UFO 50 is a video game collection developed and published by Mossmouth for Windows in September 2024 and for Nintendo Switch in August 2025. It features 50 unique games of varying genres and length.[1] The games were a collaborative effort by six developers over the course of several years, its development akin to a game jam.
UFO 50 was critically acclaimed, and was the highest rated PC-exclusive of 2024 on Metacritic. Critics applauded the amount of variety, experimentation, and consistent quality that the collection provided, although some wished specific entries were expanded as their own separate releases. It won Best Indie Game at the New York Game Awards and received several nominations for the category at various award ceremonies.
Gameplay
UFO 50 is presented as a compilation of games similar to Cassette 50 and Action 52, developed by the fictional company UFO Soft for the fictional LX-I, LX-II, and LX-III series of video game consoles between 1982 and 1989.[2] Half of the games feature a two-player mode, either versus or co-op. The main 50 games are playable from the start,[3][4][5] with the hidden 51st game, Miasma Tower, accessible via inputting commands in the in-game terminal.
The order in which the games are presented is intended to show the history of UFO Soft's development slate, with some games having sequels, and others featuring cameos from previously released games.[3][4][5][6] Each game also features short development notes informing their fictional creation.[2]
The games belong to genres including shoot 'em up, platformer, and role-playing, each with a twist. The games vary in length and scope, with some being described as "shorter, arcade-style experiences", while others "have narratives and expansive worlds to explore", with one (Grimstone) estimated to take upwards of 60 hours to complete fully.[7][8][9][10]
When a game is completed for the first time, its border on the game selection screen will change from blue to gold. A more challenging win condition is also revealed, which grants a red border upon completion (referred to as "Cherries" in-game). Each game additionally includes a unique gift that will appear on the garden screen when certain requirements are met.[citation needed]
Story
Within the game are references to the metagame and a secret storyline about the fictional game development studio UFOSoft.[11]Miasma Tower itself is a game secretly developed by fictional developer Gregory Milk, which details the state of UFO Soft circa July 1989. In-universe, the UFO 50 collection is stated to be developed by Milk and never released officially, with the files found in an abandoned warehouse by the Mossmouth developers, as shown in the faux-cracktro of the game.[citation needed]
List of games in UFO 50
Director credits explicitly stated when directly sourced.[note 1]
#
Name
Genre (as listed in-game)
Versus
Co-op
Fictional year of release
Directed by
1
Barbuta
Adventure, Platform
—
—
1982
Eirik Suhrke
2
Bug Hunter
Puzzle, Strategy
—
1983
Jon Perry
3
Ninpek
Arcade, Platform
—
1983
Eirik Suhrke
4
Paint Chase
Arcade
—
1983
Jon Perry
5
Magic Garden
Arcade
—
—
1984
Main Director: Derek Yu Additional Support: Jon Perry, Tyriq Plummer
6
Mortol
Platform, Puzzle
—
1984
Main Director: Jon Perry[13] Additional Support: Paul Hubans
Derek Yu and Jon Perry had previously developed a number of freeware games together using Klik & Play under the name Blackeye Software, with notable titles being Trigger Happy, Diabolika (remade in UFO 50 as Devilition) and Eternal Daughter. In 2016, the two decided to work together again on a project, making smaller scale prototypes for ideas.[21] These prototypes eventually spiraled into the concept for UFO 50: a large collection of small games. The idea to create a collection came from Yu's belief that these concepts for games, if expanded, would not perform well enough as standalone releases in the current marketplace.[2]
The first game in the collection to start development was Attactics, which was fully developed by Yu and Perry alone as a re-introduction into working together.[12] Soon after, Eirik Suhrke was invited to join as both composer and designer, and the three started to brainstorm games on a private forum, with a majority of these concepts making their way into the final game. The number of games advertised in the collection (50) was chosen by Yu because "it was the first number I could think of that was completely undeniable... that would advertise itself with its own existence."[23] Three additional developers joined at various parts of development: Ojiro Fumoto, who previously developed Downwell, spent a half-year on the team and directed Seaside Drive; Paul Hubans, who previously developed Madhouse, serving as the lead director for Night Manor; and Tyriq Plummer, who previously developed Catacomb Kids, co-directing several of the collection's largest games including Valbrace.[24] Every member of the team contributed design, writing, artwork, and programming to UFO 50, and provided work on the other's games.[21]
UFO 50 was developed in GameMaker. It was officially announced in 2017 and expected to launch in 2018. However, due to complications with development, the game received a number of delays.[25] These complications included rewriting older parts of the game's "prehistoric" code (as described by Yu)[24] and the simultaneous development of Spelunky 2 in 2020, causing Suhrke and Yu stepping away from the UFO 50 project entirely until Spelunky 2 was released.[21][25] One result of these complications led to at least one game being scrapped entirely during development.[note 6] After eight years of development (and six years after the expected release date), the game released on September 18, 2024.[26][27]
Every game in the collection imposes restrictions which could be found in games released during the era. These include using only a 32-color palette across each game, having a limited number of colors per sprite and having a set number of sound channels. Slowdown and sprite flickering, however, were not included as Yu believed that it would hinder the experience.[5] A number of games across the collection reuse sound, assets and code. For instance, some of the Campanella games are stated to have been made in the same engine.[18] Suhrke intentionally chose to not use NES-inspired sounds typically featured in other retro-inspired indie games, instead opting to use wavetable synthesis more similar to the TurboGrafx-16. Suhrke is UFO 50's sole composer and sound designer.[28]
Marketing and release
UFO 50 was revealed in 2017 on the Mossmouth YouTube channel, and was slated to be released the following year.[25] An early version of UFO 50 was showcased during 2017's Pax West game convention,[29] as well as the following year's Pax West.[30] It was one of the games featured at Summer Game Fest's Day of the Devs livestream, where its final release date was announced to be September 18, 2024.[31] It was released on Nintendo Switch on August 7, 2025, just after it was unveiled at the Indie World showcase that same day.[32] A physical Nintendo Switch version will be released on February 20, 2026 by Fangamer.[33]
Most reviewers lauded UFO 50's variety, value, and experimentation. Eurogamer's Christian Donlan extensively praised the experimentation and variation of games in the collection, calling it a "dazzling piece of creative audacity".[39] Simon Parkin of The Guardian described the collection as "a preposterously ambitious undertaking".[44]Edge wrote that when one game "holds your undivided attention for an extended span, it must be something special indeed, and of those, UFO 50 has more than its fair share".[38]The New York Times compared UFO 50 to "an ingeniously retro advent calendar"[49] while Metro's GameCentral specifically praised that the games advertised were "not WarioWare or anything like it", being "50 fully formed games".[50]Polygon's Grayson Morley lauded the metafiction linking the games of the collection chronologically, highlighting the evolution of "brutal" mechanics found in Barbuta to the life-based mechanics found later in Mortol and Mortol II, in addition to the "UFO Soft" narrative.[42]
In contrast, PC Gamer's Kerry Brunskill remarked that they would have rather seen some games in the collection "stand on their own merits" as standalone releases, with others being "a little too retro for their own good".[41]Digital Trends' Giovanni Colantonio praised the game for its experimentation, but admitted there were "a handful of duds in the batch".[37]The A. V. Club's William Hughes recommended the collection, remarking that "there are extremely good games in here, some worth more than the asking price" but "many games in the collection feel torn between their desire to stay retro-hard and being genuinely fun".[36]
↑ Names of fictional UFO Soft employees in-game loosely correspond to each developer's identity, but not always, due to UFO 50's metanarrative, so they are not reliable credits.[12]
↑ Remake of Diabolika (1999) by Blackeye Software, aka. Derek Yu and Jon Perry.[14]
↑ Expanded version of Suhrke's entry for Ludum Dare 34, ...and the mooncats (2015).[16]
↑ Remake of Quibble Race (1998) by Blackeye Software, aka. Derek Yu and Jon Perry.[14]
↑ Hidden game, only accessible via ingame terminal.
↑ Godsblood was replaced by Magic Garden in the final release.[18] Godsblood would have a cameo in Miasma Tower, being shown as a game then in development
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