UFO 50 riffs on the NES era with 50 games from creators of cult hits Spelunky and Downwell

The Action 52 cartridge for the NES, which bundled together 52 “new and original” games back in the early 1990s, may have stunk — but this isn’t stopping a crew of developers from updating the idea nearly 30 years later. Mossmouth Games, the developer responsible for the tough platformer Spelunky, is planning to release UFO 50 next year. This modern compilation features 50 “new and original” games that all feature a retro 8-bit style. But unlike the Action 52, you will probably find some quality here.

Mossmouth is publishing UFO 50, and everyone on the development team is working on two or more of the games. Spelunky found success on PC with more than 650,000 copies sold on Steam alone (it’s also on other platforms, such as the PlayStation 4). That comes after the game debuted to much acclaim on the Xbox 360. Downwell, a platforming shooter from developer Moppin (who is working on UFO 50), has sold 200,000 copies on Steam. Downwell, which was one of our favorite mobile games of 2015, sold tens of thousands of copies on iOS and Android as well.