50 UFOs? In UFO 50? It's more likely than you think

Thursday, October 17, 2024

I'd been hearing about Mossmouth's UFO 50 in bits and pieces over the last… is it years? It feels like multiple years. But I was still surprised when it dropped on Steam this week, and I all but tripped over myself to get it installed on my Steam Deck. It's wonderful. It's one of the few games that's ever compelled me to make a spreadsheet. I wrote down a list of all the games and randomized it, and now I'm playing all 50 games in that random order, and rating each one. Below are my ratings and thoughts so far, which will be updated as I keep playing.

Edit: I have touched all 50 games! Below are my ratings and some thoughts for each (you can tell where I started to run out of steam lol). I probably won't beat all the games, but there's a few that really excite me and are well worth the cost of admission.

1. KICK CLUB (#11) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

KICK CLUB reminds me a bit of Bubble Bobble meets Super Mario Bros. (but the one where you hit the POW block and flip the crabs over). Easy to figure out, but strikes me as difficult to master. It has a multiplayer mode that I haven't had a chance to try yet, but I bet that slaps.

2. PARTY HOUSE (#25) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One of the things I'm loving so far about UFO 50 is that while the games have their own little "details" sections, which are usually a sentence or two about some behind-the-scenes detail, there is little-to-no information about what the game is before you play it. So you have to sort of play and lose a few times before you get it, which feels a lot like how I approached most games as a kid (I remember learning the DOS commands to launch Jazz Jackrabbit before I could read). Booting up Party House is fucking nonsense for the first couple plays, but wow did it click for me in a real way. It's not quite at the level of Balatro, but it's definitely my second-favorite deck-builder of the year.

3. MAGIC GARDEN (#5) ⭐️⭐️

Very compelling concept here, but also very difficult. 😅 This is one that I'll be coming back to soon, and probably moving the rating up a notch or two if I get the hang of it.

4. VALBRACE (#37) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

So excited to find a dungeon crawler in here. Seems a liiiiiiitle same-y in the first few floors, but I can see myself sinking a lot of time into this.

5. QUIBBLE RACE (#47) ⭐️⭐️

I'm really bad at betting games! But the art is delightful, so this may be one that I return to for a round or two in the quiet parts of the day.

6. THE BIG BELL RACE (#19) ⭐️

I think I see what this one's going for, and hoo boy is it not for me. 😓

7. PORGY (#22) ⭐️⭐️

Very cute art and very fun concept! But the enemies are so aggressive that I can't find a way to make progress. Will return to this later though in case I'm missing something obvious (I hope I am!).

8. MOONCAT (#13) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Weird AF, I love it. Does not have the control scheme you expect, and has generous enough check-pointing to make up for sometimes-finnicky platforming. This is another one where I bet multiplayer is aces.

9. RAKSHASA (#38) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love a Ghouls & Goblins vibe! Pleasingly difficult in the way that feels right for the SNES era, plus a really surprising death/respawn mechanic that keeps the momentum up. Only downside is I do need to psyche myself up before diving in.

10. WALDORF'S JOURNEY (#21) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Insert the "Yeah, baby!" Zoolander GIF here]

11. PAINT CHASE (#4) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's Pac-Man meets Splatoon! I don't know what else you want! Another great one for quick hits between other tasks.

12. DEVILITION (#10) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I hate how quickly Devilition got its hooks into me. It's one of those puzzle games where you just know there was a better way to do something, and you're going to play again and again and again to find it.

13. PILOT QUEST (#44) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one seems like a real slow burn, I spent a few hours in it and had less than 1/10th the require materials for the first upgrade? I don't really care though because the vibe is immaculate, and I would take a bullet for Pilot.

Small edit: I didn't realize until I heard it on a podcast that this game really does run in the background, so now I can launch it first, then quit and play something else for a while. Changes this from a 3 to a 4 for me!

14. GRIMSTONE (#40) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

HEY YOU, if you're not sure whether UFO 50 is for you yet, there's a fucking Final Fantasy tribute set in the Old West, but also angels and demons are here and God is called "Biggan"? Yeah, it's fucking for you, pal. I'm not far into this one yet, so I'm leaving room to bring the rating up, because this whips.

15. AVIANOS (#12) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

PRAISE REXADON!

16. CYBER OWLS (#50) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Very charming art, great concept, but I think I'm just not very good at these sorts of games! It's like a less annoying Battletoads and I'm still just shit at it. Looking forward to conquering it eventually!

17. BLOCK KOALA (#15) ⭐️⭐️

I was pretty excited to get a sokoban game in here! Unfortunately it feels pretty same-y, with not a lot drawing me back.

18. CAMPANELLA (#17) ⭐️

Oh god, it's a single-player Big Bell Race! I'm just fucking awful at this and it's not fun for me.

19. GOLFARIA (#18) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another slow burn, but one I'm very interested in going back to! Golfing roguelike is an underserved niche.

20. STAR WASPIR (#39) ⭐️⭐️

All I have on my notes for this one is "AAAAHHHHH!!!! OOOOOOO!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

21. MORTOL (#6) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I've gotta get a little farther in this and it's probably going to come up in the rankings. I think this is what I wanted from Lemmings.

22. HYPER CONTENDER (#36) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not stellar on my own, but I am going to love introducing my friends to the multiplayer.

23. CARAMEL CARAMEL (#24) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The side-scrolling shmup is something I've always wanted to get better at, but they're usually very unwelcoming. This may finally be the way in.

24. COMBATANTS (#46) ⭐️⭐️

Ah! There's a pun here! I think this is a great concept for a game, but the restrictions and implementation on the platform keep it from being fun enough to stay interested in.

25. MORTOL II (#32) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

What if Lemmings had more of a "dudes rock" vibe?

26. VAINGER (#29) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh shit oh shit oh shit it's Metroid plus VVVVV!

27. CAMOUFLAGE (#16) ⭐️⭐️

Hmmmm this one might get better with time, but I'm skeptical.

28. ONION DELIVERY (#16) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

GTA 1 meets Crazy Taxi, I'm gonna waste a lot of time on this one.

29. BUG HUNTER (#2) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm such a sucker for this kind of puzzle game. Once Devilition has run its course, I'm going to dive wayyyyy into this one.

30. ROCK ON! ISLAND (#30) ⭐️⭐️

A weird difficulty curve? Will probably only get to the gift for this one and move on.

31. FIST HELL (#33) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh no! I have a crush on all of the characters!!!

32. LORDS OF DISKONIA (#41) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

See I feel like this is difficulty done right. The initial scenarios are strongly weighed against you, but I am so into puzzling out how to gain advantage through spacing or purchasing the right units. Immediately drawn in by the setting and concept, going to stick with this one for sure.

33. DIVERS (#27) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Again there's something about not having true manuals that makes some of the UFO 50 collection utterly captivating. The opening menu in Divers has no text, and instead has three images of non-human characters that truly do not make sense without context. But as you play and you see everything in motion, it opens itself up to you like a fog lifting over a familiar road. I love my lizard boys.

34. ELFAZAR'S HAT (#43) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Co-op on this probably whips! I'm not, like, fully sold on this one yet but it's so dang cute. It kind of feels like Kirby to me — not gameplay-wise, but just in overall vibes, and ability to be picked up or put down quickly. This may be the next one I beat.

35. BUSHIDO BALL (#14) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hell 👏🏻 yes 👏🏻 hell 👏🏻 yes 👏🏻 This is what I'm here for. This game slaps ass and takes name. My first gold. My first cherry. Endlessly enjoyable. Can't wait to take this multiplayer. At first, you think maybe Yamada? But then, you realize: Tomoe.

36. CAMPANELLA II (#35) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I think I'm ready to come back around on the Campanella games. The sequel slows things down a bit with the procgen, roguelike elements, and little bits of simple platforming — it feels nice. I'm not going to, like, rush back to Campanella 1 or Big Bell Race, but I'm not dreading them anymore.

37. RAIL HEIST (#28) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hell yeah, I love a good heist game. This has a great feel, is set in the same world as Grimstone, and I can already tell that this setup/action mechanic is going to make for great replays and speedrun attempts.

38. PINGOLF (#31) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This has a lot of things going for it off the bat. It's got great characters. It looks and sounds like Casino Night Zone. It's got a "Dunk Ball" button. The golf ball lights on fire when it goes too fast. If you hold the power button down too long, you explode. It's all great. It feels like NBA Jam goes to the back nine, and I can already feel myself trying to perfect my approach.

39. WARPTANK (#20) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

One of the better puzzle games! This was also an interesting reminder of the chronological aspect of the UFO 50 collection. You can really feel how this one has great ideas, but they hadn't quite figured out the platform to make it feel smooth.

40. NIGHT MANOR (#42) ⭐️⭐️

I'm a pretty spook-able person generally, so horror games are a tough sell for me. I'm so glad that there's a point-and-click game in here, and I will absolutely make my partner play this with me, but my immediate reaction says no.

41. HOT FOOT (#26) ⭐️⭐️

Hey, speaking of NBA Jam! This has a lot of the same vibes, and like a lot of games in the collection is probably great in multiplayer. But as a single-player experience, it's kinda slow, and didn't thrill me.

42. MINI & MAX (#45) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the one game I've heard the most positive things about, but the thing nobody mentioned is how long it takes to get into! It's got big expanses of nothing at first, which is fine, but I do wish there was a quicker on-road.

43. ATTACTICS (#9) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

That's weird, my notes for this just say "HELLLLLLLLLLL YEAH"

I swear to god if they added a deck-building mechanic to this (maybe they do in later levels, no spoilers) this would be my game of the year.

44. SEASIDE DRIVE (#48) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

More arcade vibes! I love seeing the difference between games that feel made for the console and games made for cabinets but got ported in. This one has all the hallmarks of a quarter-devourer, I'm really enjoying its early levels.

45. BARBUTA (#1) ⭐️⭐️

Hm.

You know, I can see what people mean when they say this is a weird one. It is. It looks like a Metroid but really isn't. It's strange. It's unforgiving. It's… I have yet to have fun with it. But I think in the fiction it's important, because you can see where a lot of the later sensibilities come from. There has to be one game like this, so that the later quality-of-life improvements can mean something.

46. VELGRESS (#7) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Here's another one I'm gonna be bad at! However I'm really loving the setup, and starting a new game is so quick that I'm not minding losing repeatedly.

47. OVERBOLD (#34) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Huh! Another win for the random order — I accidentally went straight into the sequal to Velgress! This is another fun and quick picker-upper, which I guess is the calling card of this series, and the loop is so fun that I don't mind how bad I am at it.

48. PLANET ZOLDATH (#8) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm still trying to decide how I feel about these procedurally-generated games, as that feels like a much more modern concept to me. I don't mind it, obviously, but I have to wonder if this game (while still fun) would benefit from more hand-crafted level design.

49. NINPEK (#3) ⭐️⭐️

Interesting! Similar to Barbuta, it's fun going backwards and seeing the earlier versions of ideas that I like. Ninpek feels like a quicker and harsher Rakshasa to me, and while I'll probably beat it eventually, it may be juuuust unforgiving enough to push it towards the end of the list.

50. CAMPANELLA III (#49) ⭐️⭐️

Welp, forget what I said about the Campanella series — we cannot be friends. This one is wild and shows off some of the most advanced use of the "hardware", but it is so fast and so tough for me to parse that I just can't get into it yet.