Continuing our coverage of the Steam Next Fest, we have a very familiar puzzle game. If the concept for UFO: Unidentified Falling Objects seems familiar to you, that’s because you may have seen it before.

The original concept for UFO was done by the same developer in Super Puzzle Platformer Deluxe, which was published by Adult Swim in 2013. It was a pretty underrated puzzle game that flew under people’s radars, so it’s nice to see it coming back even more polished.

UFO does things in a similar manner to Super Puzzle Platformer Deluxe, still keeping the unique twist on Tetris, but with a few neat additions of its own. The biggest probably being the multiplayer aspect, which allows up to 20 players to compete simultaneously.

Unfortunately, the demo doesn’t have the online multiplayer unlocked, but couch co-op between 2 people is still possible, just in case you and a friend want to test the game out.

On top of the nicer pixel art, we also have a few unique gameplay additions, like the ability to kick blocks away. It may not seem huge, but it becomes a game of skill to kick blocks mid-air before they fall in a place you don’t want them to.

The original Super Puzzle Platformer Deluxe didn’t have that element of strategy, since you just had to deal with the position the blocks would fall in, so it’s nice to see this added layer to the gameplay.

The game now has a slight exploration aspect in between levels, where you can rescue new characters and bring them back to your ship. These characters present very difficult challenges to the player, which test what you learned in regular gameplay.

The demo only gives us access to one set of challenges from a rescued passenger and the game’s first world, which despite being the first level does have some tough missions as well. Clearing each mission rewards us with a diamond, which will be used to unlock the next levels.

It’s kind of crazy to think that a niche puzzle game I played back when I was 15 is coming back, it’s pretty nostalgic and I’m very glad that it looks so good and hasn’t lost its addictive nature, charm and unique gameplay.

You can check out some of my gameplay on the video below:

UFO: Unidentified Falling Objects is set to come out on the 18th of July, 2023, for the Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows (through Steam).

If you want to know more about some upcoming games, take a look at some of the other titles we covered from this year’s Steam Next Fest.