The Playdate Is Perfect Because It's A Toy First And Console Second

When I was a kid, I had a little robot toy called the 2-XL. The ‘90s one that actually looks like a robot, not the ‘80s one that looks like a nightmare. Anyway, this robot could play regular audio cassettes like a stereo - but more importantly, it could also play special cassettes that had trivia and games on them. It was a little interactive toy, fun for a few minutes at a time; an awkwardly-shaped boombox with minor computer components. It felt cool to use and even cooler to show to friends who were delighted and confused in equal measure. And, for some reason, it reminds me of the Playdate.

You’ve probably seen the Playdate. It’s a little, square yellow portable console with a black and white screen and a crank on the side. There are actually plenty of games available, w❀hich can all be b𝐆ought for a few bucks on the console’s website. Anyway, you basically have a D-pad, three buttons, a crank, and that’s the whole thing. Unlike 99 percent of video game devices released since 1979, it’s not designed to seem like advanced technology that will two years later look ridiculously old. It’s a toy and it feels like a toy. Nobody would confuse it for anything other than a goofy, fun device.

The Playdate Was Always Meant To Be Just A Toy

Playdate handheld gaming device.

I’ll confess, when I first got it, I only played with it for a few days. Like you do with toys. There weren’t a ton of games available off the bat - but those that were ready showed a lot of potential. For example, one game is just using the crank to try to stay afloat as you surf down an infinite wave. It’s real fun, but the type of experience you only play for threeꩵ or four minutes before turning off the Playdate and remembering you still haven’t beat the latest batch of the seven or eight roleplaying games that come out every three days.

But as more games have been added to the Playdate and I’ve had a year or two to mess around with it, I’ve realized that the brevity of the games is the draw of the system. It is a toy like I remember. Games on the Playdate also remind me of the earliest releases for the Game Boy (the black and white screen doesn’t hurt the comparison either). Games like Alleyway and Balloon Kid and even Tetris are brief! You can play them for hours over and over, but each individual game is prettꦆy short. You don’t need to save your game. You don’t need to open a strategy guide. You’re playing for a few minutes and movin✤g on.

You could argue that phone games have also filled this gap, but outside of a few oldies, those too have largely grown into commitments. I hate to say it, but if your mobile game involves multipl𒉰e forms of currency, dozens of collectibles, and the ability to spend real money for in-game advantages, it is a job. You’re expecting that you’ll keep playing, and you’re hoping the advantages make it easier for you to progress later. There’s nothing wrong with that, but those games ar𓆉e often less of a full, five-minute experience so much as a short, five-minute portion of an hours-long journey.

The Playdate Has A Surprisingly Large Catalogue

34-Lucas Pope's Playdate Game Is Utterly Bizarre And Impossible To Put Down

I’d also compare the Playdate to Tiger’s portable LCD systems and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Nintendo’s Game & Watch series. In a good way. Some of us still have PTSD from making those screens actually visible in sunlight and/or literally any other type of light. These are not games that take a long time 🍬to grasp. They’re time wasters. They’re l🍬ittle cute arcadey fun times. But, importantly, they’re still made with a lot of care.

Well, okay, maybe only the Nintendo Game & Watch games were made with a lot of care. The Tiger Electronics portable games were obscenely opaque, even when you read the manual. But even with difficulty spikes and bizarre interpretations of IP like Mega Man and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Castlevania, the short play times made problems easy to overlook. And, not fo﷽r nothing, it also made it more fun to show to and share with friends.

In a way, the Playdate has taken these concepts of electronic toy games and elevated them. Few of the titles here are complicated in any sense of the word. In fact, games such as Root Bear are incredibly fun with literally one game mechanic. You have 60 seconds to use the crank to fill bar glasses off different sizes. It sounds absolutely pointless - and it is! - but it’s also perfect for a few seconds of pure fun. People used to epics with ray tracing are going to see more of Bop-It in here than 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:God Of War.

That said, not every game is pure simplicity. MDMA (I know, I know) is a quick and short puzzle / city builder. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Lucas Pope’s Mars After Midꦺnight is a fantastic game that takes turns you don&rsquo꧒;t immediately expect. What’s that game? I’m glad you asked. You play the manager of a facility that aliens use for support groups. Your job is to ꦅget aliens to show up, feed them, and keep the wrong people out. Using the crank to lift and close the peephole is oddly satisfying. The game is sweet and beautifully designed. And it doesn’t hurt that it all looks like Shufflepuck Cafe on an ancient Macintosh.

There are small strategy games, tiny narrative experiences, short racing games, and the community just keeps making more. But perhaps what I love most about the Playdate is it just wants to be the Playdate. Well, that and an app called Stars of the Screen reproduces Windows 95 screensavers while asking me if I want to get a coffee. It’s a very weird systꦚem and I’m so glad it exists. I♕ rarely say this outside of select parties, but I hope all of you start cranking it soon.