Ars Technica (Sam Machkovech, 18 Apr 2022). "Playdate concludes its first season with arguably its meatiest game, a top-down action-adventure that revolves around darkness and light."
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/04/all-24-of-playdates-included-games-reviewed/Games / Season One / Ratcheteer
OverviewSeason One
Ratcheteer
Adventure / ActionCrank: yesSeason One (included)
1 · official Catalog screenshot
2 · official Catalog screenshot
3 · official Catalog screenshot
4 · official Catalog screenshot1 · official Catalog screenshot2 · official Catalog screenshot3 · official Catalog screenshot4 · official Catalog screenshotOverview. Not yet reviewed. No score. Checked 12 Oct 2026. Built from official and press sources.
What it is
In Ratcheteer you're an apprentice mechanic maintaining the steam-powered cryo-colonies where humanity sleeps through an impact winter. When your master mechanic is abducted, you set off on "a lo-fi, top-down, action-adventure" through tunnels below the surface and "a vast snowcean above". It's built like a classic handheld Zelda: screen-by-screen rooms, overworld and dungeons, new tools that open old paths. You fight with a wrench. Your first find is a crank-powered lantern, and creatures react differently to its light, which turns many rooms into small puzzles.
It's by Shaun Inman, with music by Matthew Grimm and illustrations by Charlie Davis. It closed Season One in Week 12, alongside b360, free with the console. The store page links spoiler-free hints, a "Deluxe Sound Version" and a full-colour version, and it was updated as recently as March 2026. Inman's next game, Cross Words, is part of Season Three.
Who made it
What others are saying
Gabriel Toschi (blog, undated). "If you consider Ratcheteer the season finale, what a banger they reserved to finish Playdate's Season One!"
https://www.gabtoschi.com/blog/playdate-full-review/Callout (?): No review yet. We haven't reviewed Ratcheteer yet. This page is an overview built from official and press sources.
Sources
Checked 12 Oct 2026.
- Official Catalog page (description, credits, size, dates, content/AI/accessibility notes). https://play.date/games/ratcheteer/
- Season One page. https://play.date/games/season-one/
- Ars Technica, Sam Machkovech, 18 Apr 2022. https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/04/all-24-of-playdates-included-games-reviewed/
- Gabriel Toschi (undated). https://www.gabtoschi.com/blog/playdate-full-review/
- Playdate Podcast transcript: research/gamepages/sources/ratcheteer/podcast.txt.
OverviewNo score
Overview
Not yet reviewed.
No score. This page is built from official and press sources.
On the card
An apprentice mechanic searches frozen tunnels for a missing master. A top-down action-adventure where a crank-lit lantern changes how monsters behave.
From the sources
