Andrea Baroni’s Midway to Daybreak is unbelievably bleak for a recreation you possibly can play from begin to end in about 10 minutes. I imply that as a praise; it’s the very best horror expertise I’ve had on the Playdate but.
As somebody who tends to gravitate in direction of all issues spooky, one of many issues I’ve been most concerned with as I discover what’s on the market for Playdate is seeing how builders will make horror work for the bizarre little handheld. Midway to Daybreak takes a blended method: within the first half, it’s a text-based narrative recreation the place you’re scavenging for sources and readying your self for the lengthy night time forward; within the second, it’s an all-out battle to your life towards an onslaught of eldritch creatures.
Midway to Daybreak wastes no time in setting a temper of desolation and impending doom, starting with dialogue from our protagonist about feeling “as lifeless as these scattered stays of humanity” in a metropolis overtaken by some unnamed terror. In the course of the narrative portion of the sport, you will need to select amongst completely different places to go to — the mall, pharmacy, gun retailer and a home — so you possibly can hopefully discover issues like first support kits, weapons, ammo and traps. However there’s no telling whether or not every of those journeys might be profitable.
You would possibly discover a field of shotgun shells however by no means get your arms on a shotgun to really use them. You would possibly even get damage whereas scavenging. There’s additionally the choice to relaxation, which is able to replenish your well being bar (whilst you’ll begin with full well being on Straightforward mode, Laborious will begin you with two out of the six well being factors already depleted). However an hour will move after every choice, and you need to keep acutely aware of the time. The clock begins at 6PM, and as soon as it strikes 1AM, you’ll be compelled to exit and defend your self towards the monsters till daybreak.
At this level, the sport turns into a top-down shooter — and relying on the way you fared with sources, a fairly difficult one at that. Monsters might be closing in on you from all sides, a few of them more durable to take down than others, and you may solely replenish ammo and first support kits out of your finite provide at set breaks marking the passage of 1 hour. In case you run out earlier than then, you’ll don’t have any alternative however to attempt to battle off the monsters with a knife, which you’ll swing utilizing the crank. That’s about as efficient as you’d assume it’s.
Midway to Daybreak is a really, very quick recreation, nevertheless it actually had me sweating on some runs. It’s a enjoyable one to maintain coming again to, for the reason that randomness of useful resource assortment makes for a distinct expertise every time. And the strain of all of it is completely rounded out by a synth-heavy soundtrack (obtainable on Bandcamp), which might be proper out of an ‘80s B-horror film. If creepy is your factor, that is positively a recreation to take a look at. Midway to Daybreak is on the Playdate Catalog and itch.io for $5.