Playdate review: A magical, dev-friendly handheld bristling with possibility
What exactly is Playdate? I've spent the past six months chatting with developers who've been quietly creating for Panic's bright yellow handheld ahead of its upcoming launch in a bid to untangle that question, but now that I've finally gone hands-on with the device myself, the answer appears rather complex.
When Panic debuted the console in Edge back in 2019, it seemed like it had the potential to be everything to all people. A retro-infused handheld chock full of titles from some of the industry's most renowned creators, giving discerning players with a taste for short, sharp, and succulent indie morsels access to an expanding Criterion Collection-esque portfolio of games designed and built by the brightest in the biz.
For developers, the idea of a console that would come with a devoted audience (the Playdate sold through its first batch of 20,000 units in minutes), accessible tools geared towards both experienced and fledgling creators, and quirky hardware -- just look at that CRANK -- must have been equally tantalizing.
A launch delay caused by what Panic described as a "critical hardware issue" and the overwhelming air of secrecy surrounding the project, however, has allowed the Playdate to remain something of an enigma -- that is, until now.
Let's get down to brass tacks, then. In incredibly literate terms, the Playdate is a novel handheld games console with two main A+B button inputs, a d-pad, and an analog crank. It's a delightful shade of bright yellow, boasts Wi-Fi support to let owners sideload projects and download titles as they're rolled out weekly as part of the console's seasonal release model, and has one USB-C port used for charging and connecting to other hardware.
Getting a bit more technical, Playdate
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