There’s a Playdate game show on February 28th

The little console that could, the Playdate, gets at 12:00 PM ET. Manufacturer Panic promises a 14-minute presentation full of new games that may or may not use the console’s weird little crank.

We only know one game that will be featured at the event, but it’s terrible. Lucas Pope, the creator behind it and was busy preparing a Playdate title called Mars after midnight. We’ll likely get a new trailer for the game, which was first revealed in 2021. Panic also says the event will include a “release update” to the title. So, the long wait is almost over.

Mars after midnight to documents please albeit on an alien world rather than a fictional Cold War era country. You play as a gatekeeper to an alien colony tasked with letting people in. That sure sounds a lot like it Documents please me. As you can see the graphics look absolutely gorgeous and the game certainly makes use of this crank.

Panic hasn’t teased any other games that will take center stage during the launch, so it’s anyone’s guess. It’s a weird console that practically demands unique gameplay elements, so we could be in for some neat surprises. The company said the event won’t include any hardware updates for those looking for a Playdate 2.

To that end, the console is almost two years old, but it’s up for grabs. Prior to last week, customers had to wait months after ordering the console before delivery. You will now receive one within two to three days.

For the uninitiated, Panic has created a truly distinctive and bright yellow Playdate features a traditional D-pad, two buttons and, most importantly, a crank-based control mechanism. The console costs $200 and each purchase gives you 24 free games, with two unlocked each week for 12 weeks. This is the first developer showcase for Playdate