Direct Drive is a thematic and engaging game about manually rotating a broken record player. You have the spin the record to match the speed of the singer, but the record and crank mapping isn't 1:1, so it behaves more like a flywheel with inertia. This adds a layer of complexity which requires a surprising amount of focus. In between levels (a.k.a music tracks), you watch story cutscenes, excellently rendered in the form of a silent movie. The cutscenes are one of the best parts of the game, and I looked forward to each one as much as the levels themselves. In addition to the 12 levels, there are also a couple of small mini games and the most robust achievement system I've seen on Playdate so far.

Everything about this product is executed to the highest degree of polish, and it takes advantage of every one of Playdate's unique features. The character art and animations are gorgeous, the writing is enjoyable, and there's even a well-integrated tutorial system for every new mechanic that is introduced. The music itself seems designed to be humorous, but there were a few tracks that I liked a lot. I enjoyed my time with this game enough to 100% it, and am eagerly awaiting the future content.