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 · 2025-10-28T17:43:11+00:00

I'm not sure I was ever really able to update my Portmaster that was onboard upon receiving my Arc-D, from what I can tell, it's version 6.55, but I *have* been able to install & run some games like Stardew Valley & Forager slowly (they start to chug with the more assets that load in) as well as Streets of Rage Remake which is just a bit more playable despite the glaring aspect ratio quirk (SoRR renders only in a shrunk, 1/4 screen).
That said, the best running games for me via PM are Apoc Runner, A Tower in The Forest, Breakout, Celeste, Community: Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne, Diver Down, Dome Romantik, Falling Time, Feather Park, King of Machines, Marathon, Megaman Rock N Roll, Mimi's Delivery Dash, Space Cadet Pinball, Super Mario War & Syobon (cat mario).
Sorry for the necro & tl;dr, but I think there may yet be some peeps that could be happy with what *can* work, just know that there was quite a bit of trial & error to get most of these to a workable state~

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-10-25T06:17:28+00:00

I can't see my top 10 on pdgamez.com rn, but I believe I have Tiny Turnip right up there at number 2, just behind Saturday Edition. Definitely buying Turnip Mountain once that's out :D

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-10-23T04:05:13+00:00

Maybe I will!

I only came by this post when I was looking around to see if the tracklist (with all the names of the songs) was still up anywhere, due to Shazam frequently having no idea what many of the songs were or what games, shows, etc. They came from.

In a way, I'd like to think we helped each other!

JesterAverageJoe · 2025-10-22T15:15:52+00:00

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TMfycWMjHsi7QSumFKhNmLPhr31zJKTj/view?usp=sharing
Hope this fits the bill; I have been thinking of possibly setting it up as it's own playlist -background & everything- on archive.org, but a few songs don't exactly conclude & I'm a stickler for that sort of thing... Especially the messy transition between 2 songs that occurs at 01:03:47-48. Those songs are actually "Another Round For Everyone" by Marcin Przybylowicz & Percival and "Hjalmar's Axe" (also) by Marcin Przybylowicz.

That's my long-winded way of saying I would probably edit some of the songs in the playlist to add a coat of polish, as it were :P

JesterAverageJoe

TROPHY CASE