1 month after the release of Gravity Express, I couldn’t be happier. The release itself went smoothly without any game-breaking bugs. Reception was stellar, with only 5-star ratings and glowing reviews. I had a blast with Andrew from Tiny Yellow Machine during an 1.5 hour liveshow where the game was discussed at length. It seems many PlayDate fans were ready for a ‘full game’ after enjoying the many fun and quirky little experiences that have characterised Playdate thus far. I’m happy and humbled to be able to deliver on that front :-)

After spending some 8 months building and polishing this game, I was quite confident that it was ready for release. My only fear was that people would find the game’s difficulty too hard. Well, it turns out that these retro-loving 20-and 30-somethings were relishing the challenge. And with games like “Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure” and even something like “A Joke Worth $0.99” being pretty tough, I should have known this community has had quite the practice :-) If you need some tips, just ask Marsbitrona, who needed just 28 hours to finish the game and claim the Gravity Express Congratulatory Cake™️. That is one happy gamer!. Note that their is also a Gravity Express thread going on at the Playdate Squad Discord server if you’d rather discuss the game there.

Really, the only doubtful reactions were about shelling out hard earned-cash for a new game that has it’s crank support in beta. Well, doubt no more, because version 1.1.0 is here!

1.1.0 Changes

The major change since version 1.0.0 is that Crank steering was added. Switch between crank and button steering at any time by simply docking/undocking the crank. When you do, a helpful button mapping guide is displayed without pausing your game. Remember that button mapping is still fully customisable in the game’s settings.

This is a tried and tested release, being in the hands of some 70 gamers already for 2 weeks. With no issues reported.

Another fun addition is the crowd-sourced phrases that are displayed when visiting platforms. Random combinations are sure to draw a smirk from fans of games like Cards Against Humanity. Just visit an empty platform for some witty and snarky remarks :-)

Finally, a slight modification has been made to Stage 18, where many players couldn’t find the diamond key. It should now be easier to find.