Game Review: UDO (Unidentified Drilling Object)

By JT

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo, PC

Developed by Blue Firefly Studio, UDO (an acronym for "Unidentified Drilling Object") is a short, but fun, down-scroller roguelike. With an oversized drill you dig your way into the depths, and uncover the mystery of what lies deep underground. There are 4 biomes, with a multitude of upgrades and skins, that give some depth to the game’s mechanics. Skill is always a key asset, and you'll be digging yourself up using your boost, or shooting yourself left or right to tackle and dodge both enemies and fire. More challenging than the game itself was writing this review, as the game is very short. Is UDO worth a try? Is it just another roguelike? Let’s dive into the depths of UDO and find out!

When faced with a difficult game where death forces a full restart (minus shop upgrades), sometimes you just have to take a break and come back. Every so often this is what a game like UDO can do to you. Not because the game’s overly difficult, but due to pretty much forced repetition. The main concept is that you have a drill, and your trajectory is aimed downward. Occasionally you’ll find yourself moving left, right, or upward, but only to collect items, currency, or to defeat an enemy. There are different blocks that do different things, such as your main dirt blocks that break once drilled, poison blocks that produce a poisonous cloud when broken, or blocks that just break after standing on it for a few seconds. 

UDO explains all concepts of the biomes roughly, but through human interaction at the beginning or end of each level. However, most of this is just mindless chatter, and should probably be skipped. Between each level you receive powerups and upgrade to your fuel and health. Fuel is what is needed to make a dashes upward or side-to-side. Without fuel it’s much more difficult to target enemies or to pick up gold chunks. You use the collected gold for upgrades at the end of each level, such as a robot you get the chance to jump into during a level, or a single life-save. Most of the upgrades were welcome, but some felt almost detrimental to how I played the game. One upgrade allowed damage to be halved at the expense of picking up items, such as health, something that screwed me over when I faced the final boss. 

Upgrades and skins are plentiful and can be equipped before you begin your journey to the center of the Earth in UDO. In fact, there might be too many upgrades, and I often found myself just trying to unlock them all rather than actually needing some of them. Some upgrades allowed for an extra shield or companion. Anything that allowed me to keep my health, or eliminate enemy units, were what I was all in for. Sometimes a section would be a cluttered with little to no options of attack or avoidance, and my companion was able to clear up all creatures on screen. Skins themselves don’t make any difference, but they were a nice touch, and allowed for some level of customization.

UDO is a painfully short game, but is it any good? In short, yes. The controls, and how the character handles, are very well done. While the game isn’t easy, the controls make the game easy to play. With every rock break, or enemy drilled into, you get a jump almost mid-air. Might not sound significant, but it allows for a lot of streamlined attacks and item grabs. Sometimes it can even save your life when you're facing a horde of enemies directly in your path. The music and sound design also fit perfectly within a 2D, 16-bit universe. So, I got no complaints there. The game should be a solid buy, correct? UDO is fun and it has a nice control scheme that benefits from quick reflexes. UDO is a solid purchase, right?

While the upgrades and skins do make replaying the game less painful, the unfortunate reality is that there’s not a whole lot to get invested in. UDO is good for a casual go, but there’s nothing that screams: “Keep playing!” I will stand by my decision to keep playing certain roguelike games just to get them to 100%, but UDO is not one of them. A skilled player could easily finish the game in less than a quarter of the time of my run. If you would like to try this game out, the best way to do it is to wait for a Steam sale. I wouldn’t suggest picking it up otherwise.

Check Out UDO on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2323550/UDO/

---

Story: D-
Gameplay: B
Graphics/Artwork: B
Sound/Music: A-
Value: D-

Overall: C-

Pros:
+ Nice artwork and graphics, with some solid animation
+ Music and gameplay are both excellent.
+ The game feels fun to play a lot of the time.

Cons:
- Repetitive to a fault.
- Way too short.
- Little to no story, and nothing to keep you engaged otherwise.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

---

#ShortNSweet