Playdate’s second season is off to a great (and very weird) start

A number of video games have been launched for the Playdate since it launched in 2022, as a fast browse of itch.io or the Catalog shop will attest. However nonetheless, there’s one thing distinctive concerning the handheld’s seasonal format, which simply kicked off its second iteration. When it first launched, the Playdate got here with 24 video games from notable indie builders that have been steadily launched on a weekly cadence, making an ideal introduction to the little yellow machine and its crank. Now, a number of years later, we lastly have season 2, and it’s off to a stable begin — and it even features a weird thriller.

The brand new season runs for the subsequent six weeks and totals a dozen video games, two of which is able to drop every week. The entire collection will run you $39. To begin, we’ve got a pair of very completely different video games. Fulcrum Defender, from FTL: Quicker Than Gentle developer Subset Video games, is kind of like a contemporary tackle Asteroids. You management a little bit ship within the center and fireplace weapons at little squares flying towards you. The twist is that you just use the crank to rotate the ship round and intention your photographs. There’s additionally one thing of a roguelike component, the place you steadily unlock random upgrades like new weapons or a bigger unfold in your bullets. The purpose is to final for 10 straight minutes.

It’s a reasonably difficult recreation — thus far, I’ve solely actually had success on simple mode — but it surely’s additionally surprisingly chill, eliciting that kind of zen state that the very best shooters and puzzle video games can create. That is helped by its lo-fi soundtrack that just about calls for you play with headphones on. It’s an absorbing recreation.

On the opposite finish of the spectrum is Dig Dig Dino!, developed by Dom2D and Fáyer, who brag that the sport “is ideal to play whereas watching TV! No time strain, no fast reflexes wanted!” It’s a puzzle recreation the place you journey to completely different dig websites to uncover dinosaur bones, artifacts, and trash. You solely have a restricted quantity of strikes per dig, however you may improve your capability over time — whereas additionally getting new instruments to smash rocks or dig deeper — letting you dig each extra and for longer. It’s kind of like a extremely cute tackle Minesweeper, one clearly designed for brief play periods. It’s not precisely troublesome, however there’s nonetheless one thing satisfying about uncovering a big dinosaur bone whenever you’re nearly to expire of strikes.

These two video games do job of displaying the breadth of video games doable on the Playdate; one is supposed for fast bursts, the opposite for longer, extra centered periods. However the launch week package deal is rounded out by one thing a complete lot weirder. It’s known as Blippo Plus and, nicely, it’s a sequence of TV channels you may flip between utilizing the crank. Some are nothing however static, whereas others have large FMV movies of unusual TV exhibits or commercials. One present, known as Tantric Computing, is nothing however closeup photographs of somebody utilizing a pc mouse. One other, Werf’s Tavern, is a few form of musical discuss present. There’s additionally a messaging device and a few form of fax service.

What’s most fascinating about Blippo Plus, although, isn’t simply that it’s odd. It’s additionally a thriller that looks like it would evolve over the course of the season. Playdate maker Panic says that “Playdate season 2 house owners ought to tune in weekly and ensure they’re related to WiFi when season 2 updates at 10 AM PT on Thursdays.” There are many different promising video games deliberate for season 2, together with the point-and-click journey Shadowgate PD and regardless of the heck Lengthy Pet and Tiny Turnip are.

However an FMV thriller that unfolds over the course of weeks is one thing that’s fairly distinctive to this format — and additional proof that the Playdate exists in its personal parallel universe.