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Blog post #2 - Thursday, July 30, 2026
Here is the map for Mortol II from Mossmouth's monumental 2024 game UFO50. Mortol II was directed by Derek Yu with music by Eirik Suhrke. Not a single pixel is out of place in this game- I find it to be the epitome of indie perfection. UFO50 as a whole is a staggering achievement, but to me, Mortol II stands as one of the greatest case studies for Derek Yu's mastery of the artform. From its rich mechanics, to its detailed and strange pixel art aesthetic that is instantly recognizable as a work of Yu's, to its ingeniously understated open-world, Mortol II is a game that radiates fun, whimsey, and artistic merit. At a time when the majority of indie developers feel uncomfortable making anything that can't decisively be labeled "roguelike," "metroidvania," "deckbuilder," for fear of not being picked up by Steam's algorithm, games like Mortol II break the mold by offering experiences that blend aspects of the hottest genres with fresh, emergent mechanics and retro-inspired visuals that seriously push the medium forward. Every dev alive should be looking to Yu as the man doing it right. If you haven't already, you should buy UFO50 to experience Mortol II alone, and once you're done, exit to the library page and remember that there are forty-nine more, fully fleshed out games of equal quality and merit waiting to be dusted off. This is the reason I will never stop praising this project. I believe everyone should play UFO50.
Blog post #1 - Thursday, July 9, 2026
I had to compress this image so much to fit it under Flounder's ludicrous file size maximum that there's almost no point in even posting it here but man check out how cool this render of the map from Solstice for NES is. I mean oh my god. Why do people freak out about Metroid when Solstice exists man. take me to the Mines of Insanity. Take me to the Blood Gardens. Let's rendezvous in the Caves of Doomed Souls. video games are the greatest thing that humans have ever created.
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