Owlet's Embrace
Image: Lukas Wolski

Back in July 2022, when we originally reviewed the Playdate, we weren't shy about the fact that we loved Panic's crank-based system, calling it "a throwback to a time when handheld video gaming was a simpler, more innocent pastime, and every new experience felt fresh and exciting."

And ever since then, we've been having a blast discovering some of the excellent titles released for the system, from new games released as part of Panic's digital storefront Catalog to more modest experiments that we've had to sideload ourselves.

So, with that in mind, we were excited recently to learn about Owlet's Embrace — a gorgeous new platformer coming to the little yellow machine later this year (in Q4 2025, to be exact). The game first crossed our radar, thanks to a post from its developer Lukas Wolski on Bluesky, and looks to be another remarkable title for the system, judging from all the screenshots, videos, and GIFs that have been shared of it so far, offering an adorable adventure starring a young owlet that is afraid of flying and must gradually face their fears.

According to the developer, the game is said to blend "fast-paced grappling hook manouvers with combat and emotional discovery" — some of which we can see from the material that has already been shown online.

For instance, in one of the updates from earlier this year, Wolski teased some spear-based combat, as well as a helpful companion who will act as a squire of sorts occasionally carrying your weapons to ensure you can easily access your hookshot.

Besides Wolski, several other people are also credited on the project. Christopher Niskala is listed as the composer, for example, while Daniel Garcia and Dan Mafra have provided additional pixel art and Gabriela Zari is responsible for the cover illustration.

Wolski has teased more news about the project later this Spring, and honestly, we can't wait to hear what that entails, based on the quality of what's been demonstrated so far.

[source play.date]