''Rad'' is a

roguelike Roguelike (or rogue-like) is a subgenre of role-playing game, role-playing computer games traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedural generation, procedurally generated level (video gaming), levels, Turns, rounds and time- ...

video game developed by

Double Fine Double Fine Productions, Inc. is an American First-party developer, first-party video game developer of Xbox Game Studios based in San Francisco, California. Founded in July 2000 by Tim Schafer shortly after his departure from LucasArts, Double ...

and published by

Bandai Namco Entertainment is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California an ...

. It was released for Microsoft Windows,

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

in August 2019 and for

Amazon Luna Amazon Luna is a cloud gaming platform developed and operated by Amazon. Luna was announced on September 24, 2020, with early access available to subscribers by invitation beginning on October 20, 2020. In its early access state, Amazon Luna ...

in May 2021.

Gameplay

''Rad'' is a

video game played from an isometric perspective. In the game, players control a teenager whose goal is to explore a procedurally-generated wasteland for effigies known as respirators, items that may restore the human civilizations after a devastating apocalypse. As the character explores the wasteland, their

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

s will mutate, granting players additional powers and perks. For each character, players can have unlimited passive bonuses and at most three active mutations. If the player character dies, they will be replaced by a new character.

Development

Lee Petty, the director for '' Headlander'', served as the game's director. The game was inspired by his teenage years and his love for 1980s aesthetics. In each run, abilities are gained randomly. According to Petty, this creates different combinations, which enables players to better explore the strengths and weaknesses of each mutation. The game was officially announced in March 2019 by

. The game was released for Microsoft Windows,

and

on August 20, 2019, and for

on May 13, 2021.

Reception

''Rad'' received "mixed or average reviews" for Switch, Windows, and PlayStation 4, and "generally positive reviews" for Xbox One according to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. History ...

'' praised the game's aesthetics, lore, and sense of humor, while criticizing the load times and noting its short length. '' IGN'' noted the game's difficulty, calling it "the good kind of tough" and similarly lamented the sluggish frame rate and load times. ''

Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...

'' lauded the game's combat and dozens of hours of content while taking issues with the RNG balance and the

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type ...

port's handheld performance. ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...

'' called the game's encounter design "pitch perfect", criticizing the game's later levels for feeling "brutally unfair", writing, "Double Fine could crunch the numbers to make the early-game grind more effortless, but that would still leave a serviceable-at-best roguelike...Rad is painfully style-over-substance". ''

Push Square Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...

'' praised the title's core concept, world, and varied gameplay while calling out the lack of multiplayer, uninspired enemy design, and loading times. ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' was critical of the game, finding the dialogue, mutant powers, and post-apocalyptic 80's universe redeemable, while criticizing its luck-based progression, cheap deaths, and its inability to teach its deeper mechanics.

References

External links

Double Fine Productions webpage
{{Double Fine Productions 2019 video games Bandai Namco games Double Fine games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games Unreal Engine games Post-apocalyptic video games Roguelike video games Video games developed in the United States Video games using procedural generation Windows games Xbox One games Single-player video games