Playdate review: all it’s cranked up to be
Portable gaming has always been a little, let’s say, different. While there have been some attempts at shrinking console gaming down into something that will fit in your hands, many of the best handheld experiences have been downright weird. Think of the Nintendo DS with its dual screens that helped inspire memorable games about walking dogs, doing surgery, and, well, whatever is going on in Electroplankton. There’s something about the smaller scale of these games that often invites creativity from developers.
The Playdate, from first-time hardware maker Panic — best known for its Mac software and publishing games like Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game — takes this idea to the extreme. It’s a tiny yellow square, not much bigger than a credit card, with a black-and-white screen and a crank that juts out of its side. It looks like a Game Boy from a parallel world. And, much like with the DS and its contemporaries, those limitations and distinct features have inspired a library of games unlike anything I’ve ever played: everything from a strategy game about cryptid photography and a turn-based samurai adventure to a role-playing game where all you do is manage inventory.
And, just like with the DS, the best games are ones I couldn’t imagine existing anywhere else.
First, the basics. The Playdate measures in at a scant 76 × 74 × 9mm, a square about the size of a modern smartphone cut in half. It’s probably the cutest dedicated handheld since the Game Boy Micro. About half of that space is taken up by a 400 x 240, 1-bit display capable of outputting visuals in glorious black and white. There is no backlight. Below the screen are a nice, clicky D-pad and two face buttons; a home button rests beside the display. Along the top
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