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UFO 50
Developer(s)Mossmouth, LLC
Publisher(s)
  • Mossmouth, LLC
Designer(s)
Composer(s)Eirik Suhrke
EngineGameMaker Studio
Platform(s)
ReleaseSeptember 18, 2024
Genre(s)Various
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer, co-op

UFO 50 is a video game collection developed and published by Mossmouth for Windows on September 18, 2024. It features 50 unique games of varying genres and length.[1] The games are a collaborative effort by six developers over the course of several years, similar to a long-form game jam.

Gameplay

UFO 50 is presented as a compilation of games similar to Action 52, developed by the fictional company UFO Soft for the LX-I, LX-II, and LX-III series of video game consoles between 1982 and 1989.[2] Half of the games feature a two-player mode, either versus or co-op. The main 50 games are playable from the start,[3][4][5] with the hidden 51st game, Miasma Tower, accessible via inputting commands in the ingame terminal.[6] Miasma Tower itself is a game secretly developed by fictional developer Gregory Milk, which details the state of UFO Soft circa July 1989. In-universe, the UFO 50 collection is stated to be developed by Milk and never released officially, with the files found in an abandoned warehouse by the Mossmouth developers, as shown in the faux-cracktro of the game.

The order in which the games are presented is intended to show the history of UFO Soft's development slate, with some games having sequels, and others featuring cameos from previously released games.[3][4][5][7] Each game also features short development notes informing their fictional creation.[2]

The games belong to genres including shoot 'em up, platformer, and role-playing, each with a twist. The games vary in length and scope, with some being described as "shorter, arcade-style experiences", while others "have narratives and expansive worlds to explore", with one (Grimstone) estimated to take upwards of 60 hours to complete fully.[8][9][10][11]

When a game is completed for the first time, its border on the game selection screen will change from blue to gold. A more challenging win condition is also revealed, which grants a cherry border upon completion. Each game additionally includes a unique gift that will appear on the garden screen when certain requirements are met.

List of games in UFO 50

Director credits explicitly stated when directly sourced.[note 1]

# Name Genre (as listed in-game) Versus Co-op Fictional
year of release		 Developed by
1 Barbuta Adventure, Platform — — 1982 Eirik Suhrke
2 Bug Hunter Puzzle, Strategy Yes — 1983 Jon Perry
3 Ninpek Arcade, Platform — Yes 1983 Eirik Suhrke
4 Paint Chase Arcade Yes — 1983 Jon Perry
5 Magic Garden Arcade — — 1984 Derek Yu, Jon Perry, Tyriq Plummer[13]
6 Mortol Platform, Puzzle — Yes 1984 Director: Jon Perry[14]
Additional: Paul Hubans
7 Velgress Arcade, Platform — — 1984 Derek Yu
8 Planet Zoldath Adventure — — 1984 Jon Perry
9 Attactics Arcade, Strategy Yes — 1984 Directors: Derek Yu,[12] Jon Perry[12]
10 Devilition[note 2] Puzzle, Strategy — — 1984 Directors: Derek Yu,[15] Jon Perry[15]
11 Kick Club Arcade, Platform — Yes 1984 Derek Yu
12 Avianos Strategy Yes — 1985 Director: Jon Perry[16]
13 Mooncat[note 3] Platform — Yes 1985 Director: Eirik Suhrke[18]
Additional: Ojiro Fumoto[18]
14 Bushido Ball Sport Yes Yes 1985 Derek Yu, Tyriq Plummer,[13] Jon Perry, Paul Hubans
15 Block Koala Puzzle — — 1985 Derek Yu, Paul Hubans
16 Camouflage Puzzle — — 1985 Jon Perry
17 Campanella Arcade — — 1985 Director: Eirik Suhrke[18]
Additional: Ojiro Fumoto[18]
18 Golfaria Adventure — — 1985 Directors: Derek Yu,[19] Tyriq Plummer[19]
Additional: Paul Hubans
19 The Big Bell Race Sport — Yes 1985 Director: Eirik Suhrke[13]
20 Warptank Adventure, Puzzle — — 1985 Director: Eirik Suhrke[13]
21 Waldorf's Journey Arcade, Platform Yes — 1986 Jon Perry
22 Porgy Adventure, Shooter — — 1986 Derek Yu, Tyriq Plummer[13]
23 Onion Delivery Arcade — — 1986 Director: Eirik Suhrke[19]
Additional: Paul Hubans,[19] Tyriq Plummer[13]
24 Caramel Caramel Arcade, Shooter — Yes 1986 Eirik Suhrke
25 Party House Strategy Yes — 1986 Director: Jon Perry[14]
26 Hot Foot Sport Yes Yes 1986 Jon Perry
27 Divers RPG — — 1986 Eirik Suhrke, Tyriq Plummer[13]
28 Rail Heist Platform, Strategy Yes — 1987 Director: Jon Perry[14]
Additional: Paul Hubans, Tyriq Plummer[13]
29 Vainger Adventure, Platform — — 1987 Derek Yu, Tyriq Plummer[13]
30 Rock On! Island Strategy — — 1987 Derek Yu, Paul Hubans
31 Pingolf Sport Yes — 1987 Eirik Suhrke
32 Mortol II Adventure, Platform — Yes 1987 Director: Derek Yu[20]
33 Fist Hell Arcade — Yes 1987 Director: Derek Yu[13]
34 Overbold Arcade, Shooter Yes — 1987 Jon Perry
35 Campanella 2 Adventure — — 1987 Director: Eirik Suhrke[13]
36 Hyper Contender Platform, Sport Yes — 1988 Jon Perry
37 Valbrace Adventure, RPG — — 1988 Directors: Tyriq Plummer,[13][21] Derek Yu[13]
Additional: Paul Hubans
38 Rakshasa Platform — — 1988 Director: Eirik Suhrke[22]
39 Star Waspir Arcade, Shooter — — 1988 Derek Yu
40 Grimstone RPG — — 1988 Director: Derek Yu[13]
Additional: Paul Hubans
41 Lords of Diskonia Strategy Yes — 1988 Jon Perry
42 Night Manor Adventure, Puzzle — — 1988 Director: Paul Hubans[21]
Additional: Derek Yu
43 Elfazar's Hat Arcade, Shooter — Yes 1988 Eirik Suhrke
44 Pilot Quest Adventure — — 1988 Directors: Derek Yu,[20] Jon Perry[20]
45 Mini & Max Adventure, Platform — — 1989 Director: Jon Perry[16]
Additional: Paul Hubans,[16] Tyriq Plummer[13]
46 Combatants Strategy Yes — 1989 Derek Yu
47 Quibble Race[note 4] Strategy, Simulation Yes — 1989 Derek Yu,[15] Jon Perry
48 Seaside Drive Arcade, Shooter — Yes 1989 Director: Ojiro Fumoto[18]
49 Campanella 3 Arcade, Shooter — — 1989 Director: Eirik Suhrke[13]
50 Cyber Owls Platform, Shooter, Strategy — — 1989 Derek Yu, Paul Hubans, Tyriq Plummer[13]
51 Miasma Tower[note 5] — — — 1989 ?

Development

Derek Yu and Jon Perry had previously made a number of freeware games together using Klik & Play under the name Blackeye Software, with notable titles being Trigger Happy, Diabolika (remade in UFO 50 as Devilition) and Eternal Daughter, their final game in 2002. In 2016, the two decided to work together again on a project, and warmed up by making small prototypes for ideas.[21] These prototypes eventually spiralled into the concept for UFO 50: a large collection of small games. The idea to create a collection came from Yu's belief that these concepts for games, if expanded, would not do well as standalone releases in the current marketplace.[2]

The first game in the collection to start development was Attactics, which was fully developed by Yu and Perry alone as a re-introduction into working together.[12] Soon after, Eirik Suhrke was invited to join as both composer and designer, and the three started to brainstorm games on a private forum, with a majority of these concepts making their way into the final game. The number of games advertised in the collection (50) was chosen by Yu because "it was the first number I could think of that was completely undeniable... that would advertise itself with its own existence."[23] Three additional developers joined at various parts of development: Ojiro Fumoto, known for Downwell, who spent a half-year on the team and directed Seaside Drive; Paul Hubans, known for Madhouse, who was the lead director for Night Manor; and Tyriq Plummer, known for Catacomb Kids, who ended up co-directing several of the collection's largest games, an example being Valbrace.[24] Every member of the team contributed design, writing, artwork, and programming to UFO 50, and worked on anothers' games, sometimes extensively.[21]

UFO 50 was developed in GameMaker. It was first announced in 2017, with an expected launch date of 2018. However, the team severely underestimated how long it would take to finish 50 games.[25] This meant that development times became inflated, and it became a requirement for the team to recode older parts of the game, with Yu describing some of the code as "prehistoric".[24] The simultaneous development of Spelunky 2 also slowed development of the game to a crawl during 2020, with Suhrke and Yu stepping away from the UFO 50 project entirely until Spelunky 2 was released.[21][25] Furthermore, at least two games were scrapped entirely during development.[note 6] Because of these reasons, development took six more years, with the game's final release date being September 18, 2024.[26] UFO 50's eight-year development time coincidentally ended up matching the time frame spanning the games' fictional release dates (1982–1989).[27]

All games in the collection impose restrictions which could be found in games released during the era, such as using only 32 colors across each game. Slowdown and sprite flickering were not included, as Yu believed that it would hinder the experience.[5] Some games across the collection reuse sound, assets and code, the most notable example of this being the Campanella series which all make use of the same engine.[13] Suhrke intentionally did not use NES-inspired sounds as typically seen in other indie games, instead choosing to use wavetable synthesis more similar to the TurboGrafx-16 for his soundtrack and sound design. Suhrke is the sole composer of all 51 games and their sound design/effects.[28]

Marketing and release

UFO 50 was revealed in 2017 on the Mossmouth YouTube channel, and was slated to be released the following year.[25] An early version of UFO 50 was showcased during 2017's Pax West game convention,[29] as well as the following year's Pax West.[30] It was one of the games featured at Summer Game Fest's Day of the Devs livestream, where its final release date was announced to be September 18, 2024.[31]

Reception

UFO 50 received "universal acclaim" according to the review aggregator website Metacritic, with an average score of 91[32] making it the highest-rated PC exclusive of 2024.[43] 100% of critics recommended the game according to OpenCritic.[33] Many reviewers either chose not to give traditional scores to the game, or are still in the process of reviewing it due to its nature of being a collection of 50 individual games.[34][41][44][45][46] DigitalTrends alternatively chose to score all 50 individually in their review.[35]

Most reviewers lauded UFO 50's variety, value, and experimentation. Eurogamer's Christian Donlan extensively praised the experimentation and variation of games in the collection, calling it a "dazzling piece of creative audacity".[37] Simon Parkin of The Guardian described the collection as "a preposterously ambitious undertaking".[38] Edge wrote that when one game "holds your undivided attention for an extended span, it must be something special indeed, and of those, UFO 50 has more than its fair share".[36] The New York Times compared UFO 50 to "an ingeniously retro advent calendar"[47] while Metro's GameCentral specifically praised that the games advertised were "not WarioWare or anything like it", being "50 fully formed games".[48] Polygon's Grayson Morley lauded the metafiction linking the games of the collection chronologically, highlighting the evolution of "brutal" mechanics found in Barbuta to the life-based mechanics found later in Mortol and Mortol II, in addition to the "UFO Soft" narrative.[41]

In contrast, PC Gamer's Kerry Brunskill remarked that they would have rather seen some games in the collection "stand on their own merits" as standalone releases, with others being "a little too retro for their own good".[40] Digital Trends' Giovanni Colantonio praised the game for its experimentation, but admitted there were "a handful of duds in the batch".[35] The A. V. Club's William Hughes recommended the collection, remarking that "there are extremely good games in here, some worth more than the asking price" but "many games in the collection feel torn between their desire to stay retro-hard and being genuinely fun".[34]

Games in UFO 50 that were singled out by multiple reviewers as being exceptional include Mortol,[34][35][39][45] Party House,[35][37][38][39] Rail Heist,[37][38][46] Night Manor,[37][38][40][48][49] and Mini & Max.[35][40][48]

Awards and nominations

Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2024 Golden Joystick Awards Best Indie Game - Self-Published Nominated [50]
PC Game of the Year Nominated
The Game Awards 2024 Best Independent Game Pending [51]

Notes

  1. ^ Names of fictional UFO Soft employees in-game loosely correspond to each developer's identity, but not always, due to UFO 50's metanarrative, so they are not reliable credits.[12]
  2. ^ Remake of Diabolika (1999) by Blackeye Software, aka. Derek Yu and Jon Perry.[15]
  3. ^ Expanded version of Suhrke's entry for Ludum Dare 34, ...and the mooncats (2015).[17]
  4. ^ Remake of Quibble Race (2004) by Derek Yu.[15]
  5. ^ Hidden game, only accessible via ingame terminal.
  6. ^
    These are:
    • An RPG called Godsblood, which was replaced by Magic Garden.[13]
    • An entirely different game named Avianos which was scrapped and replaced with the final release's Avianos starting from 2020.[16]

References

  1. ^ May, Bex April (30 August 2024). "UFO 50: A low-res, high-concept anthology of imaginary retro games". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Donlan, Christian (18 September 2024). "Spelunky's Derek Yu talks crafting UFO 50 and creating an entirely fictional developer". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b LeClair, Kyle (7 June 2024). "The Ambitious UFO 50 Finally Resurfaces With a Release Date". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Conditt, Jessica (8 June 2024). "UFO 50, the latest game from the Spelunky team, will finally arrive September 18". Engadget. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  5. ^ Shaun Prescott (20 September 2024). "Unsurprisingly, UFO 50 seems to have a big secret meta game that I've only just scratched the surface of". PC Gamer. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  6. ^ Jarvis, Matt (7 June 2024). "Spelunky creator's mega-collection of fictional retro games UFO 50 will finally be out this September". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  7. ^ Young, Georgina (19 June 2024). "UFO 50 preview: Actionally Good 52". Videogames.si. Archived from the original on 23 June 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Coming in to Land". Edge. No. 397. Future plc. June 2024.
  9. ^ L., Dominic (8 June 2024). "UFO50 packs 50 retro-styled games into one amazing package". TheSixthAxis.
  10. ^ Switzer, Eric (18 June 2024). "My Favorite Game From Summer Game Fest Isn't One Game, It's 50". The Gamer. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d Kyle Kukshtel (12 November 2024). "Jon Perry on UFO50". Game Data Podcast (Podcast). Event occurs at 15:08. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Coming In To Land". Edge. No. 397. Future. June 2024. pp. 52–69.
  13. ^ a b c Compendio, Chris (10 October 2024). "'UFO 50,' one of the best video games of the year, took 8 years to make – and a Philly-area developer had a hand in it". PhillyVoice.
  14. ^ a b c d e "Derek Yu". Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d Trent Kusters (11 November 2024). "The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook: Brainstorming 50 Games in 1 for UFO 50". Game Maker's Notebook (Podcast). Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Event occurs at 1:08:15. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  16. ^ "..and the mooncats by aarkipel". 13 December 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d e Trent Kusters (11 November 2024). "The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook: Brainstorming 50 Games in 1 for UFO 50". Game Maker's Notebook (Podcast). Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Event occurs at 1:21:55. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  18. ^ a b c d Trent Kusters (11 November 2024). "The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook: Brainstorming 50 Games in 1 for UFO 50". Game Maker's Notebook (Podcast). Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Event occurs at 1:12:54. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  19. ^ a b c Trent Kusters (11 November 2024). "The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook: Brainstorming 50 Games in 1 for UFO 50". Game Maker's Notebook (Podcast). Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Event occurs at 1:04:47. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  20. ^ a b c d e Mossmouth, LLC. "UFO 50". Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  21. ^ @strotchy (28 October 2024). "In UFO 50's Rakshasa I attempted an inverted Rank system where the game gets harder the worse you do, and easier the better you do" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  22. ^ Trent Kusters (11 November 2024). "The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook: Brainstorming 50 Games in 1 for UFO 50". Game Maker's Notebook (Podcast). Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Event occurs at 35:05. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  23. ^ a b Castle, Katharine (28 February 2024). "After seven years, Spelunky creator's retro compilation UFO 50 will release in the second half of 2024". Rock Paper Shotgun.
  24. ^ a b c Wales, Matt (28 February 2024). "Spelunky studio's long-awaited 8-bit game anthology UFO 50 due "second half" of 2024". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  25. ^ Day of the Devs 2024: UFO 50. The Game Awards. 7 June 2024. Archived from the original on 24 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024 – via YouTube.
  26. ^ "Edge 397 explores UFO 50, Spelunky dev Mossmouth's ambitious mission to build 50 games for a fictional retro console". GamesRadar. 18 April 2024. Archived from the original on 5 August 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  27. ^ Trent Kusters (11 November 2024). "The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook: Brainstorming 50 Games in 1 for UFO 50". Game Maker's Notebook (Podcast). Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Event occurs at 40:50. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  28. ^ Machkovech, Sam (2 September 2017). "PAX West: At least eight of UFO 50's games are instant retro classics". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  29. ^ Machkovech, Sam (9 September 2018). "The 16 surprising new games that made PAX West an absolute blast". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 12 June 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  30. ^ Reuben, Nic (7 June 2024). "Everything announced and featured at Day Of The Devs 2024 in one place". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  31. ^ a b "UFO 50 reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  32. ^ a b "UFO 50 Reviews". OpenCritic. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  33. ^ a b c d Hughes, William (20 September 2024). "Game Theory: UFO 50 is a massive trove of twists on old-school gaming genius". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  34. ^ a b c d e f Colantonio, Giovanni (16 September 2024). "UFO 50 review: the 8-bit era returns in this fantastic retro collection". Digital Trends. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  35. ^ a b "UFO 50". Edge. No. 402. Future. September 2024. p. 100.
  36. ^ a b c d e Donlan, Christian (16 September 2024). "UFO 50 review — a rangy, confounding and audacious proposition". Eurogamer. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  37. ^ a b c d e Parkin, Simon (12 October 2024). "UFO 50 review – a galaxy of 80s games brought brilliantly back to the future". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  38. ^ a b c Watts, Steve (18 September 2024). "UFO 50 Review — Space Shuttle Discovery". GameSpot. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  39. ^ a b c d Brunskill, Kerry (16 September 2024). "UFO 50 review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  40. ^ a b c Morley, Grayson (18 September 2024). "UFO 50 was terrible to review but incredible to play". Polygon. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  41. ^ White, Lucas (15 October 2024). "UFO 50 review: Old games are still good games". Shacknews. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  42. ^ "Best Video Games for 2024". Metacritic. 18 November 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  43. ^ Luster, Joseph (18 November 2024). "UFO 50 changed the way I think about my backlog". Destructoid. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  44. ^ a b Ruiz, Fran (28 October 2024). "UFO 50 has slowly become my go-to breather between huge game releases and totally should be in the GOTY discussion". VG247. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  45. ^ a b Petit, Carolyn (17 September 2024). "This Collection Of 50 Fictional Retro Classics Is One Of The Year's Best Games". Kotaku. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  46. ^ "UFO 50 Is an Ingeniously Retro Advent Calendar". The New York Times. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  47. ^ a b c "UFO 50 review - buy one game get 49 free". Metro. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  48. ^ "UFO 50 review: Fake nostalgia hides a colossal collection of real entertainment". Irish Independent. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  49. ^ West, Josh (4 October 2024). "Astro Bot and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth lead the shortlist for the Golden Joystick Awards 2024, nudging out Helldivers 2 and Balatro for the most nominations". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024.
  50. ^ Maas, Jennifer (18 November 2024). "Game Awards Nominations 2024: 'Astro Bot,' 'Final Fantasy VII Rebirth' Lead With 7 Nods Each". Variety.
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