It's been a while since we last covered the Playdate, Panic's crank-operated handheld that has empowered a new generation of creators to make adorable retro-style games for a dedicated community. But that doesn't mean that we've stopped taking an interest in the tiny yellow machine.
We're always on the lookout for fun, new games for the handheld to spotlight over on the site, with the latest title to grab our attention being Little Bot Games' adorable new pocket-sized creature creator called Oblings. We first came across it yesterday (January 6th) after it was released on the Playdate Catalog, with the game immediately catching our attention, thanks to our love of video game character creation screens and art creation games like Mario Paint & the Mario Artist series.
It is pitched as a "Spore-like" creature creator, referencing the 2008 title from Maxis and Electronic Arts that let players create and control the development of a species. Similar to Spore, it focuses on "building bonkers beings" with the developers touting "infinite possibilities" regarding what you can create: from iconic characters from gaming and cartoons to your own weird, messed-up creations.
For some, this might not be enough to keep them entertained, but we imagine this is something that will go down well with adults who love procrastination, as well as younger kids, who aren't yet adept enough to handle challenging platformers but already know their way around an iPad.
The game is available to buy now for $6. You can watch a trailer of it below to get a better idea of what's possible: