UFOs (Patreon)

I’ve been playing a ton of UFO 50 since my last update and I’m madly in love. They truly managed to make 50 compelling games, all of which feel like a tight, complete experience. The undertaking was obviously massive, but I love how it let the creators take a bunch of ideas and flesh them out. A lot of these might have been risky on their own, but in a 50 game compilation there’s plenty of room to stretch out and try new things. There are lots of interesting mash-ups and homages. Bushido Ball is obviously inspired by WindJammers, but is uniquely its own thing and quite possibly a more technical game. Vainger is a mix of Metroid and Metal Storm. Night Manor plays like an ICOM game. The whole collection feels like if unlicensed games were good, or as my Frank put it, if someone made you a disk of their favorite games from a system or computer you’ve never played. Not all of the games are for me, but I feel like all of the games will find someone. There is a frame narrative that builds slowly as players uncover secrets and use the Terminal Mode to poke around, but the games aren’t there to carry an overall story. They exist to be fun on their own and the wrapper is a nice touch. It’s awesome. I’m so happy for the devs.

Our Japan trip is in a week. I think the only thing I’ll miss is being able to do any pen and paper RPGing, so I’m thinking about what journaling RPG I might want to mess with in conjunction with our travels. Something to wind down with at night for 15-20 minutes. I think the only video game related thing I’m taking is either my 3DS or my Analogue Pocket if I can take the 15 minutes to figure out how to get some ROMS on there. I wish I had something portable with UFO 50. That would definitely be enough for me!

I’m bummed I’m missing PRGE this year, but I’ll be there next year. I’ll miss Frank’s Noodles, Hat Yai, and my friends, but Vani and I may take a weekend trip up there in the Spring. I’ve only ever been in the fall, so that sounds appealing!

-Ian