Introduction

Panic announced the Playdate game console back in 2019. Due to the pandemic and manufacturing issues, the playdate wasn’t released to backers until April of 2022. The Playdate just become available to purchase without a preorder in the last couple of months.

Overview

The playdate is a handheld games console made by Panic with some design work done by Teenage Engineering. At first glance at this device you will notice two things. The first of those things being that it has a crank. This is strictly used for control purposes. The screen is the other thing that will pop out at you. It may look like an e-ink screen (many YouTubers will incorrectly identify it as such) but it is actually a special LCD screen made by Sharp. Feature-wise it shares some elements in common with e-ink. The screen doesn’t require a constant flow of power to leave pixels on the screen. It is also highly reflective.

It’s all about the games

A new console is nothing without a robust library of games. Panic decided to do something different when it came to the games. Once you purchase your playdate and start using it you will start to get a season of games, 2 at a time. This will carry on for 12 weeks. You can also purchase games on the recent addition of the catalog on the device. The website “itch.io” also sells playdate compatible games. At this point there are well over 100 games available for the device.

What sort of games can you play on a device that has a 2.7 inch 1 bit display and a crank?

Thanks to the innovative developers, all sorts. Developers are faced with limited resources, and like back in the 80’s and 90’s they had to get creative to overcome those limitations. The resulting games are unique to the system, and often times unlike any games that you have seen before. A feature that called out to me was the fact that they offer the SDK for free, and also have a simple web development tool called Pulp to create tile based games. Many of the itch.io games are actually games created by the community.

So what is the catch?

On paper this device sounds amazing, right? In reality it is amazing, but it does come with its drawbacks. The biggest one is the screen. This is not to say that the screen is bad, but more to complain that it is really hard to see unless you are in a very well lit room. In that way it does take me back to the days of the Gameboy.

The screen is amazing as it is super high contrast, and very sharp. But it has no back or front light. The one technical hurdle the player must get creative to overcome is the screen. It is like the screen of an e-ink reader in many ways. However unlike modern incarnations of those devices, the Playdate has no front or backlight.

The other issue is the price. The PlayDate is currently retailing for 199.99. I think that if you are interested in playing lots of indie games, and maybe even build your own, and don’t mind the devices limitations it is well worth the price. For that price Panic also releases 2 games a week for 12 weeks as a part of the Season 1 of their catalog. The retail price of 199.99 is still a lot of money.

Conclusion

The PlayDate is an interesting device. It will not replace your Sony/Xbox/Nintendo console, but it will be nice device to play on your lunch break, or in line at the Post Office. In a time where games are getting bigger and more expensive, the PlayDate is a breath of fresh air. You won’t get any well known franchises. That means lots of new ideas. All of those new ideas are almost entirely made with the PlayDate’s unique features in mind.

You have to ask yourself if Panic’s unique take on portable gaming is appealing to you. If the values that the PlayDate represents appeals to you then you will not regret buying this unique handheld games console.