The second batch of free Playdate games came quicker than I was expecting, and among them was one of the best regarded titles Crankin's Time Travel Adventure. It's a clever and well made game where you use the crank to move a robot forward and backwards along his path, avoiding obstacles so that he gets to his date as quickly as possible (but never on time). As part of his movement, the robot will automatically perform actions like bending over to smell flowers and climbing over tables, which you can utilize to avoid moving enemies. If any of them overlap even a pixel, the level restarts. It's a very cute game and utilizes the crank the best of any games I've played so far, but the game has a fatal flaw in that it's incredibly difficult. The crank controls are pretty precise, but I found figuring out how to pose the robot to avoid the enemies to be surprisingly precise. It's a game that I admire in its technique and ambition, but I actually hated playing. I'll admit that I only finished the first 20 levels, which I found frustrating by themselves, only to learn that there's 30 more even harder levels. This one definitely boils down to personal taste, but I personally found it more frustrating than rewarding.

Reviewed on Mar 01, 2024


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