Andrea Baroni’s Midway to Daybreak is unbelievably bleak for a sport you’ll be able to play from begin to end in about 10 minutes. I imply that as a praise; it’s the most effective 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 fascinated by 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 sport the place you’re scavenging for assets and readying your self for the lengthy night time forward; within the second, it’s an all-out combat in your life in opposition to 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. Through 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’ll be able to hopefully discover issues like first assist kits, weapons, ammo and traps. However there’s no telling whether or not every of those journeys can be profitable.
You may discover a field of shotgun shells however by no means get your fingers on a shotgun to really use them. You may even get damage whereas scavenging. There may be additionally the choice to relaxation, which is able to replenish your well being bar (when 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 go after every choice, and you must keep acutely aware of the time. The clock begins at 6PM, and as soon as it strikes 1AM, you’ll be pressured to exit and defend your self in opposition to the monsters till daybreak.
At this level, the sport turns into a top-down shooter — and relying on the way you fared with assets, a fairly difficult one at that. Monsters can be closing in on you from all sides, a few of them tougher to take down than others, and you’ll solely replenish ammo and first assist kits out of your finite provide at set breaks marking the passage of 1 hour. In the event you run out earlier than then, you’ll don’t have any selection however to attempt to combat off the monsters with a knife, which you’ll be able to swing utilizing the crank. That’s about as efficient as you’d suppose it’s.
Midway to Daybreak is a really, very quick sport, but it surely 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 (accessible on Bandcamp), which may very well be proper out of an ‘80s B-horror film. If creepy is your factor, that is undoubtedly a sport to take a look at. Midway to Daybreak is on the Playdate Catalog and itch.io for $5.