PAX West 2019: Panic’s PlayDate – First Impressions

The initiative to create more innovative technology this generation has been a marvel for gaming as a media continues to amaze me along with the millions of users in the currently growing industry. Witnessing the debut of Nintendo’s handheld hybrid console with the Switch in early 2017, rewiring the definition of portable gaming alongside the removable Joy Cons is something that might have been concepted as a far future dream we could only wish to indulge in nearly two decades ago.

Atop of that with Microsoft’s Accessible Controller being yet another technological achievement, allowing those who are unable to properly hold a traditional gamepad by creating a new alternative for all players to enjoy gaming that suits their condition. For a cheaper price than custom-created controllers, varying button mapping, and appealing design proved to milestone for modern technology within the gaming market.

Now what exactly might be the next device that will push the standards of gaming entirely? Well, that looks to be the recently announced PlayDate from Portland-based publisher Panic. During my time on the show floor at this year’s Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, I was able to get my hands on the upcoming device and really see what all the chatter is about this new handheld.

First off, I was aware of the device’s development prior to it being present at the annual event. While many faces on the internet did announced their interested impressions for the handheld even before holding the new tech, I was more content to its announcement. While the crank is a wildcard trait of the PlayDate for my first suspicion of the device, I ultimately did not strive to learn more following its release.

However, once I did manage to try Panic’s new handheld, I was instantly grabbed. No planned appointments, I willingly waited on line for my turn that swiftly persuaded me to stalk the PlayDate’s release date. And all this happened during over the one game that was available for the demo: Crankin’s Time Travel Adventures.

Parallel with the PlayDate’s announcement, Panic shared that the publisher picked up Keita Takahasi who created the Katamari Damacy and QWOP‘s creator Bennet Foddy, so by default it was expected unique titles will be coming exclusively to the handheld. Demoing the game on the show floor, the title was equipped with its own cleverness that would be expected from projects that the device projects to resemble towards for nostalgia grabs.

Essentially, the game plays as derived from the name: you control a robot who must reach his machine of interest and each time fails to do so in time where he is then met with some sort of repercussion for his tardiness. As you attempt to reach your robot girlfriend, the same still continues to happen the more you play. How you do so is directly with the crank that is attached to the right side of the PlayDate. Eventually after about four or five times, you run into the first obstacle of the game, which is a butterfly.

Finally facing this hurdle, it instantly stumped me on what to do next. I continued droning the same forward cranking a few more times, but still ran into the same antagonizing insect. It wasn’t until I accidentally cranked backwards that I noticed to be doing something right. Just as I rotated the crank in reverse, the robot retraced his steps as time reversed. However, as the robot continued stepping back, the butterfly continued to move forward which opened the window to overcoming this obstacle.

Retracting my progress, I reached a part where the robot would bend over to smell some flowers before meeting his demise to restart the segment. But staying in the bent over pose for a few moments soon left the butterfly to fly over and pass our robot. This where I then began to crank forward again to finally progress forward again. Follow suit, I was met with similar scenarios that required me to crank back and forward to continue advancing ahead. That was until the timer for the game expired.

Ultimately, my experience with the PlayDate even up to writing this truly grabbed my interest into anticipating for the handheld’s pre-order information officially going up. With interesting enough titles and scheduled release seasons planned for the game’s unique library, I am more than ready to pay the $149.99 for this new device. Continue reflecting on my enjoyment during the short hands-on demo of the arriving handheld, I do suggest those who have yet to open up to the PlayDate to look into Panic’s new crank-connected device.

The PlayDate is said to arrive sometime in 2020 with 12 games to arrive with the handheld in the first season of games.