The format of these posts is simple: let’s discuss a specific game or series!

The Steam Autumn Sale is upon us, and I got the biggest amount of games I’ve ever bought in a single sale: 50!

Let’s discuss UFO 50. What is your favorite game in the collection? What game did you spend most of your time on? What do you like about it? What doesn’t work for you? Feel free to share anything that comes up and react to other comments. Let’s get the conversation going!

If you have any recommendations for games or series for the next post(s), please feel free to DM me or add it in a comment here (no guarantees of course).

Previous entries: Platformers, Uplifting Games, Final Fantasy, Visual Novels, Hollow Knight, Nintendo DS, Monster Hunter, Persona, Monkey Island, 8 Bit Era, Animal Crossing, Age of Empires, Super Mario, Deus Ex, Stardew Valley, The Sims, Half-Life, Earthbound / Mother, Mass Effect, Metroid, Journey, Resident Evil, Polybius, Tetris, Telltale Games, Kirby, LEGO Games, DOOM, Ori, Metal Gear, Slay the Spire

  • Stepos Venzny@beehaw.orgEnglish
    3·
    23 days ago

    This post was finally the push that made me buy it, having been interested since I first heard about it. Only checked out Barbuta and Bug Hunt so far.

    I’m loving Barbuta. It’s scratching that itch that only Tomb Raider 1 and Dark Souls 1 have scratched before. There’s something so weirdly cozy about this air of open hostility where the individual challenges aren’t actually hard to execute. I haven’t made it very far in yet, only found/bought three items, but I’m already in the headspace where I wanna push myself to keep replaying it until I can beat it without using any eggs and I’m not one to normally care about that sort of thing.

    Bug Hunt is okay but, in terms of the framing device that this is a compilation of old games, I’m not buying it. Its mechanics and writing and tutorial pop-up windows feel distinctly like a modern indie game. Barbuta only slipped once that I’ve seen so far, with that I Wanna Be the Guy trap on the first screen.

    • knokelmaat@beehaw.orgOP
      3·
      23 days ago

      I think that is a bit the conceit of the collection: classic games in looks / features, but taking into account the progress that has been made in game design and mechanics. I actually prefer it this way, like an alternate timeline in which computers didn’t get more powerful and people were forced to iterate on ideas within these constraints.

    • Chloyster [she/her]@beehaw.orgM
      1·
      22 days ago

      From the UFO 50 website:

      AUTHENTIC BUT ALSO MODERN - We carefully chose what elements to modernize. Every game shares a unique 32-color palette and we took great efforts to make them look and sound like actual 8-bit titles from the 80s. On the other hand, it was important to us that UFO 50 was fun and surprising for modern players, so we chose not to limit ourselves to the genres and design conventions of the past.

      They’ve said in interviews as well that they choose to view UFO soft as a game company that was very ahead of its time