Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Putty Squad shifts away from the more deliberate puzzle focus of its predecessor and embraces a brisk, action‐oriented platforming style. You still command the elastic hero known simply as Putty, using his remarkable stretching ability to slingshot through levels, trap enemies, and access hidden areas. Whether you’re pinning down a mortar‐tooting pup or wrapping around a springboard to launch yourself upward, the controls remain tight and responsive throughout your rescue mission.

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One of the most satisfying mechanics is Putty’s absorption power—you can literally gulp down select objects and even enemies, then morph into them to exploit their unique traits. Swallowing a rolling barrel turns you into an unstoppable battering ram, while ingesting a key lets you unlock secret gates without ever touching a lockpick. Coupled with a tiered star‐collection system—where 10 stars unlock a super punch, 20 stars a high‐speed dash, and 40 stars the fabled Terminator mode—you’ll find plenty of ways to experiment and revisit earlier stages.

The pacing is generally upbeat, though the difficulty curve sometimes spikes unexpectedly when new pup variants appear. Grenade‐hurling pups, helicopter‐piloting foes, and parachuting minibosses all demand quick reflexes and clever use of Putty’s toolkit. While some players may miss the cerebral puzzles of the original Putty, those craving a vibrant platformer with a whimsical twist will find plenty to enjoy here.

Graphics

Visually, Putty Squad delivers a colorful, cartoon‐inspired aesthetic that feels at home on both classic hardware and modern displays. Each level features lush backdrops—from rolling hills of Putty Land to the foreboding towers of Klud City—rendered in crisp pixel art that highlights Putty’s rubbery deformations and the pups’ comical expressions. Animations are fluid, especially when Putty Elastically contorts or transforms into new shapes.

The enemy design is equally charming: mortar‐toting puppies sport oversized helmets, while flying adversaries rotate their rotors with delightful detail. Background elements, such as flickering torches in underground chambers or drifting clouds above sky platforms, add depth without distracting from the main action. Even on screens that magnify each pixel, the art direction retains its playful personality.

Occasional frame‐rate dips can occur during crowded on‐screen brawls—particularly in Terminator mode—but these hiccups rarely hinder gameplay. A cheery soundtrack accompanies each world, with jaunty melodies that complement the visual style and underscore the game’s lighthearted tone.

Story

Putty Squad picks up the tale where the original left off: the nefarious Wizard’s minions have marched into Putty Land, imprisoning your blob‐shaped compatriots in the distant city of Klud. There’s no grand political intrigue here—just a simple, heroic quest to free POWs and thwart the Wizard’s scheme. It’s classic platformer fare, delivered with tongue‐in‐cheek humor and a dash of absurdity.

Between levels, brief cutscenes show your imprisoned buddies cheering as Putty bursts in—an effective reminder of what’s at stake and why you collect those golden stars. The occasional cameo by Uncle Ted, who plays a catchy tune to distract foes, adds a whimsical break from the action without overstaying its welcome. Fans of minimalist storytelling will appreciate that the game never loses sight of its primary goal: run, jump, stretch, and rescue.

While the narrative doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it serves its purpose admirably. The simple “good blob versus bad wizard” premise allows the designers to focus on inventive level layouts and doggedly inventive pup adversaries, rather than elaborating a convoluted plot. If you’re seeking emotional depth, you might look elsewhere—but if you just want to guide a malleable hero through perilous worlds, the story provides perfectly adequate motivation.

Overall Experience

Putty Squad offers a buoyant blend of action, exploration, and light strategy that should appeal to fans of classic platformers. Its core mechanics—stretching attacks, object absorption, and power‐up progression—combine to create a playful experience that never feels stale. While the difficulty can spike abruptly, the generous checkpoint system and plentiful extra lives mean you’re rarely forced back to the very beginning of a world.

The presentation—bright pixel art, sprightly music, and charming character animations—works in harmony with the gameplay to maintain a consistently upbeat mood. Although occasional performance dips and the absence of deeper storytelling might deter some players, the game’s brevity and replay value (driven by star‐collection challenges and hidden secrets) make it worth revisiting.

In short, Putty Squad is a worthy successor to the original, reimagined as a more action‐focused platformer without losing its quirky identity. If you relish mastering elastic attack combos, hunting down collectible stars, and mowing through waves of mischievous pups, this title should provide several hours of gooey fun.

Retro Replay Score

7.8/10