Apple Arcade review #26: UFO on Tape

I’m…not totally sure what I just played. UFO on Tape is almost dreamlike; an odd experience quite unlike anything I’ve played before. The idea is sound: you look through the lens of a camera and take pictures of UFOs and other extraterrestrial phenomena. Or, at least you try. You get paid for each successful photo. There are different scenarios: you’re in a car, onboard a plane, and…okay, that’s as far as I got.

Look, this game is hard. Or maybe just hard to play. You’re supposed to take a dozen photos of different events within a time limit, but I found it difficult to understand where to look, what to photograph, how much time I had at my disposal, and after retrying the first level around ten times, and the second level another dozen, I gave up. You get clues about what you’re supposed to shoot/film/observe, but it all feels a bit…random. The game also lacks polish, with a rudimentary front end and absolutely no tutorial.

I love the idea, however, and with a bigger budget and longer development time, this could have been something interesting. As it stands, it’s certainly different. But not, unfortunately, in a good way.

Link: https://apps.apple.com/no/app/ufo-on-tape-first-contact/id358336313