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 one of the best horror expertise I’ve had on the Playdate but.
As somebody who tends to gravitate in the direction of all issues spooky, one of many issues I’ve been most concerned about 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 evening forward; within the second, it’s an all-out struggle 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 remains of humanity” in a metropolis overtaken by some unnamed terror. Throughout the narrative portion of the sport, you need to select amongst totally different areas 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 will probably be profitable.
You may discover a field of shotgun shells however by no means get your arms on a shotgun to really use them. You may even get harm whereas scavenging. There may be additionally the choice to relaxation, which can refill your well being bar (whilst you’ll begin with full well being on Straightforward mode, Onerous will begin you with two out of the six well being factors already depleted). However an hour will move 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 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 will probably be closing in on you from all sides, a few of them more durable to take down than others, and you’ll 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 haven’t any alternative however to try to struggle off the monsters with a knife, which you’ll be able to swing utilizing the crank. That’s about as efficient as you’d assume it’s.
Midway to Daybreak is a really, very brief recreation, nevertheless it actually had me sweating on some runs. It’s a enjoyable one to maintain coming again to, because the randomness of useful resource assortment makes for a distinct expertise every time. And the stress of all of it is completely rounded out by a synth-heavy soundtrack (accessible on Bandcamp), which might be proper out of an ‘80s B-horror film. If creepy is your factor, that is undoubtedly a recreation to take a look at. Midway to Daybreak is on the Playdate Catalog and itch.io for $5.
