There are a countless games stuck on my Steam wish list. Just rotting there, waiting to be purchased when a big sale finally hits. One of last year’s GOTY contenders, fictional retro game collection “UFO 50,” was in that limbo state waiting for a nice discount to come some day.

But despite the fact that I could have been playing it for months now, the moment a Nintendo Direct revealed “UFO 50” was out for the Switch and Switch 2, I jumped on it. No hesitation. Was I stranded in the middle of nowhere for weeks with only my Switch 2 available? Do I have a nasty impulse habit that needs fixing? Wouldn’t you like to know!

The one thing I did remember hearing from critics on game of the year podcasts was that there was an idle game in the collection — one that could be played first, lie in the background, and then things would tick up as you explored the other games. And after a quick search, I found out that idle game was “Pilot Quest.” And as it turns out, it’s the best game in the entire collection by far.

Here’s the context: You’re a stranded astronaut on an alien planet with a crashed spaceship and nowhere to go. That is until you start whipping out your yo-yo, and knocking some gems out of this big stone. You acquire these diamond-shaped gems, and turn them into solid bars, or purchase meat to give to a slug to explore the dangerous woods above. Trust me. This all makes sense.

The quest is to purchase parts to repair your spaceship, but the hunt (and fun) is to get some seeded plants churning gems as you venture out into the woods. You have plenty of enemies, some rare loot, and a ticking timer to keep you focused. Die or run out of time, and you lose your loot. It’s a bit of “Dark Souls,” and eventually, you’ll get Z coins. And even a gun for long ranged battles.

While I had to wait for thousands of more gems to accrue, I would check out the other games. My favorites otherwise were the racing ones — short and simple. “Paint Chase” is akin to “Tron” lightcycles, and “Big Bell Race” has you using “Flappy Bird” controls for its laps. Then I checked out some beat ’em ups, and found that none of them kept me engaged.

But I would keep coming back to “Pilot Quest” to grind, explore, and upgrade. Eventually, I was able to build shacks for aliens to live in, and they would get hired to make more gold bricks. But then I hit another cap, and had to play other games.

There were some strategy titles that amused me, like “Bug Hunter” and “Attactics,” but I kept thinking about my pilot and his daring quest. The numbers went up. The deeper into the woods, the more perilous the adventures were. The risk and reward grew with each outing. I knew I had to keep going, but I also had to wait patiently for resources to regenerate.

Several of the better offerings were sports games with a clever twist. “Bushido Ball” I enjoyed, “Hot Foot” was also mildly fun, there were some golf games that amused me, but none were “Pilot Quest.”

I think the best genre within “UFO 50″ are the platformers. Games like ” “Warptank,” “Waldorf’s Journey,” “Rail Heist,” “and “Rakshasa” were ones I played more just because 8-bit games are much more fun when you get to jump around.

And anything involving shooting was also a treat, like “Caramel Caramel,” “Vainger,” “Overbold,” “Star Waspir” and “Seaside Drive.” But nothing can touch “Pilot Quest” — the best game in “UFO 50.”

The number must go up.

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“UFO 50” is available now on PC and Switch.

Image credit: “UFO 50,” Mossmouth