usually i just avoid VNs, they're not my thing, i do not attempt to play them and therefore never have to review them.

but as this was given to me as part of the playdate system itself, i tried it.

probably made it worse that I wasn't aware it was a VN till it was painfully too late.

allegedly this has gameplay, I never got there, I was so wildly frustrated with the boring and gratingly twee dialogue to even reach a 'level'

oh well.

probably a game for fans of steven universe, i have no idea why i think that.

Omaze feels like the gold standard of Playdate puzzle games.
This is the Portal of my yellow crank machine.

Genuinely tho, the style and sound design are excellent, the mechanics are just deep enough to be engaging and the game is just long enough to show them off.

Like the original Portal, this game is only long enough to demonstrate and test its ideas, strung together by excellent art design to keep you engaged and make it memorable.

I almost wish they hadn't given me pick-pack-pup before this. That way the 'return the crank' mechanic would have blown my mind. (tbh it still kinda did)

Foddy has long held that he feels "it’s a worthwhile exercise for any game designer to make a chess variant, a dice variant and a Pong variant."

I'd almost call 'Zipper' his soulslike.
Maybe an overstatement, but it is certainly in that realm of risk and repeat, callous brutality, etc... (I know it's a stretch but it felt right so idk)

Zipper is a retro computer era inspired action puzzler that has the player control a samurai on his quest to assassinate a nobleman of sorts.

You move in one of four directions at a time for as many spaces as can be achieved in a straight line. Enemies get as many 'moves' as you do for the most part. You can use the crank to visualize what will happen ahead of committing to a move, every mistake is your fault since you can literally SEE what's about to happen.

After some trial and error you'll easily master this game and see it through.

Zipper is not truly on the scale of 'getting over it' but it's certainly another masterclass in simple game design.

This game kept me coming back until I felt I had it beat, and then i still came back to see if I could do it any better.

a neat take on asteroids that feels great on playdate, had I not come here to review it I'd have lived blissfully with the delusion that it was a true playdate title.
You can decide for yourself if this matters to you, but it does to me.
the fact this was ported elsewhere takes a little something away from it for me...

That said, it's one of the games I find myself coming back to more than any other.

An extremely cute little puzzler by the legend Lucas Pope.
It essentially interpolates a simple version of 'paper's please' with a neat crank mechanic and some cleaning/organizing mechanics.

The story is minimal but portrays character nonetheless.

It's clear Pope wanted to keep it minimal but did so with his usual charm and subtle depth.

There's certainly room to apply difficulty if he really wanted to, ultimately the game is extremely easy and there's nothing wrong with that.

A small passion project that relives classic stealth ops games with minimalist gameplay and nostalgic aesthetic.

In no way superior to it's inspirations nor meaningfully distinct but I honestly don't fault it for that in the slightest.

Sometimes it's nice to have more of a thing I like for a couple of hours.

Tied together by some solid art and sound design, it was worth the time/money invested to enjoy it.

I will also say that sometimes less is more even in terms of challenge and mechanics.

Another masterpiece by Gregory Kogos.

After his incredible omaze this pseudo-metroidvania is a superb follow-up.

Both games exemplify the consoles strengths with charm and creativity.

Short titles as you'd expect for the platform but Portal-esque replay value and bar-raising qualia.

Assuming Panic never does a season 2, consider this your graduated Omaze title.

I'm going to start by simply saying this game is incredible and should be played.

uncritically: Figment is fun, inventive, charming, and enjoyable for its entire runtime. Clearly made with love and passion by some cool folks, and feels as though it specifically appeals to tryhard casuals like myself.

that said, I have some critical notes both positive and negative. If you're remotely interested in this game, please go play it and don't bother reading on. If you're a dev, the dev of this game, or a fellow asshat, please read onward.

The good:
-The games visuals and sound design are great, evoking a minimalist yet inspired take on the inner workings on a human mind. Not as all-out psychedelic as a psychonauts, but certainly on the right track.
-The musical numbers are charming.
-The writing is surprisingly deep and had me grinning to myself repeatedly for its interesting discourse on psychology and emotions. I suspect this game was written by folks who knew their stuff and/or did their research.
-The gameplay is satisfying if somewhat shallow, but frankly that works for it IMO. Not every game needs to be For Honor, the minimalist hack and slash combat works well and has enough depth to sustain the runtime.
-Puzzles are clever and engaging, I actually had to pay attention to solve them.
-The boss fights are satisfying and just challenging enough for the overall vibe of the game.

The mixed:
-Some of the writing is a little contentious. I would never fault a game for taking a political stance I disagree with, I only fault them for being intolerant about it (ie BioShock) This game walks the line a few times in good spirits, I wouldn't say they shouldn't have done, I'd instead question who the target audience is and weather the situations and ideas posed (and posed right in the open) are a strong choice.
The game poses some head-scratchers about politics that I'm not sure it absolutely needed. Again, only calling this mixed.
-the target audience: on the prior note and to be less cagey about it, some of the topics described, political and just in general, are kinda heavy. Like the game covers topics about morals, values, politics, and the validity of life choices. Most of the plot is about suppressing emotional responses. It's hard stuff for some people to understand and appreciate. I enjoyed 99.9% of the mature content but this game is a colorful musical, casual beat-em-up... was this, supposed to be for kids??? it's too hard and too heavy for young kids, too casual and twee for serious gamers. I guess the target audience is Nintendo adults. Just something the devs should really think about I guess.
-The Sound design could use some work, and sadly this is one of those costly realities. There's no real way to subvert the cost of quality virtual instruments (or real orchestras) and it's noticeable to my partially trained ear.

The bad:
-the voice acting, it's borderline intolerable. Some characters are better than others, and the actual mic quality sounds inconsistent. Another problem that's really hard to actually fix.

I wish I had more constructive things to say honestly. the reality is that this games biggest drawbacks were strictly budgetary in nature (a problem most devs have zero control over.)

Which is why I refuse to fault it. The game is excellent for what it is, and makes me want what it could be if this team were more successful.

Which is why I'll be keeping an eye on this team with great excitement for their future output.

Finally having finished this game, all I can say is that you should play it.

Tunic takes the best parts of zelda, dark souls, fez, and echochrome and turns them into a perfect package.

It's never too hard or uninviting yet effortlessly evokes all the wonder and mystery of classic adventure games.

To call the game derivative would be extremely unfair, but no inaccurate. Does that make it any worse? absolutely not. The tiny dev team may not have 'left a penny' but it's the best spent penny I've ever seen.

Tunic manages to tap into that rare and ineffable experience of receiving a hand-me-down copy of an incredible video game from yesteryear. No hints, no advice, no manual.

The world is layered with more secrets than you can possibly imagine, harkening back to the many conspiracies of early console games.

The minimalist storytelling, and near wordless narrative capture the existential nature of a souls game but in a way that's far less of a downer.

If you've ever experienced first or secondhand, the magic of a nostalgic video game classic, this game allows you to dive all the way into that feeling.

It materializes that thing that lives only in memories, in a way the actual classics no longer can (for most of us.)

Funnily enough I pre-ordered this game way back when it was being hyped alongside the Xbone, somehow or another I ended up canceling my pre-order.

Years later I continually remembered this game existed but never actually bought it, I have dozens of vivid memories of almost purchasing this.

A full decade later I finally played it... turns out it was a banger the whole time.

I've nothing particularly constructive to say other than: this is the actual bar.

This is what a modern AAA shooter should be, it's honestly baffling how far we've fallen from it.

Is the story 100% perfect? no.
Is the level design 100% perfect? no.
etc...etc...

but everything is extremely enjoyable from start to finish.
Every idea feels polished to full actualization, the setpieces match the budget, the gameplay is smooth and rarely shows signs of undertaking.

Crucially, the levels are designed in a way that modernizes the original. Too many so call 'boomer shooters' these days are built like the new Doom games, which have none of the strategy or pacing of the classics. Actual boomer shooters tended to have resource management, and careful pathfinding. The new Doom games slap you into an arena and have you fight around in circles. The classics had you peering around doorways playing your life.

This game brings that back and polishes it with a mix of stealth and cover shooting. It's not the pinnacle of depth in either direction but it's certainly fun and functional.

The game is a polished AAA product like it damn well should be.

If you've never gotten around to this one I wholeheartedly recommend it.

At the very least it's a sad reminder of the time when AAA developers/publishers had a healthy relationship with their consumers.