UFO 50

This game kinda blew me away, it really is 50 pretty damn fun fleshed out games, and sure, not every game will vibe with everybody, but im just shocked by the sheer variety, creativity and love that is poured into all of these games. This game is a theme park and celebration of so many kinds of games all wrapped together in a NES/SNES era of looks n meta story of a fake company's history, and there is absolutely something out of the 50 games that is absolutely someone's thing, and while you are at it, you may get to try many times of genres you didnt think you'd enjoy, (For me it was the game "Avianos", an army strategy game, kind of shocked how fun it was despite never trying one before). Despite it being inspired and very faithful to the vibes of older games, basically all of these games have SOME sort of tune up or improvement they do so none of the games get truly as frustrating as some old games can be, it doesnt use retro gaming conventions like save states and stuff of that sort so it tries to be as fair as possible, some games are REALLY hard regardless of that tho :p so walk in with an open mind, always remember you can play any game in any order, and just buy it already and have a blast!

I usually drop most games I pick up pretty quick, but I ended up enjoying ufo50 way more than I thought I would. Some of the games I tried in the collection didn’t seem very appealing to me at first but it didn’t take long for me to find ones I ended up liking. The way the progression system works with mastering/completing games is also very well implemented, alongside collectables for each game tied to a specific task. Some (or even most) games are a little hard but it’s nothing you won’t be able to pin down with a bit of practice. I’m far from completing most games but I wouldn’t mind revisiting games I didn’t like again in the future since they aren’t inherently bad, just genres I’m not interested in. A lot of the games also have co-op included, which is nice if you want to play locally or with other people you have added beforehand. I could see a lot of these games being very fun in a couch co-op setting. There’s also a meta narrative/story that unfolds in the background for those that care, and the soundtrack is amazing throughout. Overall, the presentation is amazing and I love the charm the games have. You can tell the devs put a lot of effort into this and i’d definitely recommend giving it a shot.

UFO 50 easily stands as the best bang for your buck that you can find in gaming. It's a massive collection of smaller games that are headed by the Spelunky developer that pulls from the retro era of gaming, working within the limitations of older game design while sprinkling in a few modern twists. There are so many different genres and ideas to explore that there's certainly a favorite out there for everyone; no two tier lists of UFO 50 I've seen are the same. One of the advantages of having a collection such as this is exploring many ideas that would have had difficulty standing as their own games; that's not to say that these games are bad in any way, but rather many of these games can only be explored in such detail and polish in this environment where the return rate is actually worth it. I think the greatest achievement of UFO 50 was its ability to get me to enjoy genres I usually avoid. Some things I would never pick up based on tags alone is 4X, RTS, even most strategies and puzzle games as these typically drag on. And yet many of my favorite games in the pack falls within these genres, which just speaks to how effective the format of having fifty games are that can often be played rapid fire. To anyone considering getting into UFO 50, know that you can play in any order, and the first game is even purposefully obtuse pushing players to try other games in the pack. I really think regardless of your taste it's worth giving everything a solid try at least once, because there's some real gems in here. Another neat part of the game is how it actually has in-game lore of a fictional game company that saw moderate success, as each game gives tidbits of fictional history and there's even a series of games that evolves the mechanics as the company progresses through the years. This isn't just a collection of games but an entire timeline thought out, with many full-length games in the latter half of the pack. UFO 50 is a tribute to old gaming and is a must play. Clearing all 50 games is one of the most difficult challenges I've ever done, but it was worth seeing every one through as my gaming skills were challenged in every which way possible. The community is still really lively too two years later with its fair share of fan-games and mods, meaning that even after an absurd amount of content there's still always more fun to be had. Personal favorites - Devilition, Velgress, Bug Hunter, Party House, Mini & Max