Rad

RAD is an excellent roguelike, that oozes the signature Double Fine charm from its terrifyingly mutated pores. Beautiful art direction from Lee Petty’s team and solid replay value from the extensive combination of powers each run make it extremely worthwhile.

An enjoyable retro-style rogue-lite; in RAD you should expect brutal gameplay in a gaudy and synthesised world. The random nature of the world sometimes proves to be a problem, but not enough to diminish what is a fantastically loud take on the genre. If only for letting players smack about mutants with their engorged limbs and a baseball bat, RAD lives up to its name. Just try to stop playing it, you’ll struggle.

Overall, I was surprised by how much fun I had with RAD. Levels might feel a little formulaic, but I didn’t mind as it meant I was able to quickly figure out what my goals were. Some enemy types make for good fodder, and the randomised combinations of exo mutations make each playthrough unique. The ‘80s pop culture tropes and visuals are becoming cliched at this point, but in this case they mostly work and the music often riffs on popular classics like Michael Jackson’s Thriller, among others. If you’re looking for a single-player, dungeon-crawling roguelike with the added bonus of fighting mutants, while becoming one yourself, look no further than RAD.

RAD is one of the few action and adventure games that innovates in its artistic section and in lighting, taking you back to the 80s. Fully recommended for someone looking for something fresh in the Nintendo eShop.