Putty Squad

Gameplay

Putty Squad is a platform game in which the player controls an amorphous blue blob, tasked with rescuing imprisoned putties. The player's putty can stretch in a variety of ways: sidewards to cover ground faster, squash flat to absorb pick-up items, stretch upwards to climb, morph a fist to attack, or inflate to float upwards.

Putty can collect stars that increase his attack power: at first increasing the potency of his punch, but later allowing him to blow darts, electrocute enemies or throw bombs. This star power is reduced every time Putty is hit by an enemy.

Original versions

The Amiga version of Putty Squad, although left unpublished until December 2013, was completely developed in 1994 to the point of demo versions being issued to magazines for release on cover disks, and Amiga magazines were also sent full review copies of Putty Squad, for which it received critical success. Amiga Format awarded a "Format Gold". Amiga Power awarded 91%, highlighting the varied level shapes, masterful animation, influence from the Mario video games (using a stunned enemy as a projectile weapon, secret doors, items hidden in blocks) and consistent game logic. Several instant-death situations were criticised: the bottom of the level is often difficult to distinguish, and falling through it kills Putty. Several enemies can also instantly kill Putty. CU Amiga awarded 94%, highlighting the fluid control and movement of Putty, balanced learning curve, presentation, and good use of the Amiga's AGA palette. This critical success, but lack of a published version, has made Putty Squad one of the most sought-after Amiga titles before its release in December 2013.

The Sega Mega Drive version was reportedly completed in 1995 and reviewed in several European magazines which were sent full review copies, like Spanish Hobby Consolas (#45, June 1995) and German GAMERS (August 1995 issue), but the game remained unpublished due to Ocean's diminishing support of the console and lack of interest from retailers. Prototypes of the game are known to exist, although none of them have been leaked into the public domain, making it a sought-after title in the scene of Mega Drive unreleased games. It was finally released by a Sega-16 user who got a hold of a working prototype and dumped the ROM into the public domain in October 2015.

The PC MS-DOS version was projected by System 3 in late 1995 and demo versions were issued to magazines for release on cover disks, much like the Amiga version. The PC version was improved in several ways, including CG introductory cutscenes prior to the levels. But due to lack of interest from publishers, the PC version never went beyond demo state and was not even finished by the developer unlike the other unreleased versions.

Remake

On August 12, 2010, System 3 announced that a source port/remake version of the game will be made for the PlayStation 3, iPhone, iPad and PlayStation Portable. Furthermore, a version for the PlayStation Vita was announced on November 22, 2011. The PlayStation 4 version was released on March 2014 and has received negative reviews for its graphics. This version has a Metacritic rating of 38% based on 8 critic reviews. The PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, and Xbox Live Arcade versions were also released in 2014. The Microsoft Windows version was released exclusively in Europe as a retail PC game.