss encounters, each with its own unique — and often quite unorthodox — design for a shoot ’em up of this type.

However, these battles can feel a bit sluggish if you’re stuck with the default weapon. It’s definitely worth focusing on clearing enemy waves beforehand to grab a power-up; doing so makes the fights much faster — and far more enjoyable.

One of the things I always loved about the PSP was its menu screen — the animated icons, the background music, and the overall atmosphere that instantly got you in the mood to play. It’s a real shame that Sony moved away from this charming feature on the PS Vita and PlayStation 4.

Here’s the cover art for PLATYPUS — it looks fantastic and does an excellent job of representing the game’s content. I can’t help but wonder how many people picked up the game purely because of this eye-catching cover. This particular copy comes from psp-images.net, a site I used to follow closely back in the day. The owner even sent me a few review copies, knowing they would find a good home in my collection.

PLATYPUS is definitely not an AAA title — it has a few of those typical early indie quirks, and yes, the gameplay can feel repetitive at times. But there’s something undeniably charming about knowing that one person created the entire game almost singlehandedly. It deserves far more recognition in the gaming media, and for fans of the shoot ’em up genre, it’s an essential addition to any collection.

Technically, it may fall short of being a masterpiece, but its unique style, handcrafted visuals, and fantastic soundtrack make it a truly worthwhile experience.

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