Still can’t make a Switch 2 preorder? Then you might want to consider the delightfully fun retro Playdate games console, which has just announced a batch of new games.
The console’s developer, Panic, has sold 70,000 devices since the Playdate console was launched, plus 290,000 game units. In the latest Playdate Update showcase, Panic announced Playdate Season Two: 22 new games to released two a week over six weeks from 29 May to 3 July.
When Playdate was first revealed in 2019, one of the original dreams for the platform was to have all Playdate owners experience a season of mystery games tailored for the hardware at the same time, more like a TV series more than a game release.
Due to a global pandemic and related logistics issues, that didn’t happen with the original console, but Playdate Season 2 now aims to deliver on that original idea.
Players can look forward to new games from Subset Games (Into the Breach, FTL: Faster Than Light), Popseed Studio Inc. with JuVee Productions, and more. There’s also a new Yellow Playdate Cover available to order.
Upcoming games include Fulcrum Defender developed by Subset Games, the makers of FTL: Faster Than Light and Into the Breach. It’s a crank-powered, arcade action game that we’re told is easy to pick up but difficult to master.
Jay Ma of Subset Games in the latest Playdate Update says the game was intended as a form of self-therapy while suffering with long Covid, but Jay ended up completing the game. “I wanted to make a replayable experience that starts off slow and relaxing, but gradually ramps up until it becomes frantic chaos,” he said in the latest Playdate Update.
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There’s also Taria & Como, developed by Popseed Studio Inc and JuVee Productions. This physics-based puzzle platformer is based on swinging instead of jumping. You play as Taria, a young girl with a prosthetic leg, as she rescues her little sister Como
“A physics platformer, powered by a crank, starring a disabled hero that can’t jump? Those are incredible ingredients for an incredible Playdate game. It’s original, wonderful, and exactly what we dreamed of for Playdate,” said Cabel Sasser, co-founder of Panic.
“A few years ago, my friend’s son was diagnosed with Tourette’s, and I began to think about what sort of stories he’d grow up with. As a disabled person, I’ve seen the same tropes recycled–pity case, inspiration, disability as a superpower, magical cures. Disability is complex, and we’re more than the inspirational fodder for able-bodied people. Taria & Como is the story I wish I had growing up.” – Kip Henderson, the creator of Taria & Como said.
Meanwhile, the classic point-and-click adventure Shadowgate has been reimagined by Pixel Ghost (Life’s Too Short) with all new music, art and functionality.
And Dig! Dig! Dino!, developed by Dom 2D (Flinthook) & Fáyer (Arco), is a game about digging for dinosaur bones and other treasure. You’ll get to piece together skeletons and strange artifacts and sell coins and treasure to build an arsenal of digging tools to go deeper.
Other titles will include:
- Chance’s Lucky Escape by Goloso Games (Spike II: The Great Emu War) and Julia Minamata (The Crimson Diamond)
- Long Puppy by Indiana-Jonas (Surmount)
- Otto’s Galactic Groove by Team Otto (Skwish)
- Catchadiablos by Amano Games (Pullfrog Deluxe)
- The Whiteout by Scenic Route Software (Post Hero, Generations)
- Black Hole Havoc by Cosmic Bros (Jolly Chimp Champ)
- Wheelsprung by Nino van Hooff (Gravity Express) and Julie Bjørnskov (Escape the Arcade)
- Tiny Turnip by Luke Sanderson (Paper Pilot)
Pre-orders for the season are now open on Playdate Catalog for $39. For those without a Playdate, there is still time to get one to experience the games of Season Two. Units are available at shop.play.date for $229, with refurbished units now $179.
Also see our pick of the best retro games consoles.
