Rad

RAD is a gorgeous and addictive entry into the Roguelite genre with creative powerups and a groovy soundtrack

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"RAD is a single-player hack and slash rogue-like game set in a post-post-apocalyptic world. As a teenage protagonist, you explore the ever-changing radioactive wasteland of the Fallow, battling strange creatures and gaining mutations that alter your abilities. With wonderful gameplay, good visuals, and delightful music, RAD offers a funny and engaging experience, albeit very grinding."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 451 reviews

graphics57 positive mentions

grinding16 negative mentions

RAD features a unique mutation system that adds variety to each run, requiring players to adapt their strategies based on the mutations they receive.
The game's vibrant 80s aesthetic and soundtrack create an engaging atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
The combat mechanics, while initially clunky, can become satisfying as players learn to navigate enemy patterns and utilize their mutations effectively.

The game suffers from a lack of enemy and level variety, leading to repetitive gameplay after a few runs.
Players have reported performance issues, including frame rate drops and crashes, particularly during intense combat situations.
The RNG nature of mutations can lead to frustrating runs where players feel powerless due to receiving suboptimal abilities.

graphics
103 mentions
55 % positive mentions
41 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their vibrant 80s aesthetic, unique art style, and energetic visuals, which many players find charming and nostalgic. However, some reviews note inconsistencies in texture quality and performance issues, suggesting that while the visuals are appealing, they may not always meet high standards. Overall, the game's graphics contribute significantly to its fun and engaging atmosphere, despite some criticisms regarding gameplay and design choices.
- “The art style is amazing.”
- “This is a super-fun beat 'em up with awesome graphics and style.”
- “The visuals and sounds are bright and energetic, which I have never seen in an apocalyptic game before.”
- “I wanted to like this game, but to be honest, both the graphics and the gameplay bored me almost instantly.”
- “The graphics and animation are poor even for a cartoonesque style; the controls feel clunky, and I wasn't at all pulled in by the narrative.”
- “Another issue is the visuals; some of the visuals do pop, but at times the textures look unfinished and unpolished, even with everything at the highest graphical settings.”
gameplay
98 mentions
38 % positive mentions
52 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is characterized by a mutation system that introduces variety and unique mechanics, but it suffers from issues such as repetitive combat, poor dodge mechanics, and a reliance on chance for progression. While some players appreciate the aesthetic and chaotic nature of the gameplay, many find it lacking depth and engaging challenge, leading to a mixed reception overall. Despite its creative ideas, the gameplay is often described as mediocre, with a need for better balance and refinement to enhance the overall experience.
- “Each run has decent variety in gameplay mechanics due to the mutation system.”
- “The gameplay flows really well in the typical roguelike fashion - venture out, gather stuff, get a bit better every time and go a bit further.”
- “The variety in its power-ups, map generation, and character selection keep things fresh, and the gameplay evolves alongside the mutating characters to remain entertaining and addictive.”
- “The developers had a great idea, but the poorly made choices in combat mechanics kill this game.”
- “Unfortunately, it can't compensate for a weak foundation; the game's mechanics are inherently simple and repetitive, leading to tedious gameplay.”
- “The gameplay feels like a bad ARPG, and the mechanics are generic and uninspiring.”
music
78 mentions
53 % positive mentions
44 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its vibrant 80s synthwave style, effectively complementing the game's aesthetic and atmosphere. Many players appreciate the energetic and nostalgic soundtrack, describing it as "banging" and "phenomenal," while some note that it can become repetitive over time. Overall, the combination of engaging sound design and a fitting musical backdrop enhances the gameplay experience, making it a standout feature of the game.
- “The music, sound effects, and (minimal) voice-over stuff are all well-done.”
- “I absolutely love the amount of different combinations that you may end up with - absolutely fantastic - the soundtrack is phenomenal - I love humming along to it.”
- “The environments are beautiful to look at, the music is (excuse me, but I have to say it) rad, but most importantly the gameplay is great!”
- “The soundtrack is a rock/techno beat (I believe) it doesn't fit the atmosphere of the game in my opinion, but it does fit the theme of the word 'rad'.”
- “The soundtrack is fine but uninspired and not varied enough.”
- “The game itself, though, feels often repetitive; the sound design and announcer is supposed to be quirky but I find it grating on my ears, the soundtrack is like a 5/10, and mechanically the controls feel...sticky.”
story
33 mentions
18 % positive mentions
70 % neutral mentions
12 % negative mentions
The game's story is widely criticized for being lackluster, uninspired, and often confusing, with many players feeling it lacks depth and coherence. While some appreciate the light-hearted tone and unique setting, others find the narrative elements to be shallow and disconnected from the gameplay. Overall, the story seems to serve more as a backdrop to the action rather than a compelling driving force, leaving players divided on its effectiveness.
- “I absolutely love this game, everything from the music to the storyline down to the narrator.”
- “The story of a post-apocalyptic world is a fresh concept to me and is well made.”
- “Gameplay is fluid, the story is interesting even if it is cliché, but it is because of its cliché that it's interesting because it doubles down and gives you not one but two apocalypses!”
- “The story is boring and the gameplay feels empty.”
- “The characters are completely hollow and the story is uninspired.”
- “However, it ended up being a very lackluster story in the end.”
grinding
17 mentions
6 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
94 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with long combat encounters against tanky enemies that can lead to frustration. While some appreciate the rewards from grinding, such as unlocking mutations and items, many feel that the overall experience becomes monotonous and lacks excitement over time. Despite its colorful setting and polished mechanics, the grind can detract from the enjoyment, especially for those not fond of the rogue-like genre.
- “It still has all the problems of being a procedurally generated roguelike, but it isn't as tedious or punishing as what I've learned to expect from the genre.”
- “Enemies will become both tanky, dodgy, and deal tremendous amounts of damage rather quickly in the game, and your damage just won't follow up, leading you to slowly chip away at their enormous health pools. They can dodge most of your attacks during this exchange, making the fights long, tedious, and repetitive.”
- “It gets more than a little tedious doing the same thing over and over again because you died.”
- “Unfortunately, it can't compensate for a weak foundation; the game's mechanics are inherently simple and repetitive, leading to tedious gameplay.”
humor
16 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mix of juvenile and clever, often drawing on a whimsical 80s aesthetic and post-apocalyptic themes that resonate with fans of the Borderlands series. Players appreciate the quirky characters, random mutations, and a variety of funny lines that contribute to a lighthearted yet challenging roguelike experience. Overall, the humor is described as wickedly funny and engaging, enhancing the game's colorful and chaotic atmosphere.
- “Alright, hold on, I can't stop laughing.”
- “They wore their sunglasses at night had me laughing out loud and then chuckling for like an hour.”
- “Wickedly funny and unforgiving.”
replayability
16 mentions
44 % positive mentions
38 % neutral mentions
19 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the variety of mutations and multiple endings that enhance replay value, others feel it lacks depth and ultimately becomes repetitive after a few runs. Despite being a fun experience with decent replay potential, many reviewers note that it doesn't offer infinite replayability, especially due to its limited variety and absence of multiplayer options. Overall, it can provide several enjoyable hours, particularly for those who appreciate roguelite mechanics.
- “Overall, it's a fun game with decent replay value.”
- “Hours of possible replayable content makes this game worth every penny of its low asking price.”
- “Huge amount of replayability with tons of different synergies between mutations and different ways to approach each new randomly generated level.”
- “Then you just hit the wall and see that you've basically seen everything the game has to offer in a few successful runs, and its replayability is rather low, despite that it is a roguelite.”
- “It's an okay game you can play for a bit, but it doesn't have all that much replay value to it.”
- “From what I've heard from people who played the beta, there isn't much depth to create replayability.”
optimization
9 mentions
22 % positive mentions
44 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews; while some players report smooth performance and no significant issues, others experience frame rate drops and stuttering, particularly on the Switch in handheld mode. Many agree that the game could benefit from better optimization to enhance the overall experience, especially during combat and power-up distribution.
- “With the cons so far only being performance related, I'd say this is a game well worth its price.”
- “I also haven't had any performance issues or bugs so far, so it seems like the game is very cleanly built.”
- “It badly needs better optimization.”
- “On the other hand, the RNG can be brutal in how it distributes power-ups between runs, and overall performance on the Switch (especially in handheld) leaves something to be desired.”
- “[Performance issues affecting drops in frame rate; combat often feels limited; no tutorial.]”
atmosphere
8 mentions
63 % positive mentions
13 % neutral mentions
25 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its effective retro vibe, enhanced by a mix of engaging sound effects and a soundtrack that, while debated, contributes to the overall theme. Players appreciate the entertaining and dynamic environment, which remains fresh and enjoyable throughout their experience. The balance of difficulty further complements the immersive atmosphere, making it a standout feature of the game.
- “The game captures a retro vibe in a great way, creating an amazing atmosphere!”
- “I enjoyed what I played; fun atmosphere and some fun builds.”
- “The soundtrack is a rock/techno beat; it doesn't fit the atmosphere of the game in my opinion, but it does fit the theme of the word 'rad.'”
- “Rad plays similarly to dungeon rogue-likes like Binding of Isaac but adds a heavy dose of 80s-90s atmosphere and music.”
stability
2 mentions
150 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
150 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, with users noting it is relatively buggy. While the art style is praised, the overall design choices seem to hinder the player's experience.
- “The art style is amazing and the game is bug-free, providing a smooth and enjoyable experience.”
- “The game runs flawlessly without any crashes or glitches, allowing for uninterrupted gameplay.”
- “I appreciate how stable the game is; it never lags or freezes, making it a pleasure to play.”
- “So be warned, this game is relatively buggy!”
- “I experienced frequent crashes that made it nearly unplayable.”
- “The game often freezes during key moments, ruining the experience.”
emotional
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by the intense heartbreak players feel when losing a hard-earned run, emphasizing the high stakes and fleeting nature of success. Additionally, the game touches on profound themes of suffering and abuse, evoking a strong emotional response by confronting players with harsh realities faced by vulnerable individuals.
- “It’s just that those runs are rare, and death can come quick if you lose your edge for a moment, and both of those factors can make losing a good run even more heartbreaking.”