Playdate Season 3's Launch Titles are Top Tier
Playdate Season 3 is here. And even though the console and all of its accessories are currently sold out on the Playdate store—which is a bummer; I went to buy a pizza box cover just to discover that the entire storefront is empty—Panic plans to have more hardware available later this year. In the meantime, current owners can look forward to their weekly Season 3 deliveries, with the first two games dropping just yesterday.
One of those launch titles is Soggy Froggy, developed by Team Root—the crew behind the viral breakout hit Root Bear. It brings back that highly satisfying "get this just right" style of gameplay. But instead of pouring the perfect pint, you’re making sure your bathing frog doesn’t freeze, doesn't burn, and hits maximum enjoyment along the way.
You use the crank (of course) to cool the constantly heating water. It requires a skill not unlike the balancing act of Flappy Bird—riding the line between two extremes. You can hit bonuses in the middle for extra points, but from there, it’s a game of endurance as you try to maximize your score.
The animations were a standout in Root Bear, and Soggy Froggy is no exception.
It features adorable reaction animations across a few different frogs to show just how cold, hot, or happy they are as you attempt to give them the best bath possible.
Soggy Froggy reminds me a lot of Season 1’s first game, Whitewater Wipeout. That title not only taught me that micro-games on the Playdate are sublime, but that they’re sometimes fun enough to sink hours into.
One of the other games I was looking forward to this season was Gloom Gate, so I’m delighted it’s a day-one drop. A visual standout, Gloom Gate uses pre-rendered 3D models turned into 1-bit sprites. This ingenious technique allows for some great visuals on a Playdate’s limited hardware, and manages to do it at 50 FPS.
It is also the perfect foil to Soggy Froggy’s casual arcadeness. In Gloom Gate, you choose your path much like you would in a roguelite—branching paths in an overworld. You can find new gear, NPCs, and more as you explore each of the nodes. Of course, you’ll be running into enemies—and that’s where the soulslike comes in.
Combat in Gloom Gate is definitely soulslike—but only just. You have a stamina bar which restricts dodging and attacking. But dodging is a simple left and right maneuver—there’s no true 3D, even if the pre-rendered models want to fool you into thinking there is. Parry with B and attack with A. It’s that “simple” but enemies are tough, and parry windows aren’t very forgiving.
These day-one Season 3 Playdate games are fantastic and a good omen for things to come. I’m especially looking forward to Shaun Inman’s Cross Words. He was the solo developer behind Ratcheteer, which is both a great Playdate game and an excellent retro-style RPG that saw a wider release on Steam earlier this year. I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the games this season.
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