Thank you Assemble Entertainment for sending us this game to review!

Squad 51 vs. the Flying Saucers is a 1950s sci-fi themed black & white shoot ‘em up. The graphics are nicely detailed and I often wondered what they would look like colorized while playing this game. Upon launching Squad 51 vs. the Flying Saucers, you have to choose between playing Normal Mode or Resistance Mode. In Normal Mode, you get to play the unlocked levels and can utilize any of the unlocked enhancements at your discretion. In the Resistance Mode, you begin on the first level with no points and must survive up to five loops with increased difficulty each time. Progress can be saved and your score will be posted on the online leaderboards.

It’s nice that you can play with up to two players locally, but I spent most of my time playing the game on my Steam Deck and it ran flawlessly. In total, there are eleven levels and completing them can take good players three hours and average players like myself closer to five. I didn’t discover the infinite lives option until AFTER I beat the game. You can also enable auto-fire in Accessibility menu.

Points are the game’s currency and with points, you can unlock enhancements like extra lives, increased rate of fire, missiles, a flamethrower, and resistance to enemy/environment collision. You can power up these attributes as well as decrease the size of your ship’s hitbox. If you’re unsure, you can have the game auto apply the upgrades it recommends.

During each level, you’ll have to fight off invading aliens, but that’s only half of the battle. You’ll also have to keep your ship safe from environmental obstacles. There are checkpoints that can grant you an extra life if you unlocked that enhancement. It’s nice to be able to pick up from there instead of having to restart the level completely. Like many games, I wish there were more checkpoints available. I did notice that the number of enemies would decrease as the number of my deaths increased. Upon completing a level, you’ll be awarded between one and three stars. When playing with limited lives, I never earned more than one star. An added goal for over-achievers is to collect all of the available parachutes in each level.

Steam enhancements include fifteen achievements, remote play, leaderboards, and cloud saves. Console versions of the game are in the works, but as of this review, they have not been released yet.

Morally, this game is pretty tame. Shooting down flying saucers is a given, but there is some hand-to-hand combat and you’ll also have to shoot down aliens and Godzilla-like creatures. There is some mild language (d*mn) worth noting.

Squad 51 vs. the Flying Saucers is a sizable game at 12GB. There are many live-action cutscenes that add to the story. I found it humorous that this game went out of its way to be inclusive to all races and possibly sexual orientations when casting its characters. The game looks and sounds incredible, but you have the option of skipping previously seen movies and cutscenes when resuming from a checkpoint.

If you enjoy shoot ‘em up games and cheesy sci-fi films, Squad 51 vs. the Flying Saucers should be on your radar. The game is over pretty quick, but it’s a fun ride while it lasts.