UFO 50 - Fifty Games to Make the Case: Was the 8-bit Age the Better Place?

Since the advent of Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade, the collective formation, evolution, and influence of the “indie genre” has only mushroomed in the years and decades since. Less a genre as it is a movement of passion, “indie gaming” has become an umbrella term for anything contrary to the big-budget, mainstream behemoths released by the Sonys, Activisions, and Electronic Arts of the world. While the corporate giants must sell millions of a singular title just to break even with their development costs (it’s estimated that some 5 million copies of Spider-Man 2 needed to sell before reaching profitability), the average indie game amounts to a team of a few folks and thousands—not millions—of dollars.

That’s not to say, however, that these indie games suffer from a lack of ambition or scope. While some “indies” are indeed simpler affairs, others are of a magnitude and ambition that can take years to complete. And that’s exactly the spirit UFO 50 exhibits—more than encapsulating the 8-bit ‘80s quirky vim and whim, it embodies the ethic of those dedicated enough not to just pay homage to the past, but, in a sense, reinvent it.

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So, UFO 50 pays tribute to the 1980s, that time when games were still rough and ill-defined…an era in which the video game pastime was more akin to an unfocused photograph, where key genres had yet to fully mature or even be imagined. This 8-bit landscape provided the formative proving ground from which game theory and the modern industry sprung, but with its influence soon grew indifference, even derision—was the ‘80s video game scene anything more than odd mascots who loved to jump? For some, “8-bit” is just a kind of digitized kitsch. And, in truth, for every Mario and Mega Man, there was certainly a lot of schlock as the NES’ Dragon’s Lair and Bad Street Brawler duly attest.

Fortunately, UFO 50 emphasizes the successes over the failings of that then-nascent art form; fifty unique titles of all genres and types are offered through a faux-collection of dusty diskettes. According to developer Mossmouth, the compilation “…was inspired by multicarts, retro collections, and the experience of going to a friend's house and perusing their game library.” In this sense, the overall package is very meta, upholding but also deconstructing the very age it supposedly celebrates. Though the fifty titles all contain some level of merit, they don’t altogether ignore the bruises of their old-school roots. From gaudy graphics and control quirks to unfriendly difficulty spikes, these false-classics feel genuine in all the best—but most rueful—ways. It’s a package of both satire and parody, its fifty examples offered without fanfare not unlike the forgotten tripe found on the old pirate carts a la the Action 52. But while those quick-and-dirty collections gave gamers little of true value, UFO 50 takes the opposite course, offering a superior set that just so happens to be coming thirty-five years after the fact. And, generally, it succeeds, demonstrating just what made ‘80s gaming both so captivating…and so raw.

UFO 50 boasts a UFO-sized trove of games lost not only to the past, but to a completely alternate timeline. Players can try these games in any order, deciding for themselves whether any of the faux-antiques on offer trump the real classics from yore.

The ’80s were a predatory time to be a gamer—especially for the average kid of limited reach and resources. Here, UFO perhaps fulfills its purpose best, subtly reenacting that '80s kid fretting at a display of random games, clueless to what was worth his months of hard-won bucks. Before the Internet, the typical Johnny had little recourse but to buy blindly, a game's box art the only clues to its quality. Such was the pending tragedy as he hurried home, tore the cardboard, inserted the cartridge, and grabbed his controller; had he just wasted $40? Sometimes, he was vindicated. And sometimes, he was altogether defeated. For, even when the game was “good,” it wasn't always what the kid wanted or expected. No one wants the sword and sorcery action-RPG he just bought to actually be a "boring" visual novel or point-and-click adventure.

UFO 50 catches this same dynamic, the vintage experience of never quite knowing what awaits in that plastic sheathe of pins and silicon. After the introductory title screen, UFO greets its players with a swath of 50 cryptic diskettes, revealing only their names and a faded label. Like the poor chap at the toy store deciding between a selection of impossible choices, the player here will have to pick a game based on nothing more than a wing and a prayer. That’s the true genius of this game of games; they can be played in any order. No unlockables. Just opportunities.

Indeed, not every title is excellent, and not all of them have universal, mainstream appeal. Platformers and action games come mixed with weird RPGs and strategy sims. There’s a generous helping of puzzlers. Some dungeon crawlers and, oddly, just a couple of old-school shooters. And some defy easy classification: Party House, for instance, is a party simulator where an ever-growing assortment of guests must be invited and managed within a very limited space, while Onion Delivery involves driving an alien around town making deliveries. Overbold is a rogue-lite, a randomized exercise in survival. Hyper Contender is a multiplayer fighter with echoes of TowerFall and even Smash Bros. Avianos is a turn-based conquest game featuring prehistoric gods and monsters. In sum, it’s all surreal and inexplicable and, in truth, rather credible…mirroring those 8-bit days of yesteryear.

But, as minutes turn into hours, as the collection’s initial charm slowly ebbs into a lot of death and drudgery, players will begin to notice the major flaw in UFO 50’s lost trove of would-be classics—there aren't any. Despite the undeniable quality of certain titles, there’s nothing on the level of a Super Mario Bros. 3. A Mega Man 2. A Castlevania. A Ninja Gaiden 2. A Dragon Warrior/Quest 4. A Bubble Bobble. A Maniac Mansion. A River City Ransom. A Ducktales. A Zelda. An R.C. Pro-Am. A Tetris.

What’s more, for all the fifty’s variety, some genres are barely there. A pure run-and-gunner in the vein of Contra? Not there. A platformer paying direct homage to Mario or Kirby? Nothing. In fact, for a decade largely comprised of platformers, brawlers, and space shooters, UFO 50 skimps and skips on most of them. Even arcade-style experiences invoking games like Dig Dug or Galaga are scarce; even puzzle-type titles of a Tetris/Dr. Mario persuasion are completely overlooked. Instead, there’s a surplus of Metroidvania-styled titles that will either appeal to players…or won’t.

UFO 50 is a brilliant lottery of what-ifs; the stress-test for a familiar but imaginary age. It’s like being shifted temporarily into another dimension, an experience both rewarding and wild but, ultimately, not as fulfilling as the original timeline. Mostly, the games here feel more akin to beta releases that still need a few more weeks, a few more tweaks, to be considered truly good. The inability to save or continue (in many of the games), the odd difficulty spikes, the obscure learning curves, the often iffy hit detection...when the concepts themselves prove barely engaging...then no amount of variety will overcome what still becomes an inevitable slog.

Not all design concepts make entertaining games. But here, UFO 50’s faux developer “UFO Soft” saw value in everything it did, releasing even the games that, although passable, might have been better left as vaporware. Or, at the very least, reworked into something better. Maybe Mossmouth could learn something from its own meta-narrative, its own alter ego. But, for better or worse, the games as included aren’t an improvement of what’s come before. Rather, they’re an alternative. And mostly, a regression.

Which, maybe, was the point Mossmouth was trying to make: No one will be trading UFO 50’s catalogue for the actual classics. Rather than replacing the past, the company has merely reinforced just how irreplaceable gems like Mario 3 and Phantasy Star and Ms. Pac-Man truly are. Nothing trumps the genuine article, after all…especially when those articles were crafted by the industry’s true masters and visionaries.

As a celebration of everything 8-bit, UFO 50 definitely succeeds. But its truer purpose, whether intentional or not, is to make one prefer this world over that one—to appreciate the classics he already has. That, rather than Waldorf’s Journey, he has Kirby’s Adventure. That, rather than Mooncat, he has the marvelous Super Mario.--D

Magic Garden cribs from the classic game of Snake...and is among the best in its class (Snakes Alive and Pix the Cat being the others).

Block Koala resembles old puzzle classics like Adventures of Lolo and Kickle Cubicle.

Mini and Max is a fan favorite of the collection, featuring exploration inspired by chibi Metroidvanias like Monster World mixed with mechanics more in sync with Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers. It's inspired, but...not quite as purely fun as its honorable predecessors.

Night Manor (above) and GrimStone (below) aren't anything groundbreaking, but they do provide deep, quality experiences that honor their respective genres, the point-and-click adventure and JRPG, respectively. Are they better than Shadowgate and Final Fantasy, respectively?

Pingolf (left, top) and Elfazar's Hat (right, bottom) clearly owe themselves to iOS's Super Stickman Golf and the SNES' Pocky and Rocky, respectively. Nevertheless, they're among the better titles in the package.

Avianos is a complex exercise in resource management, strategic planning, and paying tribute to one's prehistoric lizard god.

Both Combat Ants and Waldorf's Journey are examples of games that could benefit from more balancing in both level design and difficulty. The games have potential, but will prove too obtuse for the impatient player who will likely just move on to a simpler, more intuitive experience.

Fist Hell is the collection's one brawler--it's obviously inspired by River City Ransom but, like a lot of the games here, feels a tad janky, a smidge unfinished.

Sub-nautic Adventure Porgy is among the many Metroidvania-style adventures that dominate the collection. Why the genre is so favored here is anyone's guess, but some, like this one, sport some interesting wrinkles.

Not every game is a mere derivative of their source inspirations. Warp Tank (above) offers a new way of thinking in terms of navigation, targeting, and progression with its floor-to-ceiling mechanics, while Camouflage (middle) is a quirky spin on the stealth puzzler. Party House (bottom) is a shallow party management sim that's really more a game of probabilities and chance.

Conclusion: Better than its Host Generation?

For a complete breakdown of each UFO 50 title, click here! 'Tis your guide to 50's every false favorite!

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