Mossmouth’s UFO 50 recently launched on Nintendo Switch, a platform it is ideal for as an 8-bit NES throwback game. It asks the question: “What if the infamous NES bootleg Action 52 was actually good?’ and with this in mind, crafted 50 unique games that all feel polished, fun and provide hours upon hours of playtime.
UFO 50 is a game that is much longer than it first appears. As a compilation pack – one very openly harkening back to the era of gaming in the 1980s – it is easy to assume that all 50 of its games are short and simple arcade-like titles, similar in scope to real-life classics like Galaga, Balloon Fight and even Super Mario Bros., which can be beaten in under 20 minutes when using warp zones. This is not the case for UFO 50, whose variety of titles results in a significantly longer experience than one might expect going in.
UFO 50 does have its short arcade experiences, of course. Magic Garden combines the classic Snake and puzzle games for a cute isometric high-score chaser, and Star Waspir is as standard a shoot ’em up as they come. However, UFO 50 goes out of its way to tackle almost every single genre in the industry.
Games like Barbuta, Ninpeck and Rail Heist are all platformers of varying genres including Metroidvania, arcade and strategy. Puzzle games like the block pushing Block Koala and the stealth-like Camouflage test the player’s logic skills, while Hot Foot, Bushido Ball and The Big Bell Race are all multiplayer-focused sports titles. UFO 50 contains beat ’em ups (Fist Hell), adventure games (Planet Zoldath), and even has two entire role-playing games (Divers and Grimstone) among its catalogue.
This results in UFO 50 being guaranteed to have at least one game for everyone. Those who don’t enjoy horse betting games won’t ever have to touch Quibble Race and UFO 50 will still feel like it has plenty to offer. Especially with its plethora of achievements and the ability to not only complete every game, but also “cherry” them, the criteria of which could be going for 100% collectables, reaching the true ending, or just hitting a certain score threshold. It promotes replayability, which already adds more potential playtime to this expansive game.
All of UFO 50 is wrapped in a very cute fake history of the company UFOSoft and the fictional consoles LX-I, LX-II, and LX-III. Each game in the collection is given fake developer history and fake developer credits that give brief details on why each game exists, which games are sequels to other games, and why certain aspects of some games changed between entries (like explaining the reason the pilot of Campanella was changed for Campanella 2). All of this metastory provides UFO 50 with a ton of charm and tells a fascinating tale for game development nerds out there.
UFO 50 does not encourage the games to be played in order. In fact, it does not even expect every game to be played and provides the freedom to only pick up and try certain titles. With that said, playing each one in order tells a story all on its own, one about game design and the evolution of development and technological progress over an entire console generation. It is notable that the 50th game, Cyber Owls, is far more graphically detailed, technologically advanced and provides more gameplay variety than game one, Barbuta. It is a metastory told exceptionally well.
While there is not an objectively bad game amongst the 50, the games are not perfect and many are extremely difficult and unforgiving, especially amongst the arcade-likes. Still, it is a minor spot on an otherwise fantastic collection of games. Given how creative some of these ideas are, like adventure game Golfaria, which combines The Legend of Zelda’s exploration with the rules of golf, or Lords of Diskonia, a turn-based strategy title where the combat is based on disc flicking, it is easy to forgive the occasional frustration.
