Preview: Putty Squad

Putty Squad never did get released on the Amiga. It reviewed really well, with scores often up in the 9/10 range, but the the market dropped out from under the platform and retailers wouldn’t touch the system’s games. So even though it did hit the SNES this makes the Putty Squad release on PS Vita (which I played on), PS3, 360, 3DS and PC quite reminiscent of a re-release, but actually something rather different.

It still feels like a game from the 90s, though. The ideas in the platforming gameplay, the graphical stylings and the sounds all feel laced with nostalgia for that era of video gaming. For some, this style of graphics might get in the way, but whilst this hasn’t had a Rayman-esque makeover in the intervening years, there is essentially a new game with content above and beyond what would have been there in the original.

There’s a lot of variety in the gameplay on offer, as you control a blue ball of putty, and have to traverse little sandbox levels to hunt down all the red putties in order to open the exit. It’s far removed from the standard left-to-right gameplay which people will be most familiar with these days, and offers up a lot of possibilities as a consequence.

Naturally you can move left and right and jump, but the putty has a lot of extra abilities, from stretching out to grab onto another platform above or below, to punching enemies and even inflating itself like a balloon. That’s in addition having pickups for nitrous bombs, springs, cat food, rockets… all usable via the Vita’s touch screen.

The variety in your options for attacking each level is matched only by what each level might contain. Moving platforms, switches, bouncing carrots, wizard’s mortar emplacements, cats and more. For some reason I’m not sure of, the cats are really bouncy if you jump on them, but if left to their own devices they’ll come up and give you a good kicking before dropping a time bomb and running off.

I was shown that you can pick that bomb up and use it for a huge explosion elsewhere in the level, if you fancy, or just scarper. It’s quite a neat little trick in the gameplay, which hints at further nuances to the game if you go looking for them.

It’s not like the game’s going to be particularly easy either, as I found out when I jumped to a much later level. It will gradually ramp up, but along the way you will have to learn to react quickly with your abilities, inflating yourself to prevent you from falling to your death, or flattening to the ground to avoid explosions and damage. Essential survival skills which I didn’t quite get the hang of in my time with the game.

The levels and locations don’t really help you out here, and can look very busy, stuffed with scenery and activity along with quite a substantial HUD. There’s plenty of variety, though and you might fly past Big Ben in one level, or be surrounded by the foliage of a jungle in another.

So there’s still a fair bit of polish to be done, from the build that I saw. The various levels still have pretty generous time limits, (remember when games had time limits?) so that I could just wander around without a worry in the world, for example. Similarly, it is currently too easy to just blow the putty up into a balloon and fly off, which has yet to be balanced out.

Along with the revamp of the core game, System 3 are bringing this up to the digital age with frequent and regular DLC. Before you elicit that groan of disappointment, this is all free DLC, if you play the game and complete various challenges on each level. Simple sounding things, such as beating a particular time, or not taking any damage, but potentially a little trickier to handle as you progress through the game, so the DLC will also be purchasable.

Putty Squad’s revival really is a labour of love from System 3. Some of the key people behind the original have returned to the game twenty years later and the extent to which they’re extending the game is a sign of their dedication, bringing this right up to date in many aspects. Yet at its core, it’s still that nostalgic glimpse of a generation and style of game long gone.

Putty Squad is set for release this Summer for PS Vita, Xbox 360, PS3, 3DS and PC.