Game Review: Rad (Xbox Series X)

From beloved developer Double Fine comes Rad, a third-person roguelike action-adventure game. Where the world was destroyed by a nuclear holocaust… twice and what remains is stuck in the 80s. Yes, this is a Double Fine game so you know it’s going to have a lot of humour and wacky ideas. Kind of like Bubble Game.

There’s not much of a story but it’s there. Players choose a post-apocalyptic teenager to play as (more are unlocked as you make runs) and need to head into the ‘Fallow’ to ensure their town has power. It’s not exactly complex stuff and the town hub area is very limited. However, it’s when you head out into the irradiated world that Rad comes to life.

Procedurally generated wastelands and dungeons with varied enemies and randomised mutations. It’s this which makes Rad a fun and additive experience as the more you explore and level up, the more mutated you become. Each with their own unique abilities and bonuses. Mutations such as Armarang, which allows you to throw your own arm like a boomerang. Warhead, that allows you to throw your own head like a grenade. Home Slice, which is a friendly growth on your back that helps by attacking enemies, and many more.

There are many different mutations to collect, all with different levelling up paths, and with consumables that can improve their use and make or break a successful run. It’s a lot of fun exploring the wide range available and finding the combination that helps get you through to final boss. Ne easy task, as Rad can be quite challenging and punishing if you get greedy with mutations. Chances are, you’ll have more failed runs than completed runs by time you finally put it down.

Something that is extremely hard to do as Rad is one of those ‘just one more go’ kind of games. Where players can invest in their future runs by unlocking more mutation options, unlocking quirks that you can equip at the start of a run, banking cash for later spending, upgrading shops, and building a helpful plot of consumables. Each failed run yields results which will eventually help you dominate the wasteland.

Rad’s strength comes from its depth, its colourful visuals and synth-heavy 80s-themed soundtrack, but it is not without its flaws. The most obvious being the RNG aspect, something that will drive a completionist nuts. With some many options and so many variations on what is randomised (its not just the mutations), finding the last thing you need to complete the ‘Tome of the Ancients’ is maddening as certain things seem to be much rarer than others.

It’s a puzzling decision as there seems to be no good reason for it and because of this, don’t be surprised if you end up sinking 50+ hours into Rad just to complete the tome. Which might seem value for money but Rad will have massively overstayed its welcome by hour 20, if not before.

It’s a black mark on an otherwise imaginative, fun, and addictive game.