Here we are now on the fourth part of our list of developers we’d love to see make something for Panic’s Playdate. We’ve already included Asymmetric, thatgamecompany, Lucas Pope, SWERY65, Robert Yang, and Platinum Games. Next up, we’ve got a developer with serious storytelling chops and a team that specialises in horror.

Giant Sparrow

Despite only having put out 2 games, Giant Sparrow has cemented itself as one of the best storytellers in the medium. Both the Unfinished Swan and What Remains of Edith Finch are short, deeply moving titles that use basic gameplay hooks to explore themes of childhood, loss, mental health, and insidious families.

Much like the best vignettes in What Remains of Edith Finch, I could see Giant Sparrow finding ways to effectively marry the narrative arc of a shortened story to its usual unfolding gameplay – greatly enhancing both in the process.

Bloober Team

One thing that the Playdate currently seems to lack is a full-on horror game. For this one, I was stuck between selecting Layers of Fear developer Bloober Team and Outlast’s Red Barrels, but I think the former might be the better fit with its speciality in visual trickery and old-timey aesthetics.

I can see it now: the world around you sneakily changing as you slowly turn the crank to creep away from a demon/axe-wielding maniac/physical manifestation of your own mental instability.