Putty Squad is a new puzzle game that attempts to mix elements from the platform genre in the way that the original title did back in the 90′s on the Amiga and Super Nintendo platforms. Unfortunately, Putty Squad on the PlayStation 4 is a disgrace to even the original retro titles which it is based on – and leaves players with the feeling of being tasked with an immense chore rather than a fun gameplay experience.
The generic approach taken with gameplay mechanics frustratingly finding a way to become more and more complex per puzzle yet still solved with very basic moves is extremely lackluster. During playing, it can be felt that this title had a huge potential for fun factor – and we hope to offer constructive criticisms throughout this review on how to improve in future releases regarding this franchise.
Putty Squad starts out feeling like a platformer similar to the most popular ones in the genre, then introduces its puzzle mechanics with a sort of teleportation experience as players use Stretch and Morph, Punch and Bounce moves to navigate. Graphically the title looks good, and that’s a saving grace for any game these days – however, the fact that players are meant to be met with the gameplay presented as somehow fun or worthwhile is frankly offensive. Audio can be described as truthfully annoying with very little to be enjoyed and mainly generic music that seems aimed at getting children’s heart levels pumping while failing miserably at the intricate and frustrating gameplay and level designs in the game.
Over 50 levels are earnestly crafted for players by System 3 and yet none of them manage to remain fun the entire way through. Many of these use repeating backgrounds and graphics / enemies, which would be acceptable if the puzzles didn’t simply reveal themselves by abruptly interrupting otherwise fluid platformer gameplay rather than fitting into the game naturally as seen in previous installments of the franchise.
Having a 900MB install is reasonable and the game engine’s performance is decent. There’s not a lot of replay value for a game that most players will barely be able to stomach in the first place, but for the developer’s merit the inclusion of Remote Play, Trophies, and 1080P HD Graphics are noteworthy for those who can still be interested after viewing the Official Brian Blessed Trailer for the game below and making their own decisions based on all of the available info.
Overall Score: 2.5 / 10
RGN Rating: Below Bronze
Developer: System 3
Publisher: Maximum Games
Available On: PS4 | PC | PS3 | 360 | Vita | 3DS
Played On: Sony PlayStation 4
Review Copy Info: A physical copy of this game was provided to RealGamerNewz by the publisher for the purpose of this review.