UFO: Aftershock
UFO: Aftershock
Game
Game2014
UFO: Aftermath
Developer Altar Interactive
UFO: Aftermath is a 2003 real-time tactics/turn-based strategy video game created by ALTAR Interactive. It is a homage to the X-COM game series, with roots in the unfinished game The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge. It was followed by two sequels, UFO: Aftershock (2005) and UFO: Afterlight (2007). The game's concept is similar to the unreleased X-COM: Genesis. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
355 reactions from 3 sources (Bluesky, Steam reviews, Lemmy) · newest Nov 6, 2026 · last updated Nov 6, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
75
LovedLoved
112 positive · 37 negative
95% range 68–81%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluesky * | 38 | 3 | 162 |
| Steam reviews | 112 | 37 | 0 |
| Lemmy * | 1 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
120 of 160 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
75% recommend · 112 yes, 37 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 149 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (266 of 343 positive).
Many note the game is dated, with low resolution and technical issues on modern systems. [1][2][3] Some reviewers find it mediocre or broken, recommending other X-COM-like games instead. [4][5][6]
Liked
Representative posts
- [2]
The XCom-like game that was released in 2003. It was quite mediocre and dull even on the release date, and now you may not even start it properly! For some people, game crushes immediately, for me - when any mission is about to start. Plus the resolution is 1024x768 at best. That said, I doubt you need it now. If you don't like Firaxis X-Com, you can choose between Phoenix Point, Xenonauts, original XCom series... …
- [16]
I just completed the game. Holy crap was that fun!! This game is like crack! Controls take a bit to get used to, but once you have, they're not an issue. Only one bug I found, and that's when one of your party sees a reticulan/bad guy, the movement orders you've given up to that point can be reset if you accidentally click the next destination point right as the enemy is sighted. This won't even occur to you until …
- [8]
UFO Aftermath is basically X-COM but in real-time. It is a surprisingly good formula and provided me with enough fun that I definitely consider it to be worth the charging price. The graphics may be outdated and the sounds may be reptitive and sub-par, but the gameplay functions are solid and the story is intriguing enough. Unfortunately the story is rather short and you spend most of the games doing generic …
- [1]
I must admit, I've loved this game for years and when I saw it on Steam the other day it was an instant purchase. The game is dated, and a little tricky to get use to but still plays great. It does have a 4:3 resolution, so on a widescreen monitor it stretches in fullscreen, but you can play windowed to fix this. The 3 UFO games, all thankfully on Steam are all great, if your into Xcom or the older X-com games, you …
- [7]
It's a fun, older title in the Steam catalogue akin to the X-COM series of games. You fight to recover an Earth that has been largely depopulated by a malicious alien menace in a pausable, real-time strategy game. PROS +It's challenging, but not impossible. (Hint: Let them come to you sometimes! Choke points are an essential tactic later in the game!) +There are several different damage types which are stronger and …
Summarised from 34 of the 268 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
UFO: Aftermath sits at 75% positive across 149 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
UFO: Aftermath received middling reviews. GameSpot gave it 6.4 out of 10 for some simplified and missing features, previously seen in X-COM, that would have allowed for more in-depth gameplay. IGN gave it 7.5 (Good), criticizing simplicity and lack of some features from the X-COM series. GameSpy noted: "Cons: Bad AI and pathfinding; repetitive missions; shallow strategic gameplay; persistent inventory bugs," but praised some parts of the game.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 355 · most liked firstGame of the year: UFO 50 Album of the year: The Jesus Lizard - Rack Movie of the year: Furiosa Book of the year: I can’t read
neutral · AI labelView post →Why would you pay $80 for GTA VI and get one game when you could buy UFO 50 for $25 and get fifty games
neutral · AI labelView post →Indiana opened as a touchdown favorite in the national title game. At some point typing facts about the 2025 Hoosiers will stop feeling like I'm telling you I just saw a UFO
neutral · AI labelView post →UFO 50 won a New York Game Award tonight for Best Indie Game! Extremely cool - thank you so much! 🍒 Proud of our dev team and feeling lucky to be part of it: @perryjon.bsky.social @strotchy.bsky.social @phubans.bsky.social (📸 credit) @fourbitfriday.bsky.social ...and Ojiro Fumoto!
neutral · AI labelView post →UFO 50, our collection of 50 games in one, is on sale for the #SteamSummerSale! A game for every mood (or at least fifty of them). Includes local multiplayer and ✅Verified on Deck! 🛸: store.steampowered.com/app/1147860/...
neutral · AI labelView post →🎉Excited to announce I've adapted Party House from UFO 50 into a physical card game! 🎉 Teaser trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHNF... Kickstarter prelaunch page (shared w/ a Baba is You game!): www.kickstarter.com/projects/bit... Brought to you by @bitewinggames.bsky.social More details soon! 🥳
neutral · AI labelView post →UFO 50 is great to play when a game you want to play is coming out soon, and you can’t commit yourself to another big, lengthy game. Perfect waiting-for-another-game game.
positive · AI labelView post →UFO 50 is coming to Nintendo Switch in two physical editions, along with a recently unearthed 100+ page UFO Companion guidebook! Preorder now: www.fangamer.com/collections/...
neutral · AI labelView post →New on the Ponett Gazette: To coincide with its recent Switch port, I've finally finished my ginormous piece on UFO 50, my favorite game of 2024! Come learn about my 14 favorite games in the anthology and how some of them have forever changed how I engage with retro games ponett.dog/blog/my-14-f...
positive · AI labelView post →The UFO 50 Art Collab!! To celebrate the first anniversary of a game that means a lot to me (and many others), we brought together artists from the UFO 50 Discord to create this grand collage! #art #artcollab #ufo50 #ufo50artcollab v More of the collab in the replies below v
neutral · AI labelView post →Game Awards really just ought to be which UFO 50 game is best.
neutral · AI labelView post →someone made a UFO 50 picross fan game and it's fantastic m3zik.itch.io/lx-nonograms
neutral · AI labelView post →UFO 50 is an astonishing accomplishment — a pack of fifty full-fledged games that may make you nostalgic for a 1980s video game console that never actually existed. This week's column: www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
neutral · AI labelView post →Also, all the other winners are just so boring. God of War Ragnarok is the best game on SteamDeck? Elden Ring --a 2022 game-- the best Labour of Love? In a year when UFO 50 and Caves of Qud released? Shenanigans, I say.
positive · AI labelView post →Game of the Year is Magic Garden specifically from UFO 50
neutral · AI labelView post →some more pixelart inspired in that deep divers game from UFO 50 but with desert
neutral · AI labelView post →playing a game with a tutorial after UFO 50 is like, oh i see, you think i hate the thrill of discovery. you want to save me from the joy of wonder
positive · AI labelView post →( NSFW ) ( Part Time UFO ) Ankh This game is fun, please play it ( 1 / 3 )
neutral · AI labelView post →UFO 50 IS ON SWITCH NOW YEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! It was my GOTY 2024! An absolute outstanding achievement in game design. It's my most played game on Steam by a mile!
positive · AI labelView post →I’m UFO 50 pilled. Warptank game of the year
positive · AI labelView post →here's a specific one that gambler lady from that party house game that's in UFO 50 I think she's REALLY hot :>
neutral · AI labelView post →The Indie Game Awards - Game of the Year Nominees (by Metascore): UFO 50 [91] Animal Well [91] Balatro [90] Lorelei and the Laser Eyes [88] ARCO [86] Neva [86] 1000xRESIST [85] Mouthwashing [83] Nine Sols [83] Crypt Custodian [82] All 2024 Games: www.metacritic.com/browse/game/...
neutral · AI labelView post →The first UFO 50 game I finished was Divers! #RiverArt
neutral · AI labelView post →I'm making a tiny open world game where you play as a lil' UFO exploring the Earth and getting up to shenanigans in order to write a travel guide store.steampowered.com/app/3314190/...
neutral · AI labelView post →the clerk at the game store may have given me some weird looks when I bought an HDMI to AV converter but now I have UFO 50 on my CRT
positive · AI labelView post →#IGNAwards nominees for Best PC Game of 2024: Animal Well Balatro Satisfactory The Rise of the Golden Idol UFO 50 1000xRESIST Full nominees: bit.ly/3ZLTKky
neutral · AI labelView post →I just completed the game. Holy crap was that fun!! This game is like crack! Controls take a bit to get used to, but once you have, they're not an issue. Only one bug I found, and that's when one of your party sees a reticulan/bad guy, the movement orders you've given up to that point can be reset if you accidentally click the next destination point right as the enemy is sighted. This won't even occur to you until you get a few rifleman with super-heroic speed that you use for ambushes anyway.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Today’s Video Game Plush of the Day is: Kapu Kapu from the 2000 UFO Sega Collection by SEGAPrize
neutral · AI labelView post →NEW GAME. YOU'RE ALIEN NOW 👽 Control a UFO, abduct animals, and find knickknacks
neutral · AI labelView post →Been in a bit of a video game funk and UFO 50 might be saving me
positive · AI labelView post →It's a fun, older title in the Steam catalogue akin to the X-COM series of games. You fight to recover an Earth that has been largely depopulated by a malicious alien menace in a pausable, real-time strategy game. PROS +It's challenging, but not impossible. (Hint: Let them come to you sometimes! Choke points are an essential tactic later in the game!) +There are several different damage types which are stronger and weaker against various enemies, forcing the player to strategize and take…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fellow Workers! We are proud to announce the demo for our newest game, 𝗙𝗢𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛 𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦! Now available on Steam! #indiedev #gamedev #pixelart #uap #UFO #arcade
neutral · AI labelView post →time to play PART TIME UFO on @prozdplaysgames.bsky.social with special guest @mewd.bsky.social, i was immediately OBSESSED with this game, it's SO GOOD www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fUQ...
positive · AI labelView post →On the game review front, my favorite game of the year was probably UFO 50, and I tried to capture why in this nostalgia-heavy piece arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/...
positive · AI labelView post →There's a part of my game designer heart I didn't know had died, but playing UFO 50 rekindled it.
positive · AI labelView post →Wow, UFO 50 won the NYVGA for best indie. And with Tales of Kenzera: ZAU and I Am Your Beast as fellow nominees, 3 games with Black game devs on the leadership were nominated. Good shit.
neutral · AI labelView post →UFO 50 is the perfect game to have on your Switch. What a good day.
positive · AI labelView post →Been slowing making my way through UFO 50 and I can’t put down this little game, Camouflage! I must keep Lizard safe 🦎
positive · AI labelView post →Thinkin' about Tetris Forever, Terry's Other Games, and UFO 50 as chronicles of a game/developer's history (albeit a fictive history in UFO 50's case) in playable format.
neutral · AI labelView post →Shout out to @nsuttner.bsky.social and the Eggplant podcast for committing to a full year of covering every game in UFO 50. Great idea when the game launched, great idea today. 50 game club discussions. eggplant.show
neutral · AI labelView post →I can confirm that my announced solarpunk game was screened on a brutalist UFO in a remote park in Toronto. Thank you for adventuring into the night, game ravers!
neutral · AI labelView post →You know what, fine, maybe I WILL play that there UFO 50 game everyone keeps talking about then.
neutral · AI labelView post →I must admit, I've loved this game for years and when I saw it on Steam the other day it was an instant purchase. The game is dated, and a little tricky to get use to but still plays great. It does have a 4:3 resolution, so on a widescreen monitor it stretches in fullscreen, but you can play windowed to fix this. The 3 UFO games, all thankfully on Steam are all great, if your into Xcom or the older X-com games, you will likely enjoy this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Beat a game tonight, and got a Gold on a UFO 50 game, not too shabby tonight. Thanks to everyone who tuned in, we're back Saturday for Cookie, see ya then! www.twitch.tv/protonjon/cl...
positive · AI labelView post →Sega cracked the code for zero-effort game anniversary commemorations: slapping labels on their UFO catcher candy, like so
neutral · AI labelView post →Get ready for the very first episode where No Small Games reviews not one game, but 50!! Winter Season kicks off this Thursday with our episode covering UFO 50 🛸
neutral · AI labelView post →"Well it's actually the best game this year!" please, I'm playing UFO 50 *right now*
positive · AI labelView post →Barbuta is my favorite game in UFO 50. Please don't cancel me.
positive · AI labelView post →Part-Time UFO art from when I first finished that game 🛸💫 #parttimeufo
neutral · AI labelView post →You too can have this much fun if you download my new UFO journaling game! owllog.itch.io/echoes-above... #ufos #ufo #ttrpg #rpg #journaling #journalinggame
neutral · AI labelView post →UFO 50, a massive collection of new games, was the best game of 2024... and here are the 10 best games within UFO 50. www.pastemagazine.com/games/ufo-50...
neutral · AI labelView post →UFO 50 makes me want to make my own freakin video game man
positive · AI labelView post →This week's Disk Cleanup is with Blue Prince creator Tonda Ros, who told me about his lifelong love of Myst, playing Big Walk as his first proximity voice chat game, and going ALL IN on UFO 50. Read on! www.pcgamer.com/gaming-indus...
neutral · AI labelView post →UFO 50 not getting indie game of the year, the fraud awardssssss
negative · AI labelView post →I ignored UFO 50's first game, but then Barbuta pulled me back in Barbuta is slow, clunky, and completely impenetrable. And it's become my favorite UFO 50 game. www.rogue.site/editorials/b...
positive · AI labelView post →Normal UFO 50 game: “Here’s a quirky driving sim inspired by time as a delivery driver!” UFO 50 game developed by Thorson Petter:
neutral · AI labelView post →UFO 50 seems kind of like an indie game dev's dream or nightmare. Hey, you know how you're always distracted by side projects? What if your game was nothing but side projects? Like UFO 50....
neutral · AI labelView post →UFO Aftermath is basically X-COM but in real-time. It is a surprisingly good formula and provided me with enough fun that I definitely consider it to be worth the charging price. The graphics may be outdated and the sounds may be reptitive and sub-par, but the gameplay functions are solid and the story is intriguing enough. Unfortunately the story is rather short and you spend most of the games doing generic randomized missions on maps that "randomize" slightly every go. After about 6 hours…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i recommend this game for every x-com gamer.i love it! only problem is i cant have full screen :(
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My kid, watching NES game reviews with me: “Which UFO 50 game is this one?”
neutral · AI labelView post →
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