Ratcheteer DX Review
Ratcheteer DX is an 8 bit, top down action adventure deeply inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, which released on the original Game Boy in 1993. Ratcheteer DX is actually a port of a Playdate exclusive, the crank centric, retro-modern handheld system, which is now making its major console debut in full color.
If you miss the days of burning through AA batteries and not being able to game on your handheld after the sun goes down, Ratcheteer DX is sure to give you that nostalgic sensation you are looking for. Unfortunately, Ratcheteer DX also carries lots of baggage from retro gaming including a shallow story as well as frustrating controls and without the Playdate quirk or the Nintendo charm, it fails to differentiate itself from the never ending flow of retro inspired Indies. The nostalgic time capsule is a short and sweet adventure, but it will likely only be fully appreciated by retro purists.
6
if you want to see the review with more nuance, continue reading or check out the video
What is Ratcheteer DX?
Ratcheteer DX is a top down, 8 bit adventure about a young apprentice mechanic, who awakens to find that his mentor has been kidnapped. The surface of the earth has been claimed by Winter, but below the surface mankind has found a way to survive. Unfortunately, something terrible has happened, people have been abducted and many essential services to survival like the power plant and water treatment plant have gone offline. It’s up to this young apprentice mechanic to investigate and save humanity.
Just like The Legend of Zelda, you start the adventure with no equipment or abilities. After finding the lantern, you will use its light to help locate the wrench that will aid in exploration of the world and provide you with the ability to defend yourself against what lurks in the beyond. Following the retro formula perfectly, each of the six dungeons will provide you with a new ability that will greatly change how you explore the world and will open up many new avenues in your adventure. Some items are basic including spring boots that allow you to jump, but you will also find some unique items like the drill shield, which not only protects you, but allows you to drill through weak walls to find secrets or new passages.
The big differences from the Playdate version include the removal of the crank, which was required to turn to keep your lantern lit, which is now reduced to a simple on/off feature with the left trigger. The other major change is that the game is no longer viewed through the kindle-esque monotone gray-ish color pallete. The adventure of the young mechanic is now available in full color, which was the best way to play, but also includes a high contrast black and white and for the retro purists who want the closest experience to Game Boy, a pea soup green, which captures that nostalgic feeling quite well.
Ratcheteer DX CRITCISMS
I can acknowledge that The Legend of Zelda has the benefit of decades of goodwill, incredible adventures and memories created, but even on his first adventure, it had the instant makings of a classic. Ratcheteer DX is lacking in all of these areas. The story lacked a captivating premise, a lovable main character, and the uniqueness of the world wasn’t explicitly relayed to the player.
In addition to this, along with all of the great nostalgia that Ratcheteer captures, it also carries forward many elements of retro gaming that are better off forgotten such as imprecise controls, clunky platforming and a quest that can lack clarity at times. Once you unlock the spring boots, Ratcheteer DX asks the player to jump over a lot of pits and due to the lack of accuracy on the controls, falling to your death becomes common, especially when you are asks to jump over the pits with the help of waterspouts. There are no invisible guardrails on these edges either, so if you aren’t perfect, you will need to start over from the beginning.
Ratcheteer DX also lacks any type of stakes. You collect hearts, and ore, but both are relatively meaningless. Every time you turn in a quest item, you will need the item and a certain amount of ore. If you don’t have it, you will need to mindlessly mine rocks. You can also purchase rations with ore, so that when you die, you will automatically regain your health. However, dying also has no stakes. If you are in a dungeon, you will just restart at the beginning with everything unlocked that you already found along with full hearts and if you’re in the open world, you’ll be given full life on nearly the same spot you died.
RACTHETEER DX FINAL VERDICT AND SCORE
Ratcheteer DX is a nostalgic lo-fi action-adventure that effortlessly transports you back to the early 90’s complete with the iconic Game Boy green if you want. If you’re looking for an authentic recreation of what action adventure was like decades ago, there are few games that are as faithful as Ratcheteer DX to a fault with the inclusion of warts, rough edges and dated gaming traits that have since evolved. It’s also formulaic as you explore the world, find new abilities, proceed to the next dungeon and then rinse and repeat.
When you strip away the Nintendo charm and the quirk of the Playdate, what remains is a short and forgettable adventure that doesn’t ask a lot of the player, but also doesn’t offer much in return. When combined with the price and length of around ten bucks and four hours, Ratcheteer DX is short, sweet and whimsical. It’s hard to recommend it to everyone, but if you’re looking a time capsule back to the early 90’s, Ratcheteer DX is a one way ticket.
