Platypus

Platypus is a captivating horizontal scrolling shooter that blends retro arcade action with unique claymation visuals. Released in 2002 for PC, players take control of the last surviving F-27 Platypus spacecraft, defending the peaceful nation of Mungola from invaders hailing from the overpopulated Colossatropolis. What makes this game unique compared to the typical pixel-art shooters of the era is its stop-motion animation.

Gameplay revolves around navigating four expansive levels, each divided into five areas culminating in epic boss battles, Power-ups like auto fire, wide shots, rockets, and sonic pulses enhance your arsenal, earned by collecting special stars amid waves of foes.

Features and Highlights

The claymation art style is definitely the most iconic part of Platypus, thanks to the dedication of the creator, Anthony Flack, who had to use the same lump of clay to create every mode he needed for the game.

As soon as you play the game, you might get amazed how every model is originally made from clay. In terms of graphics, everything seems so different from the typical games. 

As with many other games, Platypus has several difficulty levels. If this is the first time you play it, you can choose the Normal mode and then switch to the Hard mode after you finish the game or if you find the Normal mode is too easy. The Easy mode is also an option in case you just want a casual run without feeling too much pressure.

You start with basic guns only, but you can collect power-ups during gameplay to destroy enemies. The more enemies you eliminate, as well as the more fruits and coins you collect, the more points you will get. When you have enough points, you will earn an extra life. If you choose to play the Hard mode, you will probably need extra lives as much as possible.

As you progress through the levels, you will fight a lot of enemies, which include Saucer, Fish Fighter, Green Big Un, Red Saucer, Squid, Gold Fish, Gunship, Dish, Big Squid, Missile Boat, Flip Plane, and many others. There are 27 types of enemies overall, and each of them has their own strength and weakness. 

To complete a level, you have to defeat the boss. If you can defeat the boss of the first level, the next one on the second level will be harder to eliminate. The final boss in the fourth level, however, is different from the other bosses. It comes as a single entity instead of appearing in multiple parts or waves.

Platypus Free Download for Windows

During gameplay, some enemies drop fruit and coins, each of which gives you a different amount of points. You can also get exclusive items dropped by Crates such as Points Doubler, which doubles your earned points, and Weapon Pods for more destructive power.

Some other enemies dropped power-ups, which increase your shot speed, fire more bullets, or shoot a wave of energy burst. Each power-up lasts for a very short time, but you can use it for more than one minute by collecting the same power-ups. You can click the link below to download Platypus for Windows: