{"id":120161,"date":"2020-11-01T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-01T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/part_time_ufo"},"modified":"2020-11-01T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-11-01T14:00:00","slug":"review-part-time-ufo-a-game-about-picking-things-up-that-you-wont-want-to-put-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2020\/11\/01\/review-part-time-ufo-a-game-about-picking-things-up-that-you-wont-want-to-put-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Part Time UFO &#8211; A Game About Picking Things Up That You Won&#8217;t Want To Put Down"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/04ba28068ff45\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/04ba28068ff45\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div id>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Part Time UFO Review - Screenshot 1 of 5\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/109929\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/109929\/900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" alt=\"Part Time UFO Review - Screenshot 1 of 5\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld\/Undocked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>A lot of people may not realise this, but HAL Laboratory isn\u2019t actually <em>owned<\/em> by Nintendo. It may have been responsible for the likes of the <strong>Kirby<\/strong>, <strong>Smash Bros<\/strong> and <strong>Mother<\/strong> series and its main office may even be located in Nintendo\u2019s Tokyo building, but the developer remains independent and could make games for other platforms if it ever chose to.<\/p>\n<p>It exercised this right back in late 2017 when it released a mobile game called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/part_time_ufo\"><strong>Part Time UFO<\/strong><\/a>. It was a delightful, addictive and thoroughly entertaining game from start to finish with no microtransactions, no ads, none of that nonsense \u2013 and it had <em>absolutely nothing<\/em> to do with Nintendo. Except now, because a few years after its mobile launch it\u2019s been ported to the Switch. The good news? It\u2019s even better. The bad news? Your free time is about to take a <em>serious<\/em> nosedive.<\/p>\n<p>You play as Jobski, a little sentient UFO who finds itself on Earth looking for work. After it helps a farmer load some crates onto the back of a truck, the farmer gives it a magazine with a bunch of part-time job ads in it. These form the game\u2019s stages, and it\u2019s up to Jobski to take on each of the jobs and carry out the tasks required in each one. Conveniently, all of the jobs available take advantage of Jobski\u2019s unique skill: the ability to lower a large claw that can grab onto things.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Part Time UFO Review - Screenshot 2 of 5\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/109934\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 900 506'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/109934\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Part Time UFO Review - Screenshot 2 of 5\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>This means Jobski is essentially a hovering, self-aware crane game, albeit one that\u2019s designed to actually pick things up relatively easily. Press the game\u2019s single action button and the claw descends, opening wide enough to be able to grab fairly big objects if need be. The grip is also tight enough to ensure that you won\u2019t drop anything unless you\u2019ve lined it up sloppily, in which case you frankly don\u2019t deserve to cleanly carry the thing. After carrying the object to where you want it to go, pressing the button a second time will quickly release the claw, dropping the object.<\/p>\n<p>Naturally, everything is physics-based, leading to a sort of cross between the brilliant Nintendo Badge Arcade app on the 3DS and something like <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/world_of_goo\">World of Goo<\/a><\/strong>, the latter comparison especially coming into play when stages get more elaborate and you find yourself trying to stack multiple objects on top of each other or trying to place them on a seesaw-like area where you have to make sure weight is distributed evenly.<\/p>\n<p>Each stage has a different theme and its own central task; this could involve putting together a cheerleader pyramid at a school gym, reassembling an ancient piece of artwork at a museum or stacking a bunch of animals on top of a precariously wobbly tightrope-walking elephant at a circus. Every level is packed with humour and there are lots of fun little details in the backgrounds, and it\u2019s all accompanied by one of the most delightfully twee soundtracks you\u2019ll hear, which mainly consists of a single cheery theme played in a variety of different ways.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Part Time UFO Review - Screenshot 3 of 5\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/109935\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 900 506'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/109935\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Part Time UFO Review - Screenshot 3 of 5\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Completing the main task is one thing, but each level also has three secondary tasks that require you to do more than just the bare minimum. Generally speaking, one of these usually involves beating the stage in a set time, while another rewards you for clearing the stage properly: stacking boxes the right way up, stacking the cheerleaders efficiently enough so that the pyramid reaches a certain height, that sort of thing. The third, meanwhile, is a bit of a wild card and tends to be completely different for each stage: it could involve plucking a hidden character out of the background and placing them on the stack, making sure certain objects are placed on specific places, or what have you.<\/p>\n<p>Although you aren\u2019t <em>explicitly<\/em> told what these three extra tasks are, each is represented by an icon that gives you a clue and they can all more or less be figured out easily based on that (the challenge is in actually pulling it off, of course). Beat a stage and you\u2019ll also unlock a harder version of it, where the main task is made more complicated. That big stone temple you had to build before is now made out of eight pieces instead of six, for example, and it\u2019s less clear which pieces should go where (though the joy of this game is that there are always multiple solutions).<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s the point of doing all this? Why, to make money of course. Money that can be spent in the game\u2019s clothes shop on a variety of different outfits, each with their own different properties. Dress Jobski up as a monkey, for example, and objects will swing less as you move around, while putting a safety helmet on its head will let it safely stop quicker, and dressing it up as an astronaut makes the claw drop quicker.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Part Time UFO Review - Screenshot 4 of 5\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/109933\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 900 506'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/109933\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Part Time UFO Review - Screenshot 4 of 5\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Fans of the mobile version will already know all this and will be curious to know what\u2019s new here. A decent amount, actually. The main game itself has one or two new levels, such as a new Toy Shop stage where you have to stack toys into a big box well enough that you can cleanly put the lid back on when you\u2019re done. There\u2019s also a new Feats of Glory screen, which is essentially an achievement system with 48 achievements to earn, giving you funny little animations as you rack them up. And there are a few new outfits too, though that would be spoiling things.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the new Tower of Infinity mode will be your new obsession; you\u2019re given a randomly-chosen series of objects and have to stack them as high as possible, while every now and then you\u2019re awarded a special block, which can be placed on the screen to help prevent your tower toppling. We\u2019re scared to think how long we\u2019re going to spend on this mode alone. Beating the game will also unlock a new Treasure Island mode, which gives you a meatier adventure that goes beyond simple single-screen tasks and has you exploring a large, multi-roomed environment full of surprises.<\/p>\n<p>Best of all, the entire game can now be played in co-op, with two Jobskis on the screen at the same time. The simplicity of the game\u2019s controls means this is the perfect co-op game because even players who aren\u2019t the most experienced gamers will be able to pick it up (ahem) quite quickly. It\u2019s taken a few years but we finally have a simple and entertaining Switch co-op game that has toppled <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/snipperclips_plus_cut_it_out_together\">Snipperclips<\/a><\/strong> from its throne.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Part Time UFO Review - Screenshot 5 of 5\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/109931\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 900 506'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/109931\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Part Time UFO Review - Screenshot 5 of 5\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld\/Undocked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>We love this game and can\u2019t stop playing it. It\u2019s more expensive than the mobile version (\u00a38.09 \/ $8.99 versus \u00a33.99 \/ $3.99) but all the extra modes and features <em>absolutely<\/em> make it worth the money, not to mention the fact that it\u2019s far more comfortable to play with an analogue stick and buttons (well, one button) instead of a phone\u2019s touchscreen. It may not have initially been made with any involvement from Nintendo, but HAL\u2019s close links with the company shine through regardless and as a result, it absolutely feels like the sort of premium product you\u2019d usually only expect from one of Nintendo\u2019s own development teams. This is a must-have.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"object object-youtube\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"conclusion\">\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>The mobile version of Part Time UFO already had the charm of a Kirby game, the physics-based chaos of World of Goo and the compelling claw machine mechanics of Nintendo Badge Arcade. This new Switch port builds on top of that already impressive stack by adding a co-op mode that betters Snipperclips and chucks in an infinite mode that provides the sort of quick-fix joy that hasn&#8217;t been seen since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/dsiware\/paper_plane\"><strong>Paper Plane<\/strong><\/a> on DSiWare. It may be a game about picking things up, but the real challenge will come when you try to put it down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld\/Undocked) A lot of people may not realise this, but HAL Laboratory isn\u2019t actually owned by Nintendo. It may have been responsible for the likes of the Kirby, Smash Bros and Mother series and its main office may even be located in Nintendo\u2019s Tokyo building, but the developer remains independent and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120161\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}