Squad 51 vs. the Flying Saucers Review

Squad 51 vs. the Flying Saucers is set in the 1950s and Extraterrestrial beings have come to invade planet Earth. Lead by Director Zarog, the Vega Corporation is looking to impose its predatory politics on humankind. In order to save humanity, the rebel group Squadron 51 rises up in order to stand toe to toe with Zarog and his army. Does Squad 51 have a fighting chance or is Earth doomed?

Squad 51 vs. the Flying Saucers is another entry in the high challenging shoot’em up, a.k.a. shmup, genre, where players go from start to finish of each level killing; or least trying, everything gunning for you all the while dodging endless enemy projectiles. Unlike most shmups, here you pilot a 1950s fighter jet unlike the typical spaceship.

While it starts off like any other shmups where it’s basically one hit death, as you clear levels and score points, in between levels you’ll unlock new upgrades and slots to upgrade your jet. You’ll be able to unlock a bomb, flamethrower that can shoot from behind, but also upgrade your jet’s shield by reducing damage suffered from enemy projectiles, enemy ships or other obstacles. The better you perform in a level, the more upgrades and slots you’ll unlock for the new level.

The game has a unique 1950s style; almost a bit reminiscent of Plan 9 of Outer Space. The visuals are all in black and grey-ish. While it can sound limiting, it’s ironically a breath of fresh air not only in the genre, but in gaming as a whole. In between levels, you’ll be treated to real-life cutscenes with actors; while nothing really Oscar worthy, it felt like a good old campy B-movie. I couldn’t help be reminded of Mars Attack! for some reason.

Although there are a few nuisances; the first one being your jet’s hitbox. It seems inconsistent and can be difficult to really determine what hits you or not. There were quite a few instances where I thought I’d be dead; but wasn’t and vice versa. It’s quite annoying not being to tell 100% of the them when you’d suffer damage or when you’d escape it. Another nuisance is that if you die when your sub-weapons’ meters are full, you lose them meaning you need to refill the bars. It’s annoying successfully dodging and killing enemies to fill both of them only to be screwed because you didn’t see an enemy ship coming from behind. The soundtrack, albeit limited, is as B-movie-ish as the rest of the game.

Squad 51 vs. the Flying Saucers is a personal surprise gem of the year. While I sorta expected what to experience given its a shmup, I absolutely fell in love with this one. The game is perfectly balanced with difficulty progressively increasing on a level per level basis, there’s a lot of customizable options to give players various ways to play and it can be quite chaotic with two players. While the confusing hitbox situation can be frustrating, it’s far from a deterrent. Whether you’re a long time fan of the genre or looking for your first shmup, Squad 51 vs. the Flying Saucers is highly recommended. Don’t miss this little gem.