Review: Panic Playdate

“That's so creative.”

Those are the three words I frequently mouthed before excitedly bringing the Playdate over to my partner to show her. This is a handheld console with a positively tiny black and white 1-bit display and a meager 400- by 240-pixel resolution, yet the games I've come across on it are inventive and fun enough you'll wish everyone carried one of these pocket-friendly yellow squares around. 

I've played a roguelike game as a samurai, a point-and-click adventure game where you have to figure out whether the aliens that kidnapped you decades ago really have returned, and even Snake—er, Snak as it's called here, since it's not an official port of the classic Nokia title. At a time when you can download hundreds of games at a whim and play them on your smartphone with top-tier graphics, it's enamoring to see the skill that game developers can exhibit on a system that lacks the same luxuries.

A part of what makes the experience of playing games on the Playdate even more magical is the crank. You heard that correctly. There's a crank on the right side of the console that you can satisfyingly pull out and rotate, giving you a new way to interact with many (though not all) games on the system. Paired with the beep boops of the gameplay and the striking yellow color of the case, the Playdate has a quirkiness that makes it unique. 

Unfortunately, while I wish everyone could enjoy the Playdate now, there is some bad news. You can preorder one, but your order won't be fulfilled until 2023. Panic, the video game publisher behind the console, says it's working on releasing its first 50,000 orders throughout the year. At the very least, it's a consolation that this thing is finally shipping.

The Playdate was first announced in 2019. It was supposed to debut in 2020, but a pandemic got in the way. It was delayed to 2021—when I first got a chance to try it out—but an issue with the battery and supply chain issues with the CPU meant Panic had to make some last-minute changes that pushed the release to 2022. That brings us to now.

Panic says it switched battery manufacturers after discovering drained power cells in early models. I haven't run into issues with the battery in my test unit. I played on and off for several hours, and the battery sat at around 30 percent before the day's end. Most of the time, I'm only playing a game here and there, whenever I have some free time, so you likely won't have to recharge via USB-C for several days.

My initial impressions of the console were tempered last year, partly because I was able to try only the four games available at the time. I've now dipped my toes into all 24 games, some more than others. I should note that the games are released in a serial manner across “seasons,” so you won't get instant access to every single game when your Playdate arrives. Instead, two games are delivered per week on the same day for 12 weeks. (You'll always have unfettered access to every Season One game once they've landed on your machine over Wi-Fi.) 

Almost like how everyone watches each new installment of Moon Knight at the same time, it feels like Panic wants to build the kind of social engagement you typically see when a TV episode airs. I'm not sure I see that happening; many of these games don't have the kind of depth that would warrant that sort of collective excitement. But it is a way to keep the Playdate feeling fresh, with something new waiting around the corner—for three months, at least. There's no word on whether there'll be a Season Two, but a Panic spokesperson says if there are additional seasons, they likely won't be included in the console price the way Season One is.

You'll be happy to know that anyone can make a game for the Playdate and release it at any time. These indie games are dead simple to side-load onto the device. At the moment there's only one—Bloom by RNG Party Games—which costs $10. It's a Tamagotchi-like idle game where you check in on your character's flower shop, and can even monitor their conversations with friends and family over the course of several real-life days. It's not my cup of tea, but I know a few folks that'd sip it.

Eventually, Playdate says there'll be a Playdate Catalog, which you can think of like an app store where you can find or buy games outside of the titles offered in Season One. The open nature of the system means you can expect to find the unexpected—like this media player a developer is creating to turn the Playdate into an iPod of sorts. (Yes, there's a headphone jack.)

In case you're wondering how accessibility-friendly the Playdate is, there's good news. You can install an application called Playdate Mirror on Windows, Mac, or Linux, plug your Playdate into the PC, and launch the app. You'll instantly see your Playdate's screen on your computer. You can make the virtual screen larger so it's easier to see, use standard controllers to play, and can have the sound route to an assistive audio device. This app lets streamers record gameplay audio and video too. It worked flawlessly when I tried it.

Much of what I've said before about the hardware hasn't changed. The Playdate is still the size of a stack of Post-Its. It's awfully pretty; the firm Teenage Engineering, which is known for its bright and whimsical gadgets, handled the industrial design. It's almost like the Playdate is meant to sit on my desk as a nifty, retro clock instead of a portable handheld.

One concern I have is with quality control. My unit has a visible scratch on a corner of the inner glass. Panic offered to replace my unit but didn't mention what might have caused the scratch. Inspect your Playdate whenever you get it. 

My biggest gripe is the lack of backlighting in the display. You'll only be able to see the screen with a nearby light source, making it impossible to use in the dark before bed. My apartment isn't very bright, so I frequently had to position myself awkwardly toward a lamp just to see what I was doing. Paired with the small screen, you may find yourself holding the Playdate really close to your face.

The inputs are reliable, but some controls can be awkward—in a puzzle game called Omaze, for example, you need to use the A and B buttons with the crank, not the D-Pad, leaving you with a slightly odd hand placement (it just takes some getting used to). The crank, while fun, can also be a smidge hard use in situations that require precision, and there are quite a few games where you'll need to be very accurate with your movements. Part of the fun is mastering this new control, but there's a learning curve.

It's the games that really make the Playdate shine. There's Zipper, the aforementioned turn-based roguelike game that has you map out movements to slay henchmen, though you can use the crank to see your enemy's pathways and avoid death. Forrest Byrnes: Up in Smoke is a side-scrolling platformer that takes a page out of Super Mario and challenges you to escape a forest fire while saving firefighters in the process. Battleship Godios finds you piloting a spaceship and using the crank to travel back in time when your bomb misses its target.  

My other favorites include Star Sled, where you collect sparks by maneuvering around them (without hitting anything else); Inventory Hero, where you manage an adventurer's inventory and make sure they're stocked up on health and the right gear to win their battles; and Crankin's Time Travel Adventure, where you need to try to make it to a date on time while rewinding to avoid obstacles. None of these games are easy. You'll spend hours trying to get through a few levels. Or maybe that's just me. (I was most successful with Omaze.)

The Playdate is just a fun, snazzy-looking console that doesn't cost very much; it's a great way to pass some time on your commute. If you have fond memories of toting around a Game Boy as your mom dragged you through the mall, you'll feel right at home. Well, as long as you're patient enough to wait until your Playdate actually ships.