RAD

RAD is an electrifying journey through a post-apocalyptic world that brilliantly blends vibrant aesthetics, unique gameplay, and an unexpectedly deep narrative. This action-packed adventure offers a refreshing take on the genre, and it left me not only entertained but genuinely impressed by how it managed to combine fun mechanics with a surprising amount of heart.
From the very first moment I jumped into RAD, I was drawn in by its striking visual style. The colorful, cartoonish aesthetic stands in delightful contrast to the dark, decaying world it inhabits. The game’s art direction is unique and engaging, with each level radiating personality and flair. It’s as if you’re playing through a vibrant comic book—each environment is a carefully crafted piece of art that makes exploration feel fresh and exciting.
But RAD is more than just a pretty face. The gameplay is equally engaging. As you play as a teenager sent to traverse a toxic wasteland filled with mutated creatures, the combat is fast-paced, fluid, and deeply satisfying. The game uses a roguelike mechanic, so every run feels fresh, offering a combination of random mutations and power-ups that help you customize your character in fun and unexpected ways. I love how every mutation brings a new twist to gameplay—whether it’s transforming into a walking bomb or gaining the ability to shoot energy blasts. The sheer variety keeps you on your toes and makes each new playthrough feel like a completely new experience.
What really sets RAD apart, though, is its sense of progression. While the world around you is decaying, you’re constantly evolving and growing stronger through the mutations you pick up along the way. This creates a satisfying loop of growth, where you feel a constant sense of improvement, even as you struggle through the chaos of the world. The risk-reward system adds a layer of strategy—choosing which mutations to keep and which to discard can make or break your success in each run. It’s challenging but incredibly rewarding when you pull off a particularly tough sequence or finally conquer a difficult boss.
The game’s world-building also deserves praise. Though the narrative is minimal, the atmosphere is rich, and the sense of a fallen civilization is always palpable. The quirky, lighthearted tone of the game contrasts well with its darker undertones, making the whole experience feel balanced. There’s a certain charm in how RAD invites you to venture into a world that’s both strange and familiar, filled with mutated creatures, strange characters, and unexpected dangers. Every corner of this world feels lived-in, and that attention to detail makes exploring it that much more enjoyable.
But what really sticks with me after playing RAD is the sense of freedom and discovery. The game doesn’t hold your hand, which can be refreshing in a time when many games over-explain everything. You’re free to explore the world at your own pace, taking on challenges as you see fit. The thrill of discovering new mutations, unlocking new abilities, and uncovering hidden secrets is what makes RAD so addictive. It’s one of those games where you’ll say, “Just one more run,” and before you know it, hours have passed.
In conclusion, RAD is an absolute joy to play. It strikes the perfect balance between chaos and strategy, blending a fast-paced action gameplay loop with an immersive world and creative design. It’s a game that constantly surprises you, rewarding you for exploring, experimenting, and learning from your failures. If you’re a fan of roguelikes, action games, or just looking for something different, RAD is an exciting adventure you won’t want to miss.

Played this initially for about 1 hour before deciding it wasn't for me. Fast forward 2 years and a Steamdeck investment - it's honestly one of my favourite games in my library. Despite only playing 16 hours, it feels like I've played much more of this. It's rouge like style suits very well the Steam Deck, and occupys the space smoking did for me. If i've got 15 minutes spare... might as well fire up the deck and have a quick go on Rad.

Lots of variation through the many different mutations which occur throughout each play through adding variability to the game. Each level generated slightly different so no two games are the same. But the glue which holds it all together is the humour. Very much not in your face, very much suited to any Gen-X'r who experienced the 80s, hearing a completley unironic baritone annouce "baby needs some new shoes" when you pick up some currency never fails to raise a smile

Pretty fun as quick dungeon crawler with random upgrades. Great to play as break in AAA games. Worth to buy in big sales and as Steamdeck game for wuick sessions.

Pros: mutations are fun, world design is fantastic with fun lore drops, it was fun to explore and discover things in this world, and combat was fun. All in all, very fun to play, for a while.
Cons: I know this isn’t really a story based game, but the world and lore was interesting enough I started getting interested in the story development with each successful run. However, it ended up being a very lackluster story in the end. That was a bummer. The worst part was the RNG, though. It was annoying to end up with several successive runs with basically the same mutations, and it happened more often than what can be attributed to a random fluke. And I love getting all the achievements I can, but the Nerd achievement and the faction achievements are just frustrating as heck. I think I found only 2 of the 10 or more cave lore statues in the 80 or so hours I invested in the game. And these statues are only found in the caves in the middle two levels. I found so many empty rooms in caves like where the statues are supposed to spawn, but no statue spawned. I had similar bad luck with certain artifacts and never saw them in all of my playthroughs. I got lucky with 2/3 of the factions, but the Cathode Raiders just ended up giving me the same quests over and over again (I tried the tricks). I might only be one quest away from completing that achievement but I just can’t take it anymore. I’m throwing the towel in.
All in all, I recommend this game if you like these kind of games and if it’s on sale. The world and lore are fun, just don’t expect much from the overarching story. Play until you’re tired of it and move on - 80 hours of playing is easily twice as long as I should have played, in retrospect.

Love the mutations
big replay value
Good mechanics

It's a rogue-like in the vein of Hades, and if you don't have Hades, you should probably get that instead.
That said, it's a fun action rogue-like. The aesthetic is pretty fantastic and it has a lot of variation in the powers and builds you can create. If you like the genre, and especially if it's on sale, I definitely recommend it. Below I get into some of the things I wasn't crazy about.
The pace of movement and combat is much slower than Hades, which makes runs feel quite long. I think my average runs are about an hour, but I think they feel a little longer than that.
Your mutations (power ups and weapons) are entirely random. Usually in this genre, you get to pick between multiple options, but here one is randomly assigned to you each time you level up. On the plus side, you're forced to adapt to the mutations and pushed out of your comfort zone on builds, which I like. On the other hand, you can end up with a funky build that will end your run prematurely. In the final area, having so much left to RNG seems particularly cruel, since there are zones that can replace one of your mutations with a faulty version if you remain in them too long. I encountered shops selling multiples of the same artifact, which is completely useless.
A minor note, it does run fine on Steam Deck, but it gets pretty hot and I was surprised at how quick my battery went down. Since the runs are an hour or so, I'll probably stick to playing on my desktop from now on.
In the end, if you like Double Fine and want a Double Fine flavored roguelike, or you dig the aesthetic, definitely check it out. I've gone through about 6 runs so far and haven't seen everything yet, and I'll likely play more. I doubt my opinion is going to change much as I keep going.

Good, but VERY frustrating, never gets easier, enemies are annoying, it doesn't feel like with all of your mutations you hit harder. You just get more health (if you are lucky), and/or environmental immunity.