If your playdate wish list is like mine (endless), here’s a good excuse to actually go ahead and unchain some of those games: Panic is running a two-week-long sale on the Playdate catalog to celebrate its three-year anniversary. Sure, most of the playdate games are pretty cheap, but their price can still add up when you’re shopping wildly. Ask me how I know! The sale will run from March 5 to March 19 at 1PM ET (10AM PT), so take advantage of the discount while you can.
According to Panic, there are now 423 games available in the catalog, so if you’re having trouble deciding which game you should pick up, I’ve got you some recommendations right here.
season two
If $39 seemed like too much when season two came out last summer, now’s the time to get it. The second season of Playdate only had half the games as the first, but it still felt like a very strong collection. Each of its 12 games is really solid, and there’s a lot of variety in terms of style and genre, from puzzles and hours-long adventures to fast-paced action games that are great for intense play. And, it comes with blippo+ – A unique cable TV simulator that is unlike anything else out there.
All of these games are worth playing, but there were definitely some standouts: The WhiteoutA post-apocalyptic adventure that will surely become even more difficult given the winter we have now had; puzzle platformer Taria and Como; arcade action game Fulcrum Defender; climbing adventure, small turnip. I enjoyed it too to dig! to dig! Dino! For something on the chiller side.
external parties
I haven’t been able to shut up about this game since it came out. It’s unique, it’s scary, it’s totally entertaining and it really pushes the boundaries of what Playdate can do. external parties There’s a spooky scavenger hunt, which projects a giant picture for you to investigate and find the sights hidden within, use the crank to constantly adjust the brightness so you can find anything buried in the shadows. As you find these objectives, more and more of the game’s story is revealed through awesome audio clips. It’s a great experience and the atmosphere is incredible. It will also give you many hours of play time, with over 150 objectives to discover and lots of lore to uncover.
Castle Kelmore
Castle Kelmore Exactly the rules. This first-person action game puts you in a series of mazes where you have to fight floating-head-style monsters while searching for keys and try to find doors and portals for your escape. There are sixteen levels, and completing each one will give you a little summary of how long it took you to complete that area and what percentage of the enemies you killed in the level. I also really enjoy the sounds in this game. Enemies squirm and scream, and your character will let out a hilarious, unnerving, “ahhh” or “ough” after regaining health or being injured. Great for dungeon fans!
crankstone
A full blown western for a playdate! crankstone is a gallery shooter with minigames mixed in, and between the aesthetics, music, and activities, it’s a lot of fun. You can choose the story mode to get straight into the shooting and save the town from bandits, or visit the salon in person to choose from a handful of mini-games, including some fast-paced “find the right card” deck shuffling games and some mimicry games involving cranks. It’s like a Wild West theme park filled to the brim with playdates, which means it’s amazing.
a fool’s errand
I looked at the description of this game – “Is it bravery or folly that calls young Roland to scale the twisting heights of the Dark Tower?” – and I had the following conversation: “Dark Tower reference!?”; “No, no, keep calm, it’s just poetry”; “Hmm, that sounds great, I think I’ll take it anyway.” And I’m glad I did, because it’s pretty neat! By neat, I mean mildly annoying and makes you fall into the “just one more try” trap.
To play a fool’s errandYou’ll have to flip your Playdate on its side so the screen is vertical, which takes some getting used to. Then, you use the crank to take Roland up the tower’s spiral staircase. There are all kinds of dangers, however, and you’ll have to constantly keep an eye out for things like flying bats, bouncing barrels and spikes jutting out of walls, cranking faster for a slight speed boost or ducking backwards to get out of the way. It is measured by how many steps you take before running out of something. As you progress through new levels, new lines of poetry will appear on scrolls that you can find on the title screen, possibly until you’ve uncovered the entire thing.
bona fido
It’s very simple, but lately I’ve had to turn to it again and again when I’m feeling anxious and just want to play. Some? But I can’t decide which one. bona fido is a single screen platformer in which you play as a skeletal dog wearing a fancy little hat barking at enemies like crabs and turtles. That’s it. Bark at enemies to destroy them and collect points, gain an edge by digging up seedlings and try to avoid dying. Or… die again, because you’re already playing a dead dog in the afterlife. It’s exquisite and more challenging than you expect.
Other games worth trying
These are just the games I’ve been enjoying lately, but there are plenty of other playdate games worth checking out during the sale, like these cheese games. And if you need even more recommendations, take a look at our list of the best playdate games, where you’ll find gems like echo: oracle scroll And meeting. There are also a few that I plan to eventually cross off my wish list, including the figure that waits, xeno escape And Luna Landa.
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