Review: UFO 50 Pays Homage to '80s Video Games
Playing this digital collection of new retro-style games is like rediscovering a box of old cartridges.
UFO 50 is one of the most impressive and audacious video game releases in recent memory, precisely because of what it doesn't do. There are no hyperrealistic graphics or massive open worlds. Instead, UFO 50 is a collection of 50 games that pay homage to classic titles from the 1980s. Think of it as the Well-Tempered Clavier of 8-bit gaming.
The backstory of UFO 50 is that the games are the catalog of a fictional game company from the '80s. There are platformers, shoot-'em-ups, side-scrolling beat-'em-ups, RPGs, puzzle games, turn-based strategies, a point-and-click horror adventure, Metroidvanias, dungeon crawlers, and more. The collection recreates not just the pixel graphics and chunky synth soundtracks—which are delightful—but the experience of dusting off a trove of video game cartridges and exploring them at your leisure.
Like their inspirations, these games don't hold your hand. There are no tutorials, and part of the fun is going into a game blind and figuring out its internal logic. For those who grew up in the 1980s and '90s, it's all a heady dose of nostalgia, but these aren't merely reskinned copies of old titles or minigames. A group of independent developers spent eight years crafting them, and each one is a complete game with an original idea or twist.
The shock of UFO 50 is how consistently good all the titles are. The simple controls, tight design, and challenging-but-rewarding gameplay reminds players why video games are fun in the first place. If you've ever had trouble putting down a controller because "just one more try," you will become obsessed with at least one—more likely several—of UFO 50's offerings.
