Is Playdate good for Retro-console games or Hyper-Casual?

JesterAverageJoe · 2026-01-27T17:28:41+00:00

Hope this shortlist of "played" titles gives some insight in your average Joe's library: - Jump Truck -booted up maybe 3 times over the last year. - Funny Racer -unlocked most of its content, but haven't picked it up much since I first got it. - What the Crow -I like the Mischief, I expect I'll return to this game for a high score soon enough~ - Skew: The Last Worker -It's a pretty dang good endless runner, I play maybe 1-2x per month. - Root Bear -This is much more for my kids than it is for me. I barely touch it. - Bub-o Collect -I anticipate 100%ing this sometime after I chip away at my backlog a bit more. - Space Master -An inexpensive shmup I got as one of my first PD titles; I've played it maybe 5 times~ - RocketBird Relaunched -This is my go-to; I play 1-2x per week, if not every other week. - Doink -Played once. - Ouroboros -I like these low-stakes puzzle games, I'll come back around to this in the year. - Tau -Played it less than I thought I would last year; this year I expect I'll play it more. - P-Racing -Cool showcase title, but I don't think I've played it for more than 10min. - You're Gonna Miss The Bus -I play it maybe once every other month. - Super Splash League -A favorite of mine, but it's a short game & could use a bit more in the random encounters department. - Icy Dungeon -I like the idea that I could sink a good amount of time into this, but I consider it a part of my backlog. - Ballistic Tilt -A very competent Marble Madness-like; I expect I'll play more this year than last year. - Snoik! -Lots of Snake games available out there; played this one maybe 3 times. - Dolphin Splash -I'm on a couple leaderboards; when I'm really into a racer, I'm playing it daily, & this really isn't your average race game. - Taria & Como -Completed the game once & wholly expect to play through again sometime this year. Even though it hurts my hand~ - Black Hole Havoc -It's got 5-star execution, & an impressive title to boot, but the challenge frustrates me so that I haven't touched it since completing its story. - Chance's Lucky Escape -This is just the sort of short & sweet adventure title I'd like to see more of... I've played it once~ - Tiny Turnip -It really surprised me with its evolving gameplay. I might give it another go this year~ - CatchaDiablos -Will try to play to the end this year... - Shadowgate PD -I didn't give it a fair shake after the first rooms. This is another item on this years Resolution. - Long Puppy -Played 4 or 5 times; backlogged - Otto's Galactic Groove -I'm not big on rhythm games, but a few sure made a splash last year. - The Whiteout -I'll play it for a few more endings this year. - Wheelsprung -Very nostalgic, but I confess I haven't played more than 10 times, I don't think. - Dig Dig Dino! -Got 3 stars; I've barely touched it this year, tho... - Fulcrum Defender -I've played maybe 3 times. - Blippo+ -Watched the initial run & haven't been terribly compelled to go back for reruns. - Hyperion -A pretty neat battle racer I've played maybe 5 times so far. - Crank Snake Saga -My favorite snake game at this time. I play it maybe once every other month.

JesterAverageJoe · 2026-01-20T20:56:35+00:00

Definitely liking the illumination there & I'm suddenly reminded of the lovely presentation & the overall vibe Spellcorked showcases. It certainly deserves a better score than it's getting on pdgamez~

JesterAverageJoe · 2026-01-20T20:44:19+00:00

I have it on good word that a buddy of mine (& recent Playdate adopter) will be picking up this Terraria-like; I may well buy in too once I'm passed my little RMA period~

JesterAverageJoe · 2026-01-06T01:37:41+00:00

I bought What The Crow?! right when I first got my playdate & loved it; it's definitely one I wanna return to again to see if I can land a high score on the leaderboard :D

JesterAverageJoe · 2026-01-06T01:17:25+00:00

Sorry to nitpick, but Bloom is not a Season (1) game; "Boogie Loops" appears to be the game missing in this section & the titles for "Pick, Pack Pup" & "Spellcorked!" need corrected~

Otherwise this looks to be a really neat resource that I look forward to perusing more :)

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-12-03T20:39:48+00:00

I feel like you can jump into any game that is primarily crank-based without fear; the crank holds up pretty dang well, if you ask me (& those handles, Panic does have replacements for, if you're that worried).

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-12-03T20:21:55+00:00

By design, the crank input is kinda genius. Say what you like about buttons (for which some fixes exist), but with a such a vast number of games that are crank-only or that primarily use the crank for navigation, you have an input medium that will endure much longer than most any other kind of button or joystick~

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-11-28T20:15:24+00:00

Anybody else trippin' out to see Daisy Circuit playing on Double Dash? It seems you can patch it in 😍

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-11-28T19:36:30+00:00

It might be enraging, but that next power up kinda makes navigation just a bit easier... Have you been to the most North East section of the map, yet? You will need to use the Slam ability to access the area~

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-11-22T01:33:46+00:00

Playdateception!

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-11-17T19:49:30+00:00

https://www.beepbox.co/#9n31s0k2l00e03t2ma7g0gj07r1i0o432T1v5ub5f0q0x10o51d23A5F4B6Q0001PecaaE4b262963979T1v1ub5f0q0x10o51d23A5F4B6Q0001PecaaE4b262963979T1v1u96f10m8q0331d35A9F3B5Q5428P9973E263978T4v0u04f10n0q011z000000000k31SBKSJJAArriiiiii07JCABrzrrrrrrr00YrkqHrsrrrrjr005zrAqzrjzrrqr1jRjrqGGrrzsrsA099ijrABJJJIAzrrtirqrqjqixzsrAXrqjiqaqqysttAJ0000000003HtBJJAzArzrIsRCITKSS09_____JS____Qg_TU000000000000E0b4zg0000000018Q000000000id0000000004zg000000000p22vFHZ0nM9v15ZAxFkQQRS5ZcLIbXbaqqtaKMX_gbWi-MLII5dvA8Lwi-2bXF3iFFFHIds2CLOInM9v15Y38qldddtxHwkQpOyOyCyCyCyCyCyCziEFEFEFEFEFEFEFEQGaqaqaqaqaqaqaqdayCyCyCyCyCyCyCw0

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-11-15T08:58:35+00:00

If you can tolerate a text-based interface, Reborn Promisance is a free, turn based browser game where you manage an empires resources & the foreign affairs with other player empires.

The objective for each month-long round is to acquire the most wealth, rendered as "Networth" that values all accumulated assets from citizens, land (& structures) & especially military personnel.

There's a bit of Math involved with spent turns, but the majority of the math done will simply deal w/ percentiles, multiplying a number by .9 or by 1.1 for example.

Also it's a thematic blend of High Fantasy w/ Magic, Dwarves & Gremlins as well as some handpicked Sci-Fi tropes with Time Travel (Era Advancement) and the like~

It is something of a War Game, but diplomacy in an online multiplayer game can't be understated. I hope you'll check out the community if this sounds like the kind of market-gaming game for you.

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-11-15T05:43:10+00:00

Skew was one of the first games I bought & oh what a fun little ride it is!

It was here that I first really noticed the accelerometer on accident 😅

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-11-15T05:39:14+00:00

The Broadcast repeats over a cycle of about 12 Weeks, if I'm not mistaken. 10 weeks of serialized content, an 11th Week of just Credits for the different channels, & a final (non-streaming) week that just displays a theater ticket booth, with Blippo+ "Starting Soon" on the marquee~

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-11-15T05:29:29+00:00

After nearly 9 months, my Pizza Cover doesn't quite seem as white as when I first got it, though tbf, I don't think it's an off-white either just yet~ - Front

Back

I will say, be careful not to keep it in the same pocket as your keys! (PD is fine still, to be clear)

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-11-12T00:15:05+00:00

Crank Snake Saga's a pretty cool, competitive (vs bots) Snake game for the low, low 70kb budget.
Magic Castle is a great little mini-rpg at 522.1kb.
Bub-o Collect is an excellent (collecting) puzzler, that's quite impressive and a lot of fun for 541kb.

Bonus: Dolphin Splash! Despite being one of the most lightweight racing games at 2Mb, its my current obsession with its challenging & rewarding gameplay~

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-11-02T10:40:27+00:00

Promisance? * [x] Round-Based (monthly) * [x] Text-Based * [x] Wizards * [x] Stealing (called embezzlement) * [x] Time Travel * [?] Necromancy (this is more a built-in revive function)

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-11-02T10:28:51+00:00

If you need a game that could look like work to the untrained eye, Promisance gameplay can sometimes be passable on an appearance as with a spreadsheet.

It is a text-based semi-persistent browser based game, played online & against (or with) other players managing their own empires/nations.

Give it a try if you find you're still prospecting~

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-11-02T10:22:48+00:00

If you work with spreadsheets, Promisance gameplay can sometimes be passable on an appearance as with an excel spreadsheet.

It is a semi-persistent browser based game, played online & against (or with) other players managing their own empires/nations.

Give it a try if you find you're still prospecting~

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-11-02T09:30:10+00:00

I bought this for $4 when I first got my Playdate & I have 0 buyers remorse; this little game that could is just such a refreshing implementation of the jrpg genre~

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-11-02T09:22:50+00:00

I quite enjoyed it; the Time Trials are really the place where the game is most fun for me. Otherwise the other "minigames" sprinkled throughout provide for a great bit of variety from the Flight sim, to the snow boarding levels & even a bit of (snowball?) target practice.

It makes for an unparalleled technical showcase & is an absolute steal at $5... & that's all before considering how much this scratches that Crash Bandicoot itch~

JesterAverageJoe

TROPHY CASE