Addled (Playdate)
Addled is back !
A long time ago, on pre-iPhone mobiles, a little puzzler called 'Addled' appeared, made a little splash and then disappeared again.
Now Addled is back! In a new century on a new device, looking for new fans to confuse and confound!
Spread joy in the Addled Universe by bringing friends together. You can drag the dodgy denizens of Addled left or right until they meet up and leave for a better party. But be warned, gravity is your enemy. Drag someone off a ledge and they'll fall, and you won't be able to lift them back up again. Careful forward planning is required to get everyone to their buddies.
There are 200 levels of increasingly diabolical puzzles to solve, with not just gravity getting in the way. Teleports and fans move blocks around in sometimes useful, but just as often disastrous ways. This is not for the faint hearted!
Note: Addled does not need the crank so it should be playable on Playdate simulators as well as the real devices.
WARNING !
Some Addled levels are very tough, but you don't have to complete all of them to finish the game. The stages branch in true Pussnic fashion, so you can get to one of the four endings in 80 levels. If you get truly stuck, why not try a different branch?
Also remember you can skip 10 levels. If you solve a skipped level later you can reclaim the skip token, so don't be scared to skip those levels you just can't see the trick to. Sometimes just coming back a couple of days later with fresh eyes is all it takes.
All levels are possible, we promise!
But some levels are very very sneakily designed!
Are YOU up to the challenge of the most difficult puzzle game on Playdate yet ?
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $1.20 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- v 2.2 bugfixJun 24, 2023
- Upgrade to SDK 2.0Jun 23, 2023
- v 1.12 better skip level handlingSep 05, 2022
- v1.11 fix a bug when matching if one block is falling and another is risingAug 05, 2022
- v1.10 Reducing resource usage on the Success screenJul 30, 2022
- v 1.9 Various fixesJul 29, 2022
- v1.8 Fixing undo / restart issuesJul 09, 2022
- v 1.7 Tightening up memory managementJun 26, 2022
Comments
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Is there a solution for A-19?
A19 is a toughie. So the level starts like this:-
It *looks* easy but those two vertical teleports are a very clever trap. Something falling through the left teleport cannot easily get across to the right side of the screen and vice versa for the left. In fact the only way to finish the level is to get both shapes onto the same side of the screen *before* starting to kill anything, as the only way to get something on the right over to the left is with the assistance of one of the other blocks.
That can be hard to visualise, so if you still need help here's what I'm talking about in 'hint moves'. If you pull those 2 rightmost blocks down like this:-
you have the option of pulling either the skull or the pacman down through the right teleport. But pulling the skull down doesn't really help, you still can't get it over to the left, and pulling the pacman down will kill the 2 pacmen but make it impossible to kill the skulls.
I think this is where you're getting stuck, as you're not seeing the third option here. You can now pull the *other* pacman down to the right:-
This solves 2 problems.
1. It puts both pacmen on the same side of the level, making them easy to kill
and
2. It makes a ledge that the rightmost skull can drop onto, making it easy to get it over to the left.
That's the hard part of this level, realising that the 2nd set of blocks must be on the same side of the level *before* killing the first set of blocks.
I hope that's enough of a hint for you, but if you're still stuck message me here again and I'll send you a full walkthrough privately :-)
I see it now, thanks!
This game is great. Fun little bite sized puzzles
Wow!this game is super fun! Loving it!
I just purchased this game during the sale, and it is pretty amazing.
This game should definitely be on the Catalo.
Well done
Thanks halkhali. I had a lot of fun writing it :-)
heyy! Awesome game!
Although I'm having some issues with the game.
First it crahes sometimes, depending on what I do.
Second, I think the undo sometimes does not work properly.
But the biggest issue is that we can cheese through some levels, because the user input is not properly suspended until the blocks are fully resolved.
here is a link to a video showing it:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/uol408ofycxlxnn05gnnl/VID_20240224_122228762.mp4?...
Can you fix this?
Thanks!
update: I found a way to crash the game. You have to undo while things are mid-action.
You NEED to block user input while things are resolving, this way you will be able to not deal with a lot of shit that can happen
Thanks debug chicken (a very appropriate name!). I thought I'd fixed that issue with the movement continuing, this might be a regression bug. I'm thinking this won't be an easy fix and I might have to do a rewrite, the movement / undo bugs are probably inter-related, so it might be a while before I put up a fix. But having people being able to cheat just by moving too fast is definitely not good.
this looks about ready for an official Catalog release!
i'd happily buy it there or here if a Catalog option isn't planned
Thanks Hekhound! Addled has been turned down for a catalog release before. I'm going to give it a wee spruce up and re-submit it one of these days but it'll probably be months before it gets near the catalog (if it all) so I'd buy it here.
really? did they give a reason? im bewildered because quest for the X is on the catalog, a puny 1 hour game that goes nowhere, clunky, crashes a lot and softlocks to the point you have to restart the game.
I really cannot fathom how a very complete, functional and long game like yours can be rejected.
the art is a tad unsettling not gonna lie, but that cannot be a reason hahahah
Well I was going for 'quirky' graphics not 'unsettling'. Please let me know what you'd change graphically, I love honest feedback (you can improve games only when you get honest criticism of them).
hahaha dont get me wrong, I love the art, I really like it, but it has some horror vibes to it for sure. like when you leave one block alone and it cries, its DISCONCERTING, the loud kiss from the two suns when you start the game is also quite horror-like, since they have deformed faces and the sound is very organic and shiver-inducing.
sorry Panic turned ya down. i'll keep an eye out for your forthcoming update here
This game has been added to a co-op sale! But, you need and the other people to aprove the sale,
https://itch.io/b/2232/christmas-co-op-bundle
I like the idea of co-op sales so I've approved my game in this one. It's usually better to contact the devs first and talk it over before creating a co-op bundle, though.
Hey wait, the other 2 games in this co-op bundle aren't playdate games! I'd re-think this, take my game out of the bundle and add a game that can be played without someone needing to resort to downloading a playdate emulator.
Wow! Amazing graphics!
Thanks GadZombie !
The latest version crashes when, in a level that needs to match three, you only match two, and try to restart or undo in this screen
The error log shows this
game.lua:811: attempt to index a nil value (upvalue 'lonelyPleaText')stack traceback:
game.lua:811: in function 'cleanupLonelyPlea'
game.lua:827: in function 'lonelyUndoBtn'
So sorry about that kounch, it happens when you try to leave the 'Failed' screen too quickly. If you wait until the Failed message disappears and the single 'lonely' block starts talking to you, it won't crash.
I'll get a fix up for this today, so if you update again this bug will go away.
Thanks for reporting this :-)
Stephen
Updated with the fix and now it works ok. ¡Thank you!
If anyone's stuck on a level I won't give out full solutions, but I am prepared to drop hints in here.
Hiya, enjoying muchly.
Is this a big or a feature?: I skipped a level, and then competed. It is marked as completed now, but still shows up in the skipped levels list.
I did also crash the whole playdate seemingly by pressing a before the restart-level option was presented, but I've not been able to reproduce that.
Hi gohod,
I couldn't replicate either issue, sorry. However I'm going to release a new version shortly (v 1.12) which has a 'sync' test on game loading, which should delete any skipped levels from the skipped list if the level has actually been solved.
When the PlayDate crashed on you, was the 'Restart' level option in question the one you get when there's only one left of a certain shape on a level and it gives you the Undo / Restart options dialog? If so I could have a look and maybe add something to 1.13.
Honestly, couldn't tell you, but thanks for looking into it!
You must let me know if you get your skip token back !
I think when I first completed the level that was stuck in the 'skip list' it had told me I'd got my skip token back (but I don't know if I actually had).
I had two other levels in my skip list, which I managed to solve in a fit of inspiration, and now there is no skip list.
So that's nice.
Hey, I had the version you posted on the devlog months ago but was experiencing a bunch of crashes so I bought this version, hoping it would be more stable but im still experiencing crashes a lot :/ specifically, every time i try to solve level D5 (What Goes Up...) by combining the 3 skull blocks, the game immediately crashes. Hopefully this can be fixed soon!
Hi alyak, I can't replicate this, sorry. Does it crash literally every time? Could you grab a screenshot just before making the move that causes the crash? Maybe I'm solving it a different way from you.
yes. every time :( ill try to get a screen capture, hang on
edit: lol, of course trying to replicate it i solved it a different way and it didnt crash.. let me see if i can remember how i was solving it before lmao
ok, i dont remember if this is exactly what i was doing but this causes a crash. i've had a couple of similar crashes in other levels when combining 3 blocks, usually involving gravity/fans
In the situation below the three skulls wouldn't match. As the fan is still blowing on the bottom right skull when you take the top skull away the bottom right skull would be rising as the middle skull is falling, meaning the middle and right skull should match before the middle one can fall far enough to reach the leftmost one.
What should happen is the two skulls should match and the remaining one on the left should start flashing and show a message letting you know the level is now unsolvable. I'll test some scenarios including the one shown and see if it crashes for me.
Had a good look and yes, you've caught a bug there. I'll release a new version to fix it (v 1.11 coming soon!).
nice catch alyak :-)
Hey!
This game is *exactly* what I wanted the Playdate for, but I get a hard crash needing a full device reset every 2 or 3 stages. It's always as the game attempts to load the level complete screen - doesn't seem to be tied to a particular stage, but in clearing the first 6 or 7 levels on the first ship I've experience the same crash 3 or 4 times. A memory leak I guess?
After update to v1.9, I'm still getting the same crashes. Level 1-8 has crashed consistently now 4 or 5 times in a row - not able to pass it at all. It's now producing this screen error too, which wasn't happening on v1.8.
Hi Chas,
yes that's definitely a memory leak. I'm having trouble chasing it down. As a quick fix I've released a version 1.10 of the game, which uses less resources in the 'Success' screen. I'm hoping it'll crash less for you now.
Morning!
After installing 1.10, I've just played the first ten stages on a fresh profile and not had a single crash. Obviously, I can't say yet if there will be any problems further down the line as levels become more complex, but you definitely seem to be targeting the right areas for optimisation!
As I said initially - this is a really great puzzle game, and exactly what I wanted this device for. Little quirky, pick up and play experiences. Addled is currently tied with Bloom for me in as the best games I've played on the machine. Both totally different, but both showcasing something of what a pocket sized machine with a 1-bit display can do.
I received a Steam Deck a week prior to the Playdate (lucky me!), and it's been such a joy jumping between the two - chalk and cheese devices really, but both handhelds that serve very specific niches. Addled is a beautiful example of something that works with the limitations and form factor of the machine - if the Steam Deck's real achievement is that it's an everything machine, it's Playdate's specificity that gets me really excited. No, it doesn't play any old game. No you can't stuff it with emulators and ROMs. But you can pick up a cerebral puzzler like Addled that you can't play anywhere else, and enjoy it whilst sat at the beach in blazing sunlight.
Super excited to play more. Thanks for being such an attentive developer! I'll let you know if I come across any other issues.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks Chas, I hope you see far fewer crashes now. The real test will be when you're not playing levels you've already solved (doing lots of undos, etc).
Yes I personally love developing for a device with limited resources, you need to think a little more outside the box. I love how small and simple Addled levels can be and it still can be hugely challenging to solve.
Let me know if it starts crashing on you again.
regards,
Stephen
If you go into the game and then back out with the be button all the way you get a crash. Or at least I do. Using the latest firmware.
Thanks Majestic, that's a definite bug. Will be fixed in next release.
No problem. 👍
This bug is fixed in version 1.9.
...how hard is this game? I want to get it but the description is making me worried I'll be frustrated. (I realize this is a difficult question to answer!)
There are 200 levels, most of which are not too tough to finish. The final levels are hard, so difficult I've had issues where people have claimed that they are impossible to solve before, hence my warnings. But you also get the option to skip 10 levels and you can get to one of the game's endings by finishing 80 levels (as the zones branch into multiple paths after the first tutorial zone).
I'd say that the average player will be able to get to at least one of the four game endings, but it would take a real masochist to solve all 200 levels.
LOVE IT! I keep coming back to it.
Thanks Ron!
Glad you like it!
You must let me know if you get through to one of the 4 endings, I'd love to know someone's opinion of the difficulty etc after a full playthrough.
i will - although i still have a way to go!
Hi, sorry. Long comment. Minor issues and how this game's pretty rad.
1. Crash before starting level A-16.
-I think it crashed after the menu selection and before the animation with the ship plays.
-I was forced to reset the playdate using the reset switch.
-I'm running version 1.7
-I had been playing the game for the first time until then. The level works fine now that I start the game again and select it.
-I was given a "you need to restart your playdate. Hit A for [something]. Hit B for [something]", but before I could read it, it had switched to this error screen:
game.lua:1515 attempt to index a nil value (upvalue 'aBtn') stack traceback: game.lua:1515: in function 'killClearedAbtn' CoreLibs/timer.lua:292: in local 'callEndedCallback' CoreLibs/time.lua:334: in field 'updateTimers' game.lua:260: in function 'gameUpdate'2. Issues with the teleporters "matching" single blocks. This issue is resolved if you hit undo and try again. I can't reliably replicate these glitches, but I think it has happened a few times (90% sure it's not me misunderstanding game mechanics. maybe 85%.)
3. Issues with text being stuck on screen when asked to restart a level (I think after a fail state). And, not a glitch, but I don't like that it replays the level name animation over when I undo to the beginning of a level. I just want to spam B to get to the beginning state of a level.
4. When I select a world that I haven't unlocked, it plays the animation of the cross-hair in a way that seems awkward and confusing.
5. I very much enjoy the game. Besides the crash, it runs and looks great! I feel that I am able to make these nitpicks because the rest of the package is so appealing and fun. The puzzles are pretty clever so far and I definitely want to try to clear all 200. The menus are extremely cool.
Thanks for reading my comment. Be well.
Hi Hipster,
thanks for the bug report and positive feedback, there aren't many gaming communities out there where you would get both!
Other people are seeing the random glitches you are seeing too, so it's definitely not you mistaking the game mechanics. I was hoping 1.7 would clear most of them up, but ah well, I guess 1.8 is coming along soon then :-)
Glad you're enjoying it. The game doesn't get really hard until after Zone C, hope you still enjoy it then :-D
I was able to enter my initials and get to the second level without any crashes. Thanks!
Sorry about this. I couldn't replicate so I've greatly reduced the resources used on the 'Cleared Level' screen. You should be able to download the latest update now.
Crashes when trying to enter initials at the very beginning. I was finally able to get in and play the first level. The game crashed as soon as I beat the level.