Reel Steal is a vertical progressing, height-based platformer where you control your thief character as you smash and grab loot from rich moguls and magnates to get back at them. You start from the top of the level - the building you’ve infiltrated - and by using the crank you control your descent, and once you’ve grabbed the loot, your ascent too. The one kink in the design for me is the perpetual horizontal strafing your character is forced to do at all times. The idea is for you to wait until your character is lined up just right to continue your descent into the level, or if you’re an impatient person, to use the face button to manually change your direction of movement at any time.

At no point are you given the ability to be completely still. Even when you are changing your movement direction you are always in motion. While this adds some intended challenge, the ergonomics of the handheld makes for an uncomfortable hand position if you want to use the crank and have constant access to the face button at the same time, at least for me. This usually meant unless I was feeling particularly impatient, I just waited for my character to loop around the right direction. The time loss was negligible for a game like this, but even still, with all things being equal I think forgoing the forced horizontal movement altogether would be a more satisfying choice. To compensate they could just elaborate on the trap and level design.

The levels themselves I found as endearing as the characters. Short bursts of simple platforming that wouldn’t be out of place on the homepage of coolmathgames.com, if anyone remembers that oasis that every middle schooler lauded. The campaigns are thematic, with repeated replays encouraged with small tweaks and new character abilities. I did it only twice, but I can see myself returning at some point. My favorite little detail though has got to be the option to leave a customizable calling card at the end of every level. It’s like a cursed etch-a-sketch that challenges your creativity and dare I say artistic capabilities. I love little bursts of character and flavor like that. As small as an aspect as that is, it’s the kind of thing that sticks with you when you think of the game.

Another thing that sticks with me is the perplexingly low ratings from other users. Beside the one issue I find with the control scheme, Reel Steal runs and plays like a charm. I’m a subscriber to the different strokes for different folks mentality, but I don’t want it left unsaid that this game isn’t earnest in what it’s trying to do. Given that it’s one of the handful of free games for the Playdate, there’s really no reason to not give it a chance.

A rare free game for the Playdate that doesn’t come from the seasonal catalogue, Recommendation Dog!! is the fast-paced brother of Root Bear in spirit and function, though noticeably lacking any delicious puns in this instance. I guess the developers just wanted you to be a dog with a job for some reason, fair enough I suppose. Where they substantively differ is in the details.

Recommendation Dog!! is more about pure speed and image recognition, with you trying to match prospective customers with a suitable worker for their problem as fast as possible to serve as many people as you can before the time is up. From starving customers in need of a chef, to people who just want to see some magic tricks, the rolodex of workers you’re given to search in order to fulfill as many clients’ needs as possible makes for a dizzying list of characters.

Besides that, it’s not so different from your typical score-chaser. It has a “story mode” that is extremely easy and over before you know it. The length is fine, but for a title offering such an inconspicuous challenge it should have been much tighter on the required timing of each level. It has an endless mode as well of course. I wasn’t nearly as drawn to spend too much time on it for this game. When the game’s difficulty is only capped by raw hand speed, I can only get so much better before I’ve had my fill. Still, for a free title I would say it’s a decent one.

Just what is says on the tin, Root Bear is a score-chaser game where you have a minute to fill as many glasses for thirsty bears as possible before times runs out. Unlike Whitewater Wipeout, there’s some extra elements here that add to it beyond simply cranking for your life. Which I’m especially thankful for, as I’m in no rush for my poor crank to wear out.

For one thing, trying to balance speed and precision is not only rewarding, but requires a fair bit of practice. While it’s true you can fill the cups quicker by pouring at a higher volume, using the predictive pour shadow isn’t so simple. It has this hard to describe pour stop delay/exponential pour speed growth that you have to try for yourself to really know what I’m talking about. Regardless of the technical explanation, it’s an addictive loop. Plus I can’t resist trying to get better when that sweet little harp twang and bear doing the bon appetit symbol is my reward for a perfect pour.

I believe Root Bear was briefly viral a few months back, when the aforementioned reward screen, failed pour screen (which is equally funny), and punny premise grabbed the indie corner of the internet by the joystick. And if for no other reason than it putting the game on my radar, I’m grateful for that. With a reasonably capped high score on account of a one minute round timer, it doesn’t feel unattainable to try for a new record, even if just by one point. Root Bear is a terminally easy to pick up and put down game. It may not be an all-time lister as far as the Playdate catalogue goes, but it’s genuinely one of my favorite entries in the score-chaser genre and a fantastic example of what the Playdate should strive to host.