Branching Path: UFO 50 is a once in a lifetime package of retro gaming brilliance

In 2012, rumblings about a game called Spelunky for Xbox 360 made their way to me, and I ended up trying out the classic free version of the roguelike platformer on PC to see what the hype was about. I fell in love with it, and I ended up buying the remake for Xbox 360 as well. This was one of my first indie game obsessions. 

The 2013 remake of Spelunky from Mossmouth is one of my favorite games ever across its many ports now. I actually ended up buying a PlayStation Vita mainly to have portable Spelunky and Hotline Miami back in the day. I have a bad habit of wanting to own a game I love on every platform, and Spelunky fits into my routine well for its "one more run" feel, fantastic soundtrack, and game design. 

At that point, I knew I would buy anything Mossmouth releases, but the developer's next project looked a bit too ambitious for its own good. It was UFO 50, a collection of 50 games by the creators of Spelunky, Downwell, and more. Originally scheduled to release in 2018, UFO 50 was finally released on Steam last month. I've been obsessed with it ever since I got it on Steam Deck, and the wait was more than worth it. In fact, I'm having a hard time deciding where it sits in my top five games of the year. I've not even finished every game in the package yet, and have yet to try six of them.

UFO 50 is delivered as a package of fifty games made for a fictional console (the LX) by a fictional developer, UFO Soft. These games aim to replicate the feel of the 80s with the first game being developed and released (fictional) in 1982 leading up to 1989 for the 50th game on the selection screen. These are not just demos or throwaway games, but full-fledged games of varying sizes and genres that perfectly capture the difficulty, aesthetic, and gameplay you would expect from that period. There are even sequels showcasing how technology would evolve over time and secrets I have not come close to discovering.

UFO 50 always looked very ambitious, but finally diving into it last month, I feel like I've just scratched the surface of UFO 50. Out of the 50 games, only two are role-playing games, and I considered writing about just those two for this site, but I kept getting surprised at the quality and care put into each game I tried, leading to wanting to write about the whole package. This brings us to RPG Site's newest Branching Path, UFO 50. I promise the intro leading up to this wasn't meant to be a reference to the development time of UFO 50, but I needed to give context to why this release is important.

Booting up UFO 50 for the first time felt daunting. I was presented with a screen of 50 cartridges covered in dust and cobwebs and could select any game and just start playing. Nothing had to be unlocked here. I decided to treat this like how I used to deal with shareware CDs or magazine demo discs, only this time, with full games. 

I started scrolling through reading the names and looking for golf games. Why golf you might ask? I usually spend a ton of time playing golf and fishing mini-games. I misclicked and landed on Paint Chase. Paint Chase felt like an old-school blend of a racer and Splatoon. This was not like anything I expected, and having gone into this release cold, almost every game is a surprise. 

I then looked for something meatier and landed up on Grimstone, UFO 50's big Wild West turn-based RPG. This floored me with how it felt like a challenging and initially unbalanced RPG from that era. Grimstone is one of the larger games if not the largest one in this entire package. The second RPG is Divers, another challenging game in the collection. 

I did not care for Divers as much as Grimstone, but my favorite games so far are definitely Pingolf (pinball meets golf), Golfaria (a golf adventure game), Mini & Max (adventure platformer), Party House (strategy), Star Waspir (shoot 'em up), Warptank (a VVVVV-style game) and Onion Delivery (arcade). 

As someone who adores retro collections like Taito Milestones and even buys a few Hamster-published Arcade Archives releases on Switch every month, UFO 50 feels like a game laser-focused on my taste. 

A lot of games in UFO 50 feel like they perfectly replicate the challenge, aesthetic, and audio (to some degree) for the years they fictionally released in, but what really makes them stand out is how they have some modern mechanics or genre elements we never really saw in games released in the 80s.

UFO 50 is not just one of the most impressive games (collection of games?) I've played this year, but it feels like a once-in-a-lifetime release that no one will really attempt again given the sheer value (50 games for $25) and quality delivered after nearly a decade of development across multiple games. 

While I still need to beat many of the games and even play some of them for the first time in UFO 50, the secrets have me hoping we see a proper official guidebook released that will discuss everything in a few years. Until then, I'm enjoying discussing and playing UFO 50 alongside friends who are all chipping away at finishing the many games included.

One area I thought UFO 50 came a bit short of is the lack of any sort of fake manual scans, concept art, or game box renders as we see in other retro collections from SNK or Capcom. I felt like this would have added to the experience, but it is not a trivial amount of work. Hopefully, we do see something like that added in some form later on. I wouldn't even mind buying it as a supporter DLC or bonus digital artbook. The history tab is a nice addition though with what it adds to the fictional history of the developer.

The lack of manuals or any sort of guide made some of the games much harder initially, but it dawned on me that this was exactly what they were going for. When I had those shareware CDs or demo discs back in the day, I had no booklets. Learning through discovery and experience truly makes you feel like you've unearthed a long-lost console with a treasure trove of games that have something for just about everyone, including quality multiplayer experiences. 

One final element of the package I want to highlight is the soundtrack. With over 300 tracks, UFO 50's sound design from Eirik Suhrke might be their best work yet with how varied the songs get across genres.

I foolishly thought the quality of RPGs released earlier this year meant I had my top four or five games of the year on lock, but 2024 has just delivered non-stop catering to my taste at every corner. I don't know where things will be in December, but UFO 50 just keeps getting better as I play more of the games included. Just like James' feelings about Nine Sols, it is primed to make an even bigger splash when it inevitably hits consoles. Until then, I salute UFO Soft and Mossmouth for taking me back to my childhood shareware game days with this magnificent package of retro gaming brilliance.