The poster isn't the only thing in black-and-white...
UFOs! Aliens! Aircrafts! Resistance!
Flying saucers have invaded our planet!
The whole world is under attack!
Would Mankind be prepared for the THREATS of another world?
Flying saucers have invaded our planet!
The whole world is under attack!
Would Mankind be prepared for the THREATS of another world?
(NOTE: The above intro is best read in Orson Welles' voice, specifically from the infamous 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast)
Squad 51 vs. the Flying Saucers is a 2022 arcade-style Horizontal Scrolling Shooter action game developed by Brazilian studios Loomiarts and Fehorama Filmes and published by Assemble Entertainment. The game was designed as a retraux film inspired by the broadcast of The War of the Worlds where Earth is facing an imminent alien invasion; except in this game's version of the late '30s, the invasion happened for real.
Set in the 1930s, an alliance between humans and an extraterrestrial race goes south when the operations of alien entrepreneurs on earth with promises to benefit humanity is revealed to be a ploy to take over earth's economy and enslave all humans. Mankind's attempted retaliation leads to the invaders sending their flying saucer fleet, en masse, for a direct invasion. However, the elite Royal Air Force unit known as Squadron 51 is ready to intercept. You're their best pilot, and inevitably you're mankind's last hope against a deadly fleet of alien saucers.
The game combines live-action cutscenes with gameplay footage, all of them with aesthetics deliberately imitating the black-and-white, grainy quality of sci-fi B-movies.
Bravo! Foxtrot! Battle formation!
- 1-Up: Collecting a parachute icon grants you another life.
- Ace Pilot: Every member of the titular Squadron, with you being the best of them tasked to take down the titular flying saucers and thwart Director Zarog's plans.
- Alien Invasion: One of the favorite tropes in old-timey B-movies, now translated into video-game form.
- Aliens Are Bastards: The aliens' attempts to manipulate humans into destroying the world's economy didn't work, so they decide to invade instead just because.
- Battle in the Rain: The second level is set in the middle of a massive thunderstorm, with your plane dogfighting enemy saucers while caught in the downpour. There are occasional bouts of Dramatic Thunder thrown in the background for good measure.
- Bullet Hell:
- The onscreen bullet density can go really insane in the later levels when bosses start clogging projectiles all over the place.
- There's even a Glass Cannon mook enemy which dies in one hit... but has eight turrets installed on all its sides. All of which are capable of firing at full-auto.
- Collapsing Lair: After destroying the aliens' core in their Antarctic Base, the underground cavern where the level is set immediately begins caving in. You'll need to fly ahead while avoiding obstacles.
- Deliberately Monochrome: Every single frame in-game is in black and white (with some onscreen static for good measure). Done on purpose, of course, for that old B-movie look.
- Drill Tank: The aliens will unleash drilling machines on you in the underground stages. And as you're in a tunnel, you'll need to blow them up before they reach and damage you.
- Eyedscreen: Another cliché common in old movies, repeatedly appearing in the live-action cutscenes. The opening scene notably has a radio broadcaster's eyes dissolving into a shot of an incoming flying saucer.
- Flying Saucer: Pretty much 70% of the mook-grade enemies you spend most of the game blowing up. There are even giant saucers that attempt to outflank and crush you from the sides.
- Giant Mook: Alien mobile cannons and giant flying saucers, which take up a large part of the screen and can tank dozens and dozens of hits before they're destroyed.
- Hong Kong Dub: The live-action cutscenes (and thus original audio) were filmed with actors speaking Brazilian Portuguese, and the English dub deliberately reflects this B-Movie staple.
- It's a Wonderful Failure: If you die in battle, you're treated to a news broadcast reporting on the "Failed Offensive by Squadron 51".
- Just Plane Wrong: The stunts, aerial somersaults, barrel rolls and assorted action you managed to pull off with your rickety, old-timey 1950s fighter jet are a clear indicator the game isn't striving for historical accuracy and that it's running on Rule of Cool.
- Low Clearance: Shows up in the stage where you battle alien saucers in Industry City, where you fly barely a hundred meters above ground level. Be wary of low arches and signs which can damage you on contact!
- Not Zilla: The later levels have the aliens sending genetically created, Godzilla-esque dinosaur monsters to attack major cities, which the players will battle against besides alien saucers. Given the game's homage to B-movies, they're animated to resemble stop-motion kaiju from old films.
- Sentry Gun: Occasionally, they'll throw in turrets alongside flying saucers at you when assaulting the aliens' land-based outposts.
- Spread Shot: One of the power-ups can upgrade your plane's machine guns to fire in a spread of seven at a time.
- Stationary Boss: The aliens' core boss you fight in an underground cavern in Antarctica is fixed on the spot, guarded by turrets and assorted alien ships. Unfortunately, your plane cannot remain stationary and will continue flying circles around it, forcing you to constantly ascend and descend to avoid crashing into the core or hitting obstacles from the ceiling.
- Stylistic Suck: Owing to the game's homage to old-timey B-movies - its main inspiration - most of the alien crafts are deliberately designed to look like they're lifted from black-and-white sci-fi films, with flying saucer toys, hubcaps, saucepan lids, and assorted Off-the-Shelf FX props commonly seen in films like Earth vs. the Flying Saucers and Plan 9 from Outer Space portraying the assorted alien ships you spend the entire game shooting at. Some of the enemy saucers even have strings visible on them.
- Vichy Earth: In the backstory, Director Zarog and his forces attempts a diplomatic occupation of Earth by forging an intergalactic alliance with humans and manipulating mankind into their control. Their plans were thwarted, at which point they decide to just invade.
- A Villain Named "Z__rg": The alien leader who decides to initiate the invasion, Director Zarog.
- Wave-Motion Gun: Alien mobile turrets, one of the largest common enemies, can fire a thick, wavy energy blast from its core, one almost as wide as itself. When more than two of these enemies appear together, expect them to attempt to use their beams to trap you in a corner.
- Weaponized Exhaust: One of the power-ups you can use, which fires a thick stream of flames behind you. It's one of the few attacks capable of hitting enemies coming from your back and among the strongest ones.
