Season Two of Playdate has started on a fast note, and Panic is not slowing down! Killer releases of “Dig! Dig! Dino!”, “Fulcrum Defender,” and the curveball streaming service, “Blippo+”, give way to yet another double-act of unadulterated Playdate awesomeness in week two. Buckle up for some contrasts: “The Whiteout” will throw you into a bleak, narrative-driven post-apocalypse, while “Wheelsprung” is pushing you into a wild, physics-bending dirtbike track. It is going to be a wild ride!
Are you attempting to unravel the secret link? Go ahead and consider squirrels. Yes indeed, squirrels! Let me finish this thought: a journalist and wildlife rehabber is currently serving as a substitute caregiver to a litter of orphaned squirrels. Trust me when I say this leap of logic will be rewarding.
Welcome aboard, subscribers to Blippo+! The intergalactic TV service is about to give your screens the ultimate treatment. Hold your helmets as Season Two’s creators unleash an eleven-week content supernova! Every Thursday at 10 AM PT (1 PM ET), Blippo+ will light up with new episodes. But wait- there is still more cosmic fun! Week twelve launches rerun countdowns of your favorite shows, guaranteeing an endless journey. Buckle up, since the Blippo+ universe will take you high and beyond. That is enough chitchat for now, so let’s get to the games!
The Whiteout
Scenic Route Software
From the beginning seconds to the ending of Scenic Route’s “The Whiteout,” there was this cold dread that felt like the preamble to an emotional earthquake. This was not your ordinary run-of-the-mill game. Instead, this was a slow, torturous descent toward a painter’s hell of utter despair. Hope was but a faint whisper; yet, somehow, a grim determination propelled my every step echoing through an already devastated landscape. Now, imagine playing Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road”-constant, gnawing bleakness. The ending wasn’t a tearful, cathartic moment I anticipated. I felt somewhat hollow inside, speechless, blankly staring away as the credits rolled, completely engulfed in the terrifying silence borne of and best arm-wrenchingly close to the game itself. “The Whiteout” just does not tell a story; it digs underneath your skin, leaving an unforgettable scar.
Imagine the United States long buried beneath ruthless snow and whiteouts since spring 2025, never ceasing.The Whiteouttakes you through this chillingly plausible apocalypse. Through five character-driven chapters, the world is apprehended through the protagonist’s spinal reflections on present and past. The writing glides on graceful images that contradict the inexorable and reinforce. Prepare for gloom that grips you and sticks upon returning the controller.
A caustic debtor-for-the-best-moments cracked a crackor-two smiles in me with his snarky asides. The comedic genius? A gang of villains called hilariously “The ‘Peckers.” A chuckle appeared on my lips each single time their name was uttered. With the gloominess of this game, a stray squirrel inked a backdrop felt like a little spark of life (Part of me hoped the fuzzy guy might’ve been a secret checkpoint, a thought that calls for a replay).
Forget adrenaline rushes; this game is a buffet of atmospheric torment. You lurch slowly through the world, deliberate and almost painful in this slow movement-an almost snail-walking through the burden of the world. An outright flight would ridicule the game; that slime speed is the lesson to bear. It impresses upon you the crushing weight of it all-the exhaustion of just surviving. Exploration is, therefore, a crushingly tense time of finding what few things out there are worthy of your search; every puzzle solved is but a small victory at odds with overwhelming opposition. Prepare yourself for relentless backtracking; fool yourself into believing that you shall maybe take another step. And that triumphant breath that emerges once you finally manage to scrape together the essentials-that’s pure catharsis. It’s a slow game that demands patience but an entirely bleak yet gripping reward for it.
Stay with me here. Any early departure will be a regrettable decision; don’t let the pace thrown in the introduction make you believe so. Every second is always precious in this world, and even more so when accompanied by a pair of headphones-an open invitation to wrap oneself inside an atmosphere. I lost sleep over this game, having to see it through, and the palate of the ending is still at my tongue. Knowing there are several endings, I have plans to return soon. Surely, The Whiteout stands asthedefining Playdate season experience, if not any season experience at all.
Wheelsprung
Nino van Hooff & Julie Bjørnskov
FinishedThe Whiteout,now pondering the whys of existence? Do not despair! Your prayers have reached the ears of the Playdate gods. The Week Two drop in Season Two has the delectableWheelsprungready and waiting to deliver a sugary delight to wash away any leftover sour taste. Ready your cute glands for, well, cute overload, whimsical absurdity, and a physics challenge that will have you screaming yourself hoarse (and possibly hurling your Playdate across the room). But hey, a little rage just means it’s good, right?
Julie Bjørnskov, the whimsical mind behindEscape the BoardgameandEscape the Arcade, returned with the newWheelsprung, and it was immediately recognizable. Partnering with programmer Nino van Hooff, a premise of great charm was crafted: In this world, a nut-obsessed kid leaves a trail of deliciousness across their home, and you? You are a squirrel with a dirtbike that can do whatever highly versatile things need to be done. Your purpose is to gobble down all those nuts that you can before the family arrives. Across almost three dozen cunningly designed obstacle courses, you will be revving your engine, defying gravity and logic on two wheels. And once you’ve done so, it’s time to really let your creative side loose by designing your own versions of nutty mayhem with the level editor.
Gone are the rocket laws! Enter squirrel physics. This is no ordinary highland critter; our bushy tiro zips around on a dirtbike straight out of a Dr. Seuss fever-dream. Use the D-pad to lean into gravity-defying wheelies, spin on a dime with a tap, and beat tracks that would make Evel Knievel sweat. Hold on because it is a bumpy ride into the foliage with one clumsy bump. Balance means everything. Compete on leaderboards for shaving milliseconds on your time. Are there levels? Just surviving them should feel like a victory.
I won’t divulge any secrets about winning this game, but, suffice it to say, I am guilty of some seriously embarrassing hours spent contorting gravity on two wheels. Picture that: me with a bike upside down, borderline falling, or maybe just trudging along ever so slowly like some metallic caterpillar. Too silly for words? Yes. Highly addictive? Oh, yes.
Thanks for reading Playdate Season 2 review: The Whiteout and Wheelsprung
