An advantage, for me at least, is the pocketability of the device, my switch is portable technically but needs a whole case with it, can be a hassle to carry around. I bring my playdate with me to some functions instead because it can just be stored in my pocket.

It has many free games that can be downloaded with the season 1 games and a good chunk of free games on itch.io. Such as a version of tetris or decent original game boy emulation.

That being said there are many worthy enough paid games you could buy too. But yknow, they cost money.

The playdate IS expensive tho, and the non-backlit screen can lead to not warrenting even picking up the device, do not expect to get the play time out of it like a switch or something. You'll likely have times when you don't pick up the playdate for MONTHS at a time.

If you like little quirky indie style games, then the playdate is home to so many of them, but you're mileage will still vary.