Doom has been ported to Playdate, the handheld with a crank controller

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It doesn't look fun, but everything needs a Doom port.

(Image credit: Nic Magnier)

Playdate is a forthcoming handheld console with a crank controller. Sure, it has a D-pad and at least two other buttons, but the most important thing about it is that it has a crank. Oh, and you can play Doom on it, too.

Game developer Nic Magnier posted footage of his port on Twitter earlier this week. The game doesn't look like it's well-suited to the device, which has a monochrome screen and, again, a crank. But it's never really mattered whether Doom is actually fun on any device, what matters is that the device can run it. You can play Doom on a printer, an oscilloscope, an ATM, and inside Doom itself, so playing it on a console with a crank isn't that weird.

As you'll see in the video embedded above, the crank isn't actually used in this version of the port. On Twitter, Magnier said this port is just the "first iteration" and that perhaps in the future, the crank could be used to turn. Later, he posted a gif of the crank being used to fire the gatling gun.

Playdate isn't actually available to purchase yet, though it's still scheduled for a 2020 release. Chris had some good suggestions for Playdate-friendly games.

Shaun Prescott
Shaun Prescott
Australian Editor

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.