Easily one of my favorite Playdate titles of all time. Lots of unique levels, fantastic music, and clever puzzles. My only complaint was that the game sprites are quite small on such a small screen.

Direct Drive is a thematic and engaging game about manually rotating a broken record player. You have the spin the record to match the speed of the singer, but the record and crank mapping isn't 1:1, so it behaves more like a flywheel with inertia. This adds a layer of complexity which requires a surprising amount of focus. In between levels (a.k.a music tracks), you watch story cutscenes, excellently rendered in the form of a silent movie. The cutscenes are one of the best parts of the game, and I looked forward to each one as much as the levels themselves. In addition to the 12 levels, there are also a couple of small mini games and the most robust achievement system I've seen on Playdate so far.

Everything about this product is executed to the highest degree of polish, and it takes advantage of every one of Playdate's unique features. The character art and animations are gorgeous, the writing is enjoyable, and there's even a well-integrated tutorial system for every new mechanic that is introduced. The music itself seems designed to be humorous, but there were a few tracks that I liked a lot. I enjoyed my time with this game enough to 100% it, and am eagerly awaiting the future content.

Playmaker blew me away in its level of polish, thoughtfulness, and UI design. I almost don't want to say much about it because part of its appeal is the fun of discovering everything that's possible. At a high-level though, it has six modes: painting, music, stamps, sampler, blocks, and dancing. The painting mode is by far the most robust, containing dozens of paint patterns, stamps, and drawing tools. The music mode has a lot of features too, with multiple instruments and the ability to play up to four notes at a time spanning the whole treble clef staff. The other modes are smaller toy boxes in comparison, but the blocks are equally fun as painting especially if you prefer having more constraints.


The most impressive part about Playmaker is how the controls and UI design blend together to create a really intuitive experience. It may take some getting used to at first, but the pause menu has a nice cheat sheet if you ever get lost. The sound design is top notch too, and the game has several tools in it that I didn't believe were possible on Playdate without huge performance hits (i.e. smudge tool and bucket fill). Even if you aren't the most creative person or have no desire to create full art assets or music with Playmaker, the process of discovery is fun and entertaining by itself.

A relaxing crank-only experience in which you discover more depth the more you play. There's no steering, you only time your cranking speed along with the inclines and declines of the track to boost and manage your stamina. I think the simplicity of the game is what makes it interesting for me, as it lets me focus on technique rather than a mix of multiple mechanics. It reminds me a lot of Tiny Wings in how you time your presses and releases with the topology of the level.


It has three race tracks each with a unique environment and music, and three cyclists that have different stats. Each track has an online leaderboard for times, although it's a shame it only shows the top five scores. I also like the mini-achievement system in which you can try to unlock each of the three badges on every level. If the core gameplay sounds interesting, I think there's a lot of replayability here. It's a game that's truly easy to pick up but hard to master (I have only managed to get 3rd place on every track).

Buyers should know up-front that this is only a 15-20 minute experience. In fact, props to the dev for being clear about that on the store page! If you assess games using a price/minute heuristic, then this is not a game for you. However, if you can appreciate an incredible technical and artistic showpiece that highlights the Playdate's beautiful display, then I would recommend trying the Illumination free demo first. Only then, if you want more, buy The Botanist to support the dev and the robust comic framework he's put together for this game. A ton of work went into all the assets and and the framework itself (Panels), and it shows.

Although The Botanist itself is short, it's a lot more than a normal comic. Each panel is beautifully illustrated with excellent parallax effects, and the game is packed with variety both in how the the panels are laid out and how you can interact with them. The game does a great job at showcasing what is possible with the Playdate as a medium for interactive comics. The story is well-done and atmospheric, yet in my opinion the way the story is presented stands out much more than the content itself.

I'm so glad the Playdate is getting more word games. It has an easy ruleset with a cute road tripping theme thrown behind it. Your goal is simply to make a path from the top word to the bottom word by creating words along the way that use exactly 3 letters from the top word and 1 letter from the bottom. The rounds are timed (by default 30 seconds), but fortunately there are multiple difficulty levels to pick from, including a free play mode that removes the timer completely. The timer is an interesting mechanic that gives the game more of an action-y feel, but I don't know if that's enough to convert people who aren't normally into word games.

The gameplay is simple enough to get into a satisfying groove. With only four-letter words, it seems like it would be an easy task to create a new word using letters from the others, but occasionally there is a random word pair that just gives me insane writer's block. Fortunately, strategic use of the pit stop system helps in this regard.

Word games don't need to have art, but I love the minimalist contour map drawn in the background as you go on your road trip. The launch card transition is so smooth that it deserves its own shout-out as well. On the downside, the game has a good online leaderboard implementation, but I would have liked to see more personal stats about each run, or even a streak system that incorporates the daily challenge. In general I wish there was more transparency into how the scoring system worked. Despite these nitpicks, the game is a no-brainer if you like word games.

A short but uniquely beautiful game that is even more impressive knowing the limitations of Pulp. The game rarely re-uses mechanics and there's always something new to experience around the corner. I love these kinds of one-hour short story experiences on Playdate, and wouldn't mind paying a few bucks for them every time. Be aware the game doesn't have saving, but it's easy enough to play in one sitting.

Another nice and short story for Playdate. It's about the same length as EYELAND but features saving and an adorable story. What I especially love about this game is how clear the background design and sprites are, vitally important since the game asks you to examine almost everything in search of hidey spots. Unique text for inspecting objects is plentiful and well-written, and the inventory system amused me every time. While it doesn't reach the level of innovation I've seen in other Pulp games, it serves as a great example of what the engine is capable of for most people willing to give it a shot.

Swap Machina is essentially Panel de Pon for the Playdate! It doesn't innovate much on the classic formula but it didn't need to. It's a really well made match 3 game, even supporting online leaderboards for both of its difficulty modes. I like the mechanic theming too, and it makes the blocks easy to distinguish in lieu of color. Super addicting!

Much like Whitewater Wipeout before it, this isn't really a game for me. It feels like it will take too much practice (and a lot of trial and error) until I can pull off tricks that feel satisfying. That said, so far I like it more than WW if that counts for anything. The graphics are outstanding and the sound design is superb. In general the snowboarding environment is much more fleshed out compared to the simple wave of WW. From a difficulty perspective, the game is easier to get into because you can't actually "wipeout"; crashes just reset you to the slope and the run ends when you make it to the bottom. That mechanic alone may be enough for some people who bounced off WW to enjoy Carve Jr. more. For me, the game demands more time than I'm willing to put in but I might occasionally revisit it and try again.

Normally score chasing games aren't for me, but this is certainly one of the better ones. I love the diegetic UI and the transition between the menu and playing. The 3D perspective is really well-done and there are multiple control options. At first, I prefered D-pad and A/B button controls, and thought they were a bit clunky. After trying tilt controls, I found it way more fun (as long as you have good lighting). This is probably best implementation of tilt controls on Playdate.

There's not a lot of content: the game is simply a high score runner and an online leaderboard. But those two elements are so well-done that this is a must-buy if you like these kinds of games. Personally, I think the pace of the game is a bit too slow, and it takes a while to ramp up. I may play occasionally and do a run here and there, but its not something I will return to often.

I have not yet reached the end of the joke but I still have a great time playing this each time I pick it up. Great to show people, and worth every cent. The Catalog release adds an additional 1 cent joke, and even though I bought this on itch, just knowing there's another 1 cent joke is a good enough joke by itself.

I completed the main story but have yet to return for the free expansion content. This game has some fantastic things going for it: a relaxing soundtrack, great art, and a lovely phone interface in which the story is told. But ultimately I found it a struggle to remember to play every day, which is not a good sign for this kind of game. The farming-sim elements are very light, and the story was just barely interesting enough to keep me going (yet I hardly remember any of it almost a year later). But I was most disappointed by the disconnect between the story and the game mechanics, as what you are doing as a player rarely matches what Midori is describing in her life to her friends via text.

Although the game wasn't for me, I am very grateful for what this dev team was able to accomplish so early in the Playdate's life. They truly set the bar for others to match in terms of polish and quality.

I only played a few levels of this when it first came out last year. It's a cool little tower defense game with the twist that your player is the objective being defended. It features several types of enemies, a lore notebook which provides helpful tips on the various tools and monsters, some nice accessibility options, and cool sound effects that are slightly rhythmic. Oh, and there's a stats screen on the pause menu! I love when games do this. This is a well put together package that is definitely worth the low asking price, but for me personally the gameplay loop wasn't strong enough for me to come back and complete the game. Even without completing the game, the levels are randomly generated so there is extra replayability there.

If like me, you bounced off this game, check out Sketch, Share, Solve by the same developer! It's free (but you should donate) and has so much puzzly goodness.

You are a dog with a job, what's not to like! Actually, the core gameplay of receiving requests and flipping through a rolodex of contractors to find a match gets repetitive... And the game is also pretty easy once you get the hang of it. There's not much tension and with a few minutes of practice I was almost never making mistakes. That said, this game is super cute and I adored all the absurd requests that you get. "I'm starting a company, do you have an EXPENSIVE and UNRELIABLE attorney that might join?" I'm not sure how much of the writing or contractor profiles are randomly generated, but regardless the designers did a great job at leaning into the absurdity of the premise. Although it is easy and repetitive, it doesn't overstay its welcome as the "story" only takes around 10 minutes to beat. I probably won't play endless mode to aim for high scores, but I will boot it up occasionally to delight friends.

This is currently my least favorite Catalog game, but there's still stuff to like here. The music is good, the character art is charming, and the overall narrative concept of stealing treasures from billionaires is cute. I like the heist theme, I just wish it felt more like a heist game. The gameplay is essentially a timing-based vertical platformer: you control the vertical position of the thief with the crank and horizontal movement is automatic but the direction can be toggled. There isn't any tension, as security cameras and lasers only fill up a meter that can knock you off the hook if you stay in their line-of-sight long enough. Obstacles become no threat just by cranking through them at a mildly quick pace. Collecting all three medals on each level would be a little more of a challenge, but the movement is too loose for it to feel satisfying (plus there isn't a chapter select so replays aren't easy). Beating the game lets you play the campaign again as new characters, but the core mechanics remain the same and the levels only get a little bit more challenging.

Overall, the game is worth trying for the low price of free, and it doesn't take very long to beat. Maybe you'll enjoy it the mechanics more than I did!