The PlayDate has attracted heaps of interesting projects from a variety of developers but never has such a project been as anticipated or exciting as Mars After Midnight from the renowned Lucas Pope, creator of Papers Please and Return of the Obra Dinn. I am pleased to say that not only does Mars After Midnight exceed my expectations, but it has also rekindled excitement for the entire PlayDate platform.
Mars After Midnight
Developer: Lucas Pope
Price: $6 USD
Platform: PlayDate (reviewed)
MonsterVine was supplied with PlayDate code for review
It’s hard to believe that the PlayDate, a bespoke handheld device from a team that has previously designed utility software, launched nearly two years ago. Through that time it has been graced with a variety of exclusive titles, nothing has felt quite like a flagship title like Mars After Midnight does.
Starting immediately with its striking art design, of detailed aliens, complete with brief, but stunning cut scenes. Mars After Midnight does a great job at leaning into the display restrictions of the PlayDate (black and white, no backlight etc..) to deliver some serious eye candy. Additionally, the sound design, from effects to music, is constantly giving me goosebumps, and occasionally making me shiver with disgust (in a good way) or laugh at the absurdity of what I just heard.
Each level starts after midnight, where the local factory becomes a community support center. Cyclops anger management, serving as the tutorial level, has the player identifying frowning aliens, granting them access to the support group, and making sure that the refreshments table stays clean between aliens serving themselves fresh pie. Like earth based support groups, Martians require a clean and organized snack table for a successful event. Each visitor enters and consumes; they typically make a mess of the table. The gameplay has you controlling your tentacle arms to stack, and lift everything up so you can use the crank to activate the table sweeping system. It’s fairly simple, with a reminder of where things are supposed to go presented in the background for the specific snack offering. At first, I would rush to get this done as quickly as possible, but things became a lot more chill when I realized that even if someone is knocking at the door, they aren’t going anywhere and there isn’t any benefit to rushing.
The gatekeeping, door-alien role is a very simple process from the gameplay mechanics which grows slightly more complex depending on the level. The crank opens and shuts the door’s viewport and the d-pad to change the viewing angle. Each level (support program) has different criteria to allow entry and reminds the player of a hand sketched pictograph rule. All of the aliens’ designs are grotesquely detailed, and comical in a way that had me excited to see who was at the door next. There is a layer of comedy applied to each of these support programs and the different ways you confirm folks are right for the support program on offer, play into the comedy.
The core premise for the Cyclops Anger Management level, and all others is “only let the right ones in.” Determining who is allowed to enter is the challenge, and gives some light hearted, Papers Please vibes. Some missions require additional equipment like a telescope to see very tiny aliens or a horn that needs to be squeaked to elicit the correct response. Some items are available (and required) to purchase before the mission, but others need to be ordered from a vendor who shows up to the door each stage, accompanied by some very early 2000s keygen sounding music.
The mechanics all feel very light, but the charm kept pulling me through to see all of the goofy scenarios, hear all of the weird alien sounds, and gaze upon some truly bizarre looking creatures. The art style is detailed and beautiful, so much so that it would feel right at home scaled to a larger screen if it were ever to see a release outside PlayDate.
The Final Word
Mars After Midnight offers a perfect example of what experiences the PlayDate console can offer, and a reason to pick up a device if you were on the fence about dropping $200 on a black and white, non-backlit handheld in 2024.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
