El primer juego "oficial" de la temporada es un juego de recolección al estilo de Pokémon, con un poco de "Snap" para darle algo de originalidad. Parece interesante, pero en la práctica se juega como una versión larga del minijuego del Cuckoo de Ocarina of Time. Más allá del carácter introductorio que ofrece, este juego parece un experimento a medio concluir, en el que la variedad de los pájaros no puede solventar la simpleza del resto del juego.

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The first "official" game of the Playdate season is a Pokémon-like collect-a-thon, with a bit of "Snap" added to it for originality purposes. It looks neat, but in practice it plays like a long version of the Cuckoo mini-game from Ocarina of Time. Aside from its introductory, it feels like this game is an half-baked experiment that doesn't justify the simplicity of its gameplay, despite having so many birds to collect and photograph.

I finally got my Playdate! Woah! This device is super well made and cool. The screen is surprisingly quite high-resolution and the crank is a really cool addition for a gameboy. Only complaint is I wish it had a backlight, but playing near a lamp does give me nostalgia when I used to do the same on the old Gameboy.

Anyways, this is one of the first games unlocked on the Playdate, and it is a pretty good introduction to the system. It is a fairly standard top-down adventure (like say a 2D Zelda) where the main mechanic is taking photos (mostly of birds). When you take photos, you have to use the crank to focus the camera, which is a pretty cute use of the crank. Most of the game is exploring the somewhat small world, finding key items, and helping out townsfolk. There are moments where you have to take a photo of something specific and show it to one of the characters to progress, but it isn't as frequent as I would like. As a consequence, the photo-taking can feel somewhat unimportant to the game as a whole, which is a bazaar decision where that is the main mechanic.

I will say that I really like the animations and sprites in the game. They look very nice and really showcase the high-resolution screen of the Playdate. The writing is also fairly amusing and light-hearted, which I like.

Overall, it's a pretty good entry to the Playdate . It's not mind-blowing or anything, but it is a overall solid and fun game. Looking forward to next games I unlock on the Playdate!

Casual Birder felt very much like a bite-sized version of the classic 2D Zeldas. With its top-down view, absurdist town plagued by a gang of bad apples who take birding way too seriously, slapstick humor, and meta references, the game truly is a love letter to OG adventure games as much as it is a love letter to birds. The picture-taking mechanic is definitely one of the most fleshed out features I’ve seen thus far for the console. And one that I actually enjoyed engaging in. I’m excited to think how they can add to it in a potential sequel, which I hope we’ll see someday.

Of course, some obnoxious design choices like the dark cave section keep me from declaring the game as flawless in its execution, and a couple of the birds are way too hard to photograph. For good and for bad (but mostly good), Casual Birder is quite the dead ringer to games like Link to the Past and Earthbound. Suffice it to say I can see why it is one of the most beloved of all the seasonal releases. And ironically enough, it needing to be short and succinct on account of being a Playdate entry actually allows it to reach it’s highest highs much quicker than most games, without overstaying its welcome a second too long.

The second of the Playdate's first week of games, Casual Birder is a more traditional adventure game, set in a small town entirely comprised of incredibly passionate bird watchers. You travel around town with your camera phone, attempting to take pictures of all the available birds while going up against the local gang. The humor of this game is its high point, as it embraces slightly absurd situations in mundane environments, giving it strong EarthBound vibes. The writing is pretty witty, and there are a few legitimate laugh out loud moments. It did take a little bit before it gained my attention though, and I think the biggest fault with the game is the photography aspect itself. You use the D-pad to move the viewfinder across the screen and the crank to focus, but it always felt a bit clunky to me, and there are a number of birds that move quickly across the screen, which makes capturing their image an exercise in frustration. Unlike Whitewater Wipeout, there's an hour or two of content here, as well as an actual ending, although it's definitely a lot less exciting from moment to moment. Together though, these two pair well as the first two giveaway games, and I'm eager to try out more.

This is a lovely introduction to the Playdate. It's just the sort of small, charming thing I'd expect out of a small, charming device. This game has the personality of games like Toem, all about chill exploration of a small town. I enjoyed figuring out how to track down each one of the game's 27 birds while getting to know the town's characters. Focusing the camera with the crank wasn't the most engaging of gameplay quirks given it felt laggy when focusing and moving simultaneously, but this didn't greatly detract from such a chill game where precision isn't important.

Really cute little game. This is basically exactly what I hoped Playdate would be - short and sweet, unique, the kind of thing people might not take a chance on but given a platform where it can shine. The writing's maybe a little too twee for my tastes sometimes, but it's fun and I chuckled at a lot of it. Cranking to focus photos is perfect. Loved it.

My copy came unpatched so I played without a few clarity improvements, so I got stuck in a few places. I didn't realize the park existed for a long time, so I wasted a lot of time trying to photo birds in the forest that you can't possibly do with the starter camera. Looks like it's a bit clearer if you play the latest version.