Lucas Pope’s Mars After Midnight is coming to consoles on Playdate on March 12th

Panic just held a game showcase revealing over a dozen upcoming exclusives. The company also announced a much-anticipated March 12 launch date mars after midnight which is probably the first console title.

Mars after midnight is a game created by the famous developer Lucas Pope, the man behind Documents please and The Return of Aubra Dean. Both titles were and

Mars after midnight looks to take a few cues from Documents please, as you play as the gatekeeper of an alien colony tasked with letting humans in. Lo-res graphics look stunning, which is a calling card of both Pope and Playdate itself. It also uses the adorable little console crank.

Lucas Pope’s latest creation wasn’t the only news from today’s presentation, however. Panic also revealed 16 games that are scheduled to appear on the platform “in 2024 and beyond.” These include a great-looking cheater/golf-like hybrid called far fairway, pixel art brawler Midnight Raider and a sci-fi RPG by name For Home, among 13 others.

Company CEO Cabel Sasser also took the time to reiterate that the Playdate console has no wait time. It’s been a long time coming, and Panic says it’s finally “caught up” to more than 70,000 pre-orders.

Playdate’s online store, called Catalog, is approaching its one-year anniversary. To celebrate, Panic is holding its first ever storewide sale from March 7th to March 14th. Many of so console owners will probably have a field day here.

For the uninitiated, the Playdate is a cute and bright yellow, with a hand crank that is used as an additional control mechanism in many games. Each $200 console comes with 24 free titles, with two unlocked each week for 12 weeks.