Squad 51 Vs. The Flying Saucers

Genre: Shmup

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Squad 51 Vs. The Flying Saucers is a Shmup released in 2022 on PC and ported to Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in 2023. This game has players flying a fighter plane shooting down alien aircraft in a send up of classic 1950s Black and White Sci-Fi B-Movies.

Now, when I say this is a send-up of classic B-Movies, I cannot stress enough how the creators of this game went above and beyond in delivering on the premise of that idea. Everything about the way this game looks and sounds is a joyously brilliant recreation of its retro-style topic matter in a way that’s so exquisite that I would say it comes second only to Cuphead when it comes to a videogame channeling the presentation of art from a bygone era.

Everything in this game is black-and-white, but this isn’t merely a matter of tossing a monochrome filter over the game and calling it good, everything here has had great attention to detail paid to it, with a blending of 3D and recorded live-action elements that mesh together so well it’s often difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins, all with visual effects that enhance this look, including film grain, fluctuating contrast levels, and staticky sound.

Right from the game’s startup you’re treated to logos designed to look just like the film studio logos of old, with laughably over-dramatic title cards. This is soon followed by deliberately woodenly-acted and poorly-edited live-action cutscenes throughout the game featuring dubbed-over actors (you can opt to hear the game in its original Portuguese language, but I honestly think the dubbed-over English is far more evocative of the genre being spoofed here), with nice touches like planes and flying saucers being suspended from clearly visible wires.

The gameplay visuals are quite excellent too, with nice lighting, good use of foreground and background elements, and smoky explosions that look exactly like the same sorta’ effects you got from the cheap special effects of these classic movies depicting small scale models. These visuals are backed by a low-quality recording of an over-the-top bombastic soundtrack.

Just to be clear, this game clearly puts in an absolutely monumental effort to look cheap and poorly-made, and I absolutely love it.

This is not just fun presentation, either, as this stylistic choice also directly affects the gameplay – one of the key gameplay elements here is that enemies coming on-screen are forecasted by “cigarette burn” marks on-screen, once again evoking old films. It’s a clever idea that not only makes the game play better, but it adds to the presentation rather than detracting from it.

The gameplay itself is solid too, with a good variety of enemies and scenarios. I appreciate how players are subtly encouraged to make use of the way their plane tilts as they rise and fall to spread out their gunfire, resulting in the natural inclination to make the bobbing motions that you’d get if the plane actually were suspended on a string by a puppeteer above the screen.

Another nice element here is the way players can gradually unlock ship upgrades you can select to become increasingly powerful as the game progresses. It’s a good thing too, because the game is a bit on the tough side, and you earn these bonuses whether you succeed or fail at a mission, meaning a failure can still net you an upgrade to make your next run a successful one.

While this game does a lot that I am absolutely delighted by, it does also have some flaws. As I mentioned before, the game is on the tough side, and this is in part because your ship is so large on-screen reducing your viewing size and making it difficult to maneuver. Other problems are caused by some of the things I praised earlier – the changing contrasts, foreground elements, and tons of smoke all look great, but sometimes make it hard to see your ship among the visual chaos. Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this game’s load times can get a bit on the long side, which can be especially frustrating when you have to see the same title card on-screen for a while after each death.

To be sure, Squad 51 Vs. The Flying Saucers has its flaws, but overall this is an absolutely wonderful entry in the genre with an outstanding presentation that does a stupendous job evoking the classic films of old. If you’re a fan of Shmups, or even if you’re just a fan of Action games who has a fondness for the early days of sci-fi films, definitely consider this game a must-play.

tl;dr – Squad 51 Vs. The Flying Saucers is a Shmup inspired by classic 1950s Sci-Fi B-Movies, and the way this game recreates the presentation of those old films is nothing short of jaw-dropping. The gameplay here is quite good too, though it does have a few small issues, and the Nintendo Switch version’s loading screens are annoying. Still, overall this is a must for Shmup fans and well worth checking out anyone with a fondness for classic cinema.

Grade: B+

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2023 Game Awards:

Winner:

Best Graphical Style – No game so perfectly captured the aesthetic it was aiming for in 2023 like Squad 51, with a visual style so absolutely spot-on for its inspiration that its videogame elements blend into its live action elements, making you wonder where one ends and the other begins. I was in awe when I played this game that so much effort was put into making this game look so shoddy (in a good way!). As I keep saying, not since Cuphead has a game so fully committed to bringing to life the art of a bygone era, and I absolutely hope we see more games like these.

Runner-Up: Best Action Game, Most Original, Best Sound Design, Best Graphics

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