UFO 50 is an ambitious project. A collaboration between several different indie developers including Derek Yu, it's a collection of 50 games that, in the in-game universe, were released by a company named UFO Soft during the eight-year period between 1982 and 1989. Such is the scope of the collection that real-life development on the project also lasted eight years in total.
Carrying an 8-bit aesthetic, the titles featured here are all full games and cover a wide range of genres, from action and puzzle to RPG and strategy. There's even a horror-themed point-and-click adventure. Some games don't take long to complete, but the campaigns in many others can last several hours.
This diverse collection of games works on a number of different levels. The cohesion in style and in the meta-narrative that runs through all of the games enhances each individual title, and makes it more welcoming to bounce around the different games. That last part is a significant benefit in the first hour, when being confronted with 50 games to choose from – all unlocked at the start – may initially be a little overwhelming.
There's no problem with loading up a game, bouncing off it after a few minutes, and then moving on to the next game of your choosing.
But it's also relevant in the 10th, 20th, or 30th hour, when you circle back to the games you may have dismissed initially. There are games where, with plenty of mechanics to learn and no manuals or proper tutorials, it took me five or six tries before they finally clicked with me.
Those moments when you suddenly figure out a game – in the process changing the way you look at it – are really satisfying, and they only come about because I was incentivised to give these games multiple chances.
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(One advantage of playing games in today's era is that we can consult the internet for tips. There's no shame in doing this, of course. I've done so for a few titles when trying to get my head around obscure mechanics.)
I kept returning to them because switching between titles is so frictionless, not just from a mechanical point of view – returning to the home screen is instantaneous at any time through the menu – but also, I'd argue more importantly, from a thematic point of view and in how the package was put together.
I'm not just referring to the visual style, sound design, recurring mascots and characters, or Easter eggs that tie these games together.
Some of the more subtle design considerations lead to an underlying layer of consistency between the titles, giving the player an intangible sense of, for lack of a better word, understanding when booting up and trying a game, even if that game is yet to connect with you. The games feel like they were created by the same fictional company.
However, what's also amazing about UFO 50 is how the majority of games are great in their own right, even if you remove the context of the collection and the meta-narrative. There are a few games in here that legitimately would be contenders for the top ten of the year if released by themselves.
Some of my favourites in this collection include: a party management game that's also brilliantly a deckbuilder in disguise; an exploration platformer with a shrink ability that leads to some creative surprises; and a grid-based strategy game where you pray to dinosaur ancestors to determine your actions each turn.
Even though they're inspired by the '80s era of video games, many of the individual titles are, design-wise, more reminiscent of indies from the early 2010s. A large number have at least one novel gameplay idea, hook, or combination of features that helps them stand out.
This creative and experimental approach gives UFO 50 a more modern feeling than you might expect at first, and makes the collection fresh and exciting to explore.
As the games are portrayed as '80s releases, it leads to many of them also being anachronistic in design in a really enjoyable way. To list a couple of examples, there's a full tower-defence game as well as a Zelda-like adventure with idle elements. The fictional 'spiritual predecessor' for the latter is an adventure game that reminds me of a Link to the Past randomiser.
These three particular games I've just described aren't even among my top tier of games in the collection – everyone will have their own personal favourites, such is the nature of this compilation – and yet I still had a blast with them.
That's not to say you won't get the occasional dud of a game here and there. But out of the 50 games in this collection, I would say there are only three games I feel are poor experiences.
After 140 hours with UFO 50, I can confidently say that I have enjoyed more than 35 of the games to varying degrees, which is already a superb hit rate, and there are several more that may click with me in the hours ahead – games in genres that I'm less familiar with like shoot-'em-ups, or games where I haven't quite overcome their learning curve yet.
If there is one issue, it's that some of the more difficult games can feel a little too punishing and impenetrable in the early part. The first example that comes to mind is a golf-based Metroidvania. It's a great game with a fresh spin on both the golf and Metroidvania sub-genres, but the opening is brutal.
Navigating starts off as a frustrating endeavour, as you're given vague directions and only a limited number of strokes to get anywhere. It's also difficult to judge shot power. However, the game opens up and becomes a lot more enjoyable once you upgrade your number of strokes and gain the ability to brake.
That's just a small gripe in the grand scheme of things. UFO 50 has been on my mind for the last couple of months, and I could spend hours talking about it. There are games that evoke Into the Breach, Lemmings, and even Snake, but with neat twists. There's a full RPG that's essentially a Wild West-themed early Final Fantasy.
There's a delightful side-scroller with standout art design and music where you control a convertible car, shooting and drifting at the same time. And I want to talk about how there's a spaceship roguelike that reminds me of Derek Yu's iconic Spelunky. It's harsh and unforgiving, yet I love it and I'm trying to get the cherry for it.
Speaking of which, I haven't even talked about how, for each game, you can achieve gold and cherry, a simple yet extremely effective way to track your progress. Gold requires completing the game, while cherry usually asks you to fulfil an additional objective, such as 100%, a certain score, no deaths, or a true ending.
UFO 50 may be inspired by an era that's several generations ago, but an incredible amount of imagination and work went into making this collection of games more than just about evoking nostalgia. The collection also manages to feel fresh and innovative, delivering thrills and the feeling of discovery at nearly every turn.
It's unlike anything I've played, and represents a passion and love for the medium in such a special way.
Ten games that are simple to pick up and can be enjoyed straight away:
- Mortol
- Magic Garden
- Pingolf
- Mooncat
- Seaside Drive
- Velgress
- Party House
- Waldorf's Journey
- Camouflage
- Warptank
My five favourite games in UFO 50:
- Party House
- Magic Garden
- Mini & Max
- Avianos
- Rail Heist
UFO 50 is out now on PC.
