The Bandcamp editorial team compiled a list of the best Playdate soundtracks:
The most shockingly modern element of Playdate, though, is its audio. The unit’s mono, front-facing speaker delivers more complex sound and music than one might expect from the retrofuturist handheld. Plug in headphones, though—and yes, you do have to plug them in—and you’re rewarded with lush, CD-quality audio. The experience is shocking.
“A lot of people, when they see that comparatively low-resolution screen, they think Game Boy or whatever,” says Neven Mrgan, a designer with Panic. “Your brain might expect chiptune-type music, and then you hear full, acoustically recorded instruments and super long songs—atmospheric stuff that’s not going bleep boop. That definitely creates a strange juxtaposition.”
The chosen OSTs include Gun Trails, Lost Your Marbles, and Resonant Tale. I’ve yet to play on a Playdate and while I have no intention of changing that, I do think they look cool and it’s nice that the audio goes beyond the expected chiptunes from a handheld.
