Rad

 Xbox One
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. AusGamers
    Sep 11, 2019
    90
    RAD is truly rad and its unashamed love affair and exploitation of the 80s is as infectious as the mutations you gain to power your way through the game’s procedurally-generated post-apocalyptic wastelands.
  2. TheXboxHub
    Aug 23, 2019
    80
    It doesn’t execute all of its ideas perfectly, but RAD is endlessly charismatic, visually fascinating and just incredibly creative… and I’d expect nothing less.
  3. Metro GameCentral
    Aug 16, 2019
    80
    One of the best roguelikes for a long time, whose randomised abilities work perfectly to add variety and unpredictability to its tale of an 80s style post-apocalypse.
  5. GameSpew
    Aug 15, 2019
    80
    Dying frequently may be frustrating, but RAD‘s mutation system and trippy 80s vibe make it a unique adventure that’s well worth taking.
  6. New Game Network
    Aug 26, 2019
    78
    With the vast array of wacky mutations and other random elements, you can milk a whole lot of enjoyment out of this $20 adventure. Roguelike aficionados and retro gamers alike should definitely give RAD a look.
  7. SomosXbox
    Sep 3, 2019
    77
    RAD is an interesting roguelike, perfect for fans of the genre. Despite feeling repetitive sometimes and the gameplay not being as polished as could have, the atmosphere and music are perfect and the feeling of wanting to progress can be addictive.
  8. IGN
    Aug 18, 2019
    76
    RAD is a lot deeper than it looks at first glance, and a lot more challenging too. Both are good things, and the procedurally generated layouts and mutations guarantee that variety will always be served. Sometimes you’ll play for minutes and other times for hours – I’m about eight hours deep so far – but the more time you spend with RAD, the more likely you are to click “New Run” when you finally die.

Awards & Rankings

74
#74 Best Xbox One Game of 2019
100
#100 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2019

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 13
  3. Negative: 4 out of 13
  1. Xbox_Alive
    Aug 25, 2019
    8
    RAD is an isometric top down Rouge-Lite Beat-Em-Up adventure set in a post-apocalyptic world. In some time, lost to the future, glowing rocksRAD is an isometric top down Rouge-Lite Beat-Em-Up adventure set in a post-apocalyptic world. In some time, lost to the future, glowing rocks fall to the planet and bring about the second Apocalypse. The entire world is broken, and irradiated, covered in strange plants, and deadly mutants following not one, but two world ending events. You are chosen to become the Altered One, to be remade when you die. You venture out into a procedurally generated world to find effigies known as respirators, that have to power to restore life to the world. As you progress you gather Rads, now normally this would be a bad thing, radiation and all, but the Remade absorbs this corruption and slowly mutates. These mutations are random and provide you with a wild array of abilities from throwing fireballs to laying eggs that hatch into little spider things with your head on them. Equip with a bat and these mutations, you take on tons of enemies and massive bosses. Collect floppies to open locks, and cassette tapes are money to grab up useful items from the games random stores. The downside to all this Awesome, when you die, you lose everything on your body, Mutations, tapes, and floppies. The entire game is saturated with the 80s from the feel of the music to the characters. RAD is an incredibly addictive game, with wild combinations of powers that should be fun for most. Challenging in a fun way RAD is a must have for Rouge-lite and Beat-Em-Up fans alike!… Full Review »
  2. PanzerJack82
    Jun 22, 2020
    10
    This is one of my favorite games. It is fantastic. Terrific gameplay. I like the neon graphics style. The music is great. Very nice ambientThis is one of my favorite games. It is fantastic. Terrific gameplay. I like the neon graphics style. The music is great. Very nice ambient tunes mixed up with some 80s electro beats. This game deserves a lot more recognition.
    You start out with just a bat, wandering around beating up enemies. After a couple of enemies you gain a mutation. This is random and you have to make your way to the final boss with whatever means the game gives you. This system goes pretty deep. Many possible combinations cause there are so many different mutations. Add in some perks, and items on the way and you become a powerful, mutant.
    Getting to the boss is quite hard, but you get better with each run. It took me 53 runs to even get to the boss once, only to get wiped out. I keep coming back to this.

    This is one of my top favorite games, and I have played games for over 30 years starting with Nes.
    I want to thank the team behind it for this jewel of a game. Absolutely fantastic    … Full Review »
  3. 519MaLoNeY
    Feb 17, 2021
    8
    Rad is a very, VERY fun game. I feel that it takes quite a while to get in the groove of exactly wtf is going on. It’s got an immediate eyeRad is a very, VERY fun game. I feel that it takes quite a while to get in the groove of exactly wtf is going on. It’s got an immediate eye catching style and it’s done really well, in terms of the visuals, audio and the dialog and text descriptions of the world and its lore. You basically go in runs and have to make it as far as you can defeating the various monsters etc using a baseball bat and the powers (mutations) you gain when you level up. Fighting through and also finding the correct places to raise certain monuments to progress means you’ll be looking for a couple points at first and then progress down into a tunnel like system for boss fights. It’s pretty tough right off the bat but it gets easier and it is fun. Not having multiplayer kinda sucks but it’s still fun. There’s various unlocks you can unlock n upgrade in the main town square area like a bank, power item shops etc. All in all it’s a super smooth kick ass game. One of my favourite features of the game is the “assist features” in the game menu...it allows you to add more starting health/higher attack power/start off with a ranged mutagen etc. My younger daughters really started to get into the game after we found these as it was brutally hard for them to play the base game. It’s good enough that I bought it for my switch lite and play it regularly, even today still after owning it on both consoles since launch(Xbox one since launch, switch a couple months after that). *Note* I own both the XB1&Switch versions so this review will be posted to both consoles’ metacritic Rad reviews respectively. XB1 version gets 1 point higher (8) for visuals, and switch makes up that difference for being available in handheld… Full Review »
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