18 May 2024

The Playdate is Cool

This funky little handheld is neat as heck!!

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've posted here, things have been REALLY busy! I've got some plans to update this website with some cool new blog posts, but those who've been paying attention will just have noticed all the commissions I've been uploading to the Gallery, yep, that's where half of my time has been lol.

The other half has been handhelds! I picked up my 2DSXL again and played some games on it, had a week-and-a-bit stint of Nintendogs, but forgot one day and felt too bad to return, I cannot face Suika now after all this time... I'm sorry young pup... aaaanyway, I also dug out my PSP and PSvitas, installed some new games and have been having a blast! The PSvita has gotta be one of the best handhelds ever released, it's the perfect size, feels great, plays great, and the games released were bangers! So sad Sony killed it, although I've heard rumours they're making a new handheld that can run PS4 games. I'd be down for that!

As the title of this post suggests tho, the Playdate is the one I've been spending the most time with. I got this dinky little thing when it was first released, though those familiar will know it came in waves due to it's popularity. I was in wave 3, so I've had this puppy for a while now. I got my season's worth of fun, then it kinda just sat in my drawer for ages, until now! I checked out the catalouge and got myself Mars After Midnight, a cute little game by Lucas Pope of "Papers Please" fame. It kinda feels similar to that where you gotta make let only the right kinda martians into your support group by checking for signs, although it's less oppressive commentary, and more funny alien mental health support group antics. The game I've sunk the most hours into is Labrynth, it's a Wizadry-like dungeon crawler with an addictive gameplay loop consisting of killing monsters, charming others onto your side, and slowly upgrading your gear to take on the lower levels. It's a quick, bite sized rougelike with deep enough mechanics to get me coming back. Makes me wish for a deeper version of the same game, maybe without permadeath, and more locations and hand-made levels? I like these types of games so I'd love to see more on the platform, it's oddly perfect?

Not just for games though, I've been using the Playdate as an alarm clock! I've had a terrible time of getting stuck to my phone in bed every morning as I dismiss the alarm and are immedietly presented with notifications from friends, YouTube, and the overwhelming desire to waste my morning through Instagram Reels, (Darn those reels!) so by taking my phone out of my room into the kitchen and subbing my alarm for the Playdate, who's screen I can't even see in the dark morning due to it's lack of backlight, my mornings have been much more productive! I get up, dismiss the alarm, and now I have no reason to stay in bed anymore. I go to the shower, have my morning clean, and end up in the Kitchen to make my breakfast, and check up on what I missed on my phone. By the time I sit down at my desk, I don't feel so bad, knowing I've gotten my morning routine completed!

Would I reccomend the Playdate? Sure, I've gotten my fun out of the device, I would. That being said, it is really expensive. For $200USD you can get yourself a lot of other things, but this little device is perfect for me. It's an indie-dev and indie-game-lover's pefect system. It's not for everyone, not at all, but for those who it appeals to, it's perfect. One day I'll make a game for it... one day......... eventually..............

Anyway, look forward to more blog posts in the near future, and I hope you have a wonderful day!