Tokyo indie Games Summit 2025 was home to a number of indie titles offering unique and interesting experiences. While many piqued my interest, one in particular stood out to me - Unko Technica. Unko, the word for poo in Japanese, being used in a game title is just not something that you see everyday. Coupled with the Famicom style graphics, I just had to give it a try.
Unko Technica is currently in development for Steam and the concept in here is simple. Playing as a colorful poo, it’s your goal to make it to a toilet which serves as a goal. After tapping a yellow butt on the screen, you are then launched out onto the stage. The unko will slide across the level automatically, changing directions when it hits walls. The click of the mouse will initiate a jump. Again, it’s all about making it to the goal to clear the stage. While that’s pretty clear, additional challenges are also available tasking players to reach the goal with performing a certain number (or lower) of jumps, wall hits and collecting all of the coins scattered throughout the level.
Things start out pretty simple but get more complex the further you get into the game. The demo featured a handful of levels with a number of stages.The early stages all just require a combination of timing your jumps and making wall jumps when necessary. Things get a bit more complex in the second level as blue bumpers initiate an extra jump and platforms make reaching the goal a bit more tricky. The third set of stages added switches which turn on or off blocks. The good thing here is that you can never die as the stage will only end with you reaching the goal. Well, at least in the stages on offer. If you find your first run was a little bit sloppy, you can replay the stage after reaching the goal or alternatively, you can restart at any time during gameplay.
I found Unko Technica easy to control but challenging when it came to clearing the stages with the suggested number of jumps, wall hits and collecting the coins. Not challenging in a frustrating way, either, as any mistake you make is based on your mistiming your jumps. Being super simple to restart after minor mistakes, it was a stress free experience and made me keep coming back for the “Perfect Unko” clear.
I had a chat with the developer, Udonpa, and asked why use colorful poo as a “mascot” in the game. He went on to say, “In lieu of creating an original character, I went with something recognizable that stands out.” The product page on Steam reemphasizes this by saying, “The game does not contain any elements such as an inspiring scenario or fascinating characters.” While what I played on the TIGS show floor was a snipped of the game, the final version will contain more than 150 stages, the ability to customize your unko and unlockable stages.
I enjoyed my time with Unko Technica. It’s not for everyone and it’s not going to blow you away with complex gameplay systems or flashy graphics. On the other hand, the 8-bit style visuals, oddball setting and simple controls are sure to gel with some folks out there. The game is scheduled for a release on Steam at some point in 2025. You can find more about the game and the creator, Udonpa, at the links below.
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