One of last year's best indie games just shadow-dropped on Nintendo Switch
This morning, Nintendo hosted the first Indie World Showcase since the launch of the Switch 2. At the end, they shadow dropped one of last year's best games.
One of 2024’s best indie games was shadow-dropped on Nintendo Switch during this morning’s Indie World showcase. The presentation only lasted about 15 minutes, but the final announcement stole the show. UFO 50 was released almost a year ago on Steam, and there it received 95% positive reviews from over 6,000 players, or as Steam puts it, “Overwhelmingly Positive.” From Mossmouth, the makers of Spelunky, UFO 50 is a collection of 50 retro-inspired games of all kinds, and it feels right at home on the Nintendo Switch.
UFO 50 is finally available on the Nintendo Switch, and it feels right at home
The lore behind UFO 50 is that it’s a fictional video game developer called UFOSoft that created 50 games starting in 1989. Within the 50 games, there are sequels that innovate on the concepts of the first, and a clear evolution in mechanics, complexity, and ideas. Characters will pop up here and there, and if you pay attention to the title cards for each game, you can catch easter eggs of the story of this fictional universe.
But don’t think you have to engage with any of that if you don’t want to. Every game from this collection is perfect for jumping in and getting right into the gameplay. The collection includes entries from all kinds of genres. There are RPGs, sports games, action platformers, shoot ‘em ups, beat ‘em ups, puzzles, and so much more.
A few of my personal favorites are Mortol, a puzzle platformer where you must sacrifice your character to allow the next one to progress, creating platforms by shooting like an arrow into objects and magically turning into a block to defend from projectiles. Camouflage is another great puzzle game where you play as a lizard that can change the color of its skin depending on the environment. You must reach the goal while avoiding detection from predators.
There is something that just feels right about UFO 50 on a Nintendo console. Something that has always set Nintendo apart from the rest of the AAA crowd is the emphasis on fun games over hyper-realistic visuals. Despite the retro appearance, so many of the games collected in UFO 50 are bursting with unique ideas and clever concepts not seen anywhere in modern games. If you love video games, this is worth your time.
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Author: Matt Buckley
Matt has been writing for Gamepressure since 2020, and currently lives in San Diego, CA. Like any good gamer, he has a Steam wishlist of over three hundred games and a growing backlog that he swears he’ll get through someday. Aside from daily news stories, Matt also interviews developers and writes game reviews. Some of Matt’s recent favorites include Arco, Neva, Cocoon, Animal Well, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Tears of the Kingdom. Generally, Matt likes games that let you explore a world, tell a compelling story, and challenge you to think in different ways.
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