UFO 50 is wild!

[Webhead123 | 756]

Not sure if there's already a thread about this but UFO 50 is finally out, after 7 years of waiting. Curious if anyone else has picked it up and started playing.

I just hopped in today and booted up Rock On! Island. Charming little dinosaur-themed tower defense game. I've gotten to what I presume is the final stage but it's kicking my ass. I've made about 20 attempts and I don't think I've ever gotten past Wave 6. Pain in the neck. Still a fun game, though.

I've barely even touched the other 49 games yet but what I see is honestly damn impressive.

Edited September 20 by Webhead123

[wongojack | 322]

This looks like the kinda thing I'd be into.  What is the story behind this?

[Webhead123 | 756]

1 hour ago, wongojack said:

This looks like the kinda thing I'd be into.  What is the story behind this?

It was developed and published by Mossmouth Games, the folks behind Spelunky. The idea is that it recreates a library of 50 games for a fictional 8-bit home console from the '80s. Sort of a modern-day Action 52 but...you know...if the games were actually good. It's been in development for a long time, as the first reveal trailer I remember seeing was all the way back in 2017.

They have games of just about every genre. There's platformers, adventure games, puzzle games, strategy games, RPGs, shoot-em-ups, a dungeon-crawler...all kinds of stuff. It's also Mossmouth, so people know that it's going to be packed with secrets and hidden references.

Edited September 20 by Webhead123

[DarkTone | 1,016]

Looks fun. Hope the launch went well. 

[wongojack | 322]

6 hours ago, Webhead123 said:

It was developed and published by Mossmouth Games, the folks behind Spelunky. The idea is that it recreates a library of 50 games for a fictional 8-bit home console from the '80s. Sort of a modern-day Action 52 but...you know...if the games were actually good. It's been in development for a long time, as the first reveal trailer I remember seeing was all the way back in 2017.

They have games of just about every genre. There's platformers, adventure games, puzzle games, strategy games, RPGs, shoot-em-ups, a dungeon-crawler...all kinds of stuff. It's also Mossmouth, so people know that it's going to be packed with secrets and hidden references.

Looks really cool to me.  I liked this review on Steam

"What if you could pay 20 bucks for a console you never knew existed and 50 of its games? That's what this is and the games are by extraordinarily talented devs. Incredible product."

 

I've played Retro Game Crunch, Retro Game Challenge, and Arcade Paradise and liked them all.  This is right up my alley.  I've added it to my wishlist and will buy it (eventually).

In the heyday of Xbox Live Indie Games, I felt like it was like this.  It was like a whole retro console and (at first) the games were pouring in.  Good times that didn't last.

[fox | 1,777]

I made a thread about it, but it was so long ago it might have been on the old site

Cant believe it’s out.  Hope for a switch port soon.

[Ankos | 558]

Spelunky is my favorite game. I've been looking forward to trying this out for a long time

[Pendragonx | 119]

hah! @Teh_Lurvwas telling me about this the other day at work .. Need to add it to my Wishlist .. Definitely looks up my alley

Edited September 22 by Pendragonx

[Webhead123 | 756]

I've played the first 10 games (sorted by fictional chronology) plus Rock On! Island thus far. Here are some quick thoughts:

#1. Barbuta - A very old-school adventure game. No music, your character is painfully slow and the game is deliberately cryptic and punishing but it is growing on me. I'm sure many people will be put off by this game in the first 5 minutes but if you have a little patience and appreciate a no-handholding approach, I think this one will be satisfying to crack. It seems like every time I play, I discover some new little thing.

#2. Bug Hunter - A turn-based tactical game. I like this one a lot. My only complaint is the element of randomness to the extra modules available to purchase. The difficulty of a given stage will heavily depend on which modules show up in the shop and when. Still one of my favorites thus far.

#3. Ninpek - A ninja-themed auto-scroller. This one is okay, I just wish that the game scrolled the screen only and not your character. Pretty challenging for what it is but I think a little practice will go a long way.

#4. Paint Chase - Think Atari Grand Prix combined with Splatoon. It's fine. A clever idea with some potential but not something that holds my attention for more than a few minutes at a time. Probably considerably more fun in multiplayer.

#5. Magic Garden - Feels like a mash-up of Snake and Pac-Man. Surprisingly fun, although I think I suck at it. It's really just a high-score chaser. Part of me thinks it would be cooler if it had different board layouts as you progressed but balancing that would be tricky. Will be spending some more time with this one.

#6. Mortol - This might be the most unique game in the collection so far. A platformer where you have a limited pool of lives to finish each stage but you have to sacrifice some of those lives in the form of special abilities to progress, like creating new platforms or breaking walls. Really interesting design and eager to experience more of it. I can imagine this game becoming good speed-run fodder.

#7. Velgress - Sort of a reverse game of Downwell. You jump and shoot your way vertically, trying to avoid falling to the bottom of the screen. Again, seems like it's all high-score driven and no stages (only played a little bit and I kinda suck at it, so maybe I'm wrong) but I can see some people getting really, REALLY good at this and making endless runs. A fun game. I just need to practice to last more than a minute or two.

#8. Planet Zoldath - A procedurally-generated adventure game. I haven't spent enough time to really get my bearings. This is the kind of game that will take a lot of patience and a little luck to work through. It seems like the objective is to gather certain resources and then trade them to friendly NPCs to collect new items that will unlock new areas. I like the foundation but haven't gone far enough to see what all is possible.

#9. Attactics - A real-time strategy/puzzle sort of game. There's some interesting depth to the different units and their special rules. I just wish that it was turn-based without the ticking clock. There's just too much going on for my old-man eyes and brain to manage things in real time. I'm sure some folks will love this and crush their friends in multiplayer. Personally, Bug Hunter is more my speed (a pun! har har) but I can appreciate this game.

#10. Devilition - A puzzle game about "chain reactions". You have a certain number of special pieces to place on the board, each with a certain attack pattern. You need to set up your pieces to trigger a chain reaction that removes as many of the demons as possible while avoiding your townsfolk. I quite like this one. Sort of like Tetris, you are challenged by the randomized assortment of available pieces, so there is a tad bit of luck to setting up your board but I think it's part of the intrigue.

#30. Rock On! Island - A dinosaur-themed tower defense game. Not super complex but deeper than it first seems. Some interesting interactions with your various units. I worked through most of the stages fairly briskly but the final stage...woof! I've made probably 30-40 attempts and still haven't beaten it. My last try I did get to Wave 9 (most stages end after Wave 10, except for one earlier stage that went 15, so no clue how long the final stage goes on), so maybe I'm getting close to beating it. A great game though and the one I've spent the most time with thus far.

Edited September 22 by Webhead123

[Webhead123 | 756]

Played the next set of ten games (numbers 11-20) in the UFO 50 collection. Here are some impressions:

#11. Kick Club - A little reminiscent of Bubble Bobble with some Spanky's Quest thrown in. Run and jump around the screen, defeating enemies with your soccer ball. Really quite fun for how simple it is. I've only messed around with it for a few minutes but I'll be going back for sure.

#12. Avianos - This is a turn-based strategy game that was confusing for the first minute or two but once I figured out the structure of the game and what the icons meant, this game really blew me away. Instant favorite. Each turn, you pick one of selection "ancestors" that give you a different set of actions you can perform. The objective is to build up your army and then march them across the map to control 4 castles. The battle system reminded me of North & South on NES, where you have different kinds of troops (swordsmen, archers, wizards, etc.) and they move around the battlefield in real time. There is a surprising amount of depth to this game and I'm really impressed. Going to be spending more time with this one for sure.

#13. Mooncat - This game is weird. It feels like an expressionist piece. Your character is some kind of turnip with legs, or something. The enemies are all surreal-looking things. The music is very ethereal. The control scheme is...unusual...to put it mildly. The d-pad moves your character left while the "A" and "B" buttons move you right. If you press A or B while moving left, you jump. If you press the d-pad while moving right, you jump. You can press Down on the d-pad while in the air to do a ground stomp. This is your only "attack" but it is also required for platforming by bouncing off enemies and certain objects. That said, it has an oddly addictive quality to it. It's relatively peaceful and slow-paced. I'm sure this will be a very contentious game that some people will groove on and others will find it annoying and pointless. That said, I don't think I've ever played anything else quite like it and I think everyone should at least have that experience.

#14. Bushido Ball - It's samurai tennis with special moves. Very, very fun game and easily one of the highlights of the collection. Multiplayer is available, which is probably even more fun than playing against the computer. Instantly favorited this one and played it until I was able to beat the basic tournament mode. Fantastic.

#15. Block Koala - An Adventures of Lolo-esque puzzle game about moving blocks around in a certain sequence to clear the path to the exit. I need to spend more time with it as I only tried a couple stages. Probably won't end up being one of my most played titles but bigger puzzle fanatics than me will love it, I'm sure.

#16. Camouflage - A puzzle/stealth game where you are a color-changing lizard and have to use your camouflage to escape the stage without being eaten. This one really pulled me in and I didn't stop playing until I had gotten the 100%. Very simple but addictive.

#17. Campanella - This game also really impressed me. You're flying a ship around enclosed stages, trying to avoid hazards and reach the goal. The problem is, the entire time you're fighting against gravity and have a limited fuel supply. Kind of reminds me of Solar Jetman but a very simplified version of the concept. Favorited and will be playing this a lot more in the future.

#18. Golfaria - Another bizarre concept but I think this game will absolutely have its fanatics. It's an adventure game where you are a golf ball and moving around requires golf strokes. You have to reach a new checkpoint before you run out of strokes or else get sent back to the previous checkpoint. I admit that I tend to get frustrated with games like this sometimes, especially when it is difficult to predict ball behavior against certain types of terrain. I'm gonna keep trying this one from time to time but I suspect my general frustration will prevent me from getting very far.

#19. The Big Bell Race - This is a racing game (surprised?) that reminds me of Super Off Road with a dash of Mario Kart thanks to some special items you can collect. A very short and simple game but I think it is charming enough for what it is. It may not stand out as one of the most ambitious or exciting games of the collection but I think it makes for a fun time every once in a while.

#20. Warptank - Wow! This is another absolute gem. You're a tank that can shoot in one direction and also warp that same direction to the surface opposite your position. This simple premise opens up some incredibly cool interactions and stage elements that get more complex as you progress. This game is instantly addicting. Even the hub world requires a bit of clever navigation and has a sense of Metroid-like exploration to it, unlocking new areas as you progress. This is some very impressive game design.

Edited September 24 by Webhead123

[fox | 1,777]

Enjoying the capsule reviews @Webhead123

[Webhead123 | 756]

Played games 21 -30. More impressions.

#21. Waldorf's Journey - A charmingly wacky game about a walrus that is dreaming about flying. The object is to reach the end of a stage littered with small platforms and you do so by angling and charging jumps. If you eat some food along the way, it builds up a "flap meter" that lets you extend and/or guide your jumps a bit. Of course, there are a number of obstacles in your way, like shifting wind, angry animals, etc. But there are also some helpful animals, like puffins that can save you from a fall, or items like beach balls that let you test out a jump before you commit to it. I haven't finished this one yet but I am curious to do so. It's very straightforward but can get a bit tricky, especially since failure sends you back to the beginning of the stage.

#22. Porgy - An underwater adventure game with some Metroid exploration elements in the form of items that open up new paths as you progress. The primary mechanism is a "fuel gauge" that limits the distance you can travel before you have to return to the surface. As you play, you upgrade your fuel, allowing you to go farther and deeper into the map. I will say, the early game can be a little frustrating because your primary weapon (torpedoes) feels like it has an absolutely pathetic range, although this also gets upgraded as you explore. A really neat game that I'm sure a lot of players will enjoy.

#23. Onion Delivery - A game where you are a delivery driver and have to navigate the map to reach a handful of delivery locations and return back home before your car takes too much damage. The control scheme takes a lot of getting used to. You have break and accelerate buttons but your steering is always done from the perspective of the current direction your vehicle is facing. So, if you're facing the top of the screen, left and right turn you accordingly. But if you're facing the bottom, left turns you to the right and vice versa. The difficulty also very quickly ramps up in this game, at least for me. By the third stage, I was being constantly chased by a giant, angry anthropomorphic onion (yes, you heard that right) and trying to stay ahead of it while also dodging traffic and trying to navigate the map was stressful. That's as far as I've gotten to this point. Not one of my favorite games but maybe I'll enjoy it more once I can commit the control scheme to muscle memory.

#24. Caramel Caramel - A cute-'em-up and a darn good one. As is standard for shmups, this game is hard. It's just one or two deaths and back to the start you go. I've gotten to the first level boss but I haven't beaten them yet. Even so, this game has great graphics and sound, great controls and is charming in such a way that I just can't help but enjoy it. I added this one to my list of favorites and hopefully I'll get good enough at it to eventually see the end.

#25. Party House - Another big hit in the collection. This is essentially a deck-building game like Slay the Spire but where the idea is that you're throwing a party and your "deck" is the roster of folks you're inviting to make the party a hit. You have two currencies: 1) Popularity, which you use to recruit more people to your deck and 2) Money, which you use to expand the size of your house. This is a fantastic game. There are 5 different "scenarios", each of which has a different assortment of possible people to recruit and even a 6th scenario which generates a random assortment of people. This is one I had to complete before I moved on. It was quite addicting. As a fan of deck-building games, my one complaint is that I wish there was a way (maybe by spending money) to cull/remove some people from your deck but that's a very minor nitpick.

#26. Hot Foot - A game of bean bag dodge ball. Kind of reminds me of Super Dodge Ball. I haven't spent a lot of time with this one but it has been simple fun so far. There are a few neat twists, like special moves that distinguish each character and some items that can spawn on the court during a match. A neat game even if it didn't immediately blow my socks off.

#27. Divers - This is sort of an adventure game with some RPG elements, like a turn-based battle system, leveling up and a weapon/item shop. I haven't gotten very far mostly because, if you don't know what you're doing, even the first enemies you encounter in this game can fuggin' END YOU. Once I realized this, I've decided to take the appropriately old-school approach of grinding some early levels against the easiest enemies to hopefully give me a head start on surviving the rest of the game. That wall of difficulty aside, this game seems to have some really interesting potential. Gonna grind a few more levels and then finally see what else is out in the world.

#28. Rail Heist - A puzzle platformer about train robbers. I haven't quite wrapped my head around this one yet but it's a solid game. The object in each stage is to get to the loot, grab it and escape off the train. When you initially start each stage, you're able to move freely but certain actions can alert the marshals guarding the train and, at that point, the game switches into a semi turn-based affair. An interesting game that I just need to spend a little more time with to get the hang of.

#29. Vainger - This game seems like a Metroid-lite with the gravity flipping mechanism from Metal Storm. A very cool idea and a game that's going to require some practice. I've only played a few minutes of it but I can already tell that it will be a lot of fun once I "get good".

#30. Rock On! Island - I've talked about this one before. It's a tower defense game and a pretty good one. This was the first game in the collection that I finished. The final stage is an absolute monster and represents a difficulty spike almost unlike anything I've ever seen but I was able to deduce a very aggressive strategy that finally won it for me. A great game and there is some incentive to return to previous stages to try to improve your previous record.

Edited October 2 by Webhead123

[Webhead123 | 756]

Games 31 - 40:

#31. Pingolf - Where Golfaria was an adventure-style game with golf-like movement mechanics, Pingolf is more of a straight golf-like game but a unique take on the usual formula. For one, the game is a 2D side scroller of sorts. Each course is kind of like the stage in an NES platformer, complete with pits and other obstacles. As per golf, the object is to get the ball into the hole in the fewest strokes possible. You also have a "Dunk" button that can quickly propel the ball downward, ideal for when you've gotten it over the hole. It's a good game and I think I prefer this format over traditional golf games. It feels much more arcade-y, for one and there are fewer things to keep track of. Then again, real golf was never my thing.

#32. Mortol II - The sequel to Mortol and clearly borrows the core idea of sacrificing your lives to use as special abilities to traverse the stage. This time, however, you have a handful of different characters to choose from each time you spawn in and each character has different attributes and sacrifices themselves in a different way. Like the ninja that has limited attack power but can double jump and dies to turn into a teleporter. I have to admit, I've barely scratched the surface of this game and the premise and potential complexity is kind of intimidating but the idea is just so unique. I'll be giving this one more time for sure.

#33. Fist Hell - A Double Dragon/Final Fight-esque beat 'em up. A pretty fun game, even if it's fairly simple and repetitive. At least there are four different characters to choose from each with different stats and you collect money to purchase stat upgrades between stages, although the differences honestly don't feel all that noticeable. The story/setting is pretty amusing and features lots of weird enemies like zombies, aliens and giant, mutant snails. Probably even more fun in multiplayer but I still enjoyed it enough to finish the game solo.

#34. Overbold - This is another fantastic game and is kind of like Greed Mode from The Binding of Isaac. You fight through multiple waves of enemies in a small arena. Between waves, you collect money and spend them to purchase various upgrades. The player controls how much money you get after each wave by adjusting the number of threats in it. The more enemies and obstacles you add to the wave, the more cash you get to spend if you survive. The object is to survive long enough and make enough money to face the final boss wave and be able to overcome it. Lots of interesting options for upgrading your character and there's no way you can afford everything, so you have to pick and choose your strategy. This game was very addictive and an instant favorite.

#35. Campanella 2 - The sequel to the original Campanella, this one plays a bit more like Blaster Master. You fly your ship around the stage, looking for the exit but you can land and your pilot can hop out to explore a bit and enter side-scrolling mini-stages to collect money and other upgrades. This one has been pretty tough initially, especially since the stages are procedurally generated, meaning you can't rely on memorization to help you on subsequent playthroughs. I like it a lot though and I'll have to keep chipping away at it to make any real progress.

#36. Hyper Contender - This is a fighting game of sorts, think maybe Super Smash Bros. combined with the versus mini game from SMB3. Both fighters bounce around a small arena, trying to be the first to collect 5 rings. If you land an attack against your enemy, you temporarily stun them and knock one of their rings out, sending it flying across the stage. There's something like 7 or 8 different fighters, each with very different abilities. All fighters can dodge, block and melee attack but each also uses two unique special attacks and some form of special movement. Like one character that moves around with a grappling hook and throws boomerangs. This one is surprisingly fun for such a simple concept. Probably a riot in multiplayer...if I had any friends. 

#37. Valbrace - Another instant favorite. This is a dungeon-crawler game where you have limited visibility and have to navigate through multiple, complex levels of a dungeon to confront the final boss. Luckily, the game saves your progress at the start of every floor, so if you die (and you probably will), at least you don't have to start the entire game over.

There's a system for leveling up your stats, as well as weapons and armor to find and equip. There's a mysterious knight and an old crone that you can find and interact with. There's also a very cool rune-based magic system, where you draw out certain patterns to cast a particular spell. The neat thing is that once you as a player know a spell's pattern (you find spell patterns inscribed on certain walls throughout the dungeon), you now know how to cast the spell. In other words, the game doesn't "lock you out" of casting a spell just because you didn't "find it" yet. You can theoretically cast any spell from the beginning of the game, if you know the pattern (there are some factors that impede the more severe cases of abusing this, however).

But perhpas the coolest feature of this game is the combat. When you encounter a monster(s), the game transitions into a Punch-Out!-style fighting system, where you block, dodge and attack in real time. Enemies have particular patterns and you watch for those to know when to defend and how to counter attack. You can also cast spells during combat and, thankfully, the game pauses temporarily when you attempt to cast a spell. This game is utterly fantastic and if it had existed on the NES back in the day, it would have been a classic. The fact that it's just one game in a collection of 50 is mindboggling.

#38. Rakshasa - This game is sort of reminiscent of Karnov, perhaps mostly due to the character designs and animations. It's an action platformer of sorts where you fight off enemies with some limited ranged firepower, but the main gimmick is that, when you die, you can play a little mini game of sorts to revive yourself. If you die again, the mini game gets harder each time until, eventually, you just can't manage it. This game seems pretty neat. The main platforming controls feel slightly janky (I assume this is intentional considering the context) which sometimes leads to frustrating deaths but thankfully your control during the "death" mini game is buttery smooth. This game has been harder than it first looked and is going to take some practice, for sure.

#39. Star Waspir - A vertical, bullet-hell style shoot-'em-up and a frickin' difficult one. There are 3 different ships to choose from, each with very different attack patterns and upgrades. Sort of like Shatterhand, you can unlock special upgrades by collecting "G" and "E" power-ups in specific patterns. Collecting "GGG", for instance, will grant a Gradius-style "option pod" around your ship. Collecting "EEE" will temporarily upgrade your primary weapon, etc. Still, as someone that isn't great at shmups, this game seems ridiculously hard. The core is very fun but I question whether or not I'll ever have the requisite skill and reflexes to beat it.

#40. Grimstone - This is a Final Fantasy style JRPG in some kind of Old West setting. It looks very promising and I've heard it called a full-fledged RPG, requiring multiple hours to complete. That said, I've only played the very first few minutes of it so far and really can't comment on much other than the fact that it has great graphics and music and does indeed seem very fully-featured.

Edited Wednesday at 12:02 AM by Webhead123