Rad Rodgers: World One – Review

Name: Rad Rodgers: World One
Developer: Slipgate Studios
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Released: 21.02.2018
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Reviewed on: PS4
Acquired: * A copy of this game was provided from publisher for review purpose*

Old-school gameplay with colorful graphics and extremely juvenile and rude humor? Sign me up!

If you miss the days of the platformer, look no further because Rad Rodgers is here to satisfy you! While at first glance this game may seem suitable for everyone, I assure you it is not. This game is aimed towards the people who grew up with platformers like this, and miss them.

Story

Little Rad is a spirited little rascal, that plays a lot of video games. After being rudely interrupted in his gaming and sent to bed by his mother, he dozes off to sleep and wakes up when the TV turns on. He is warped into a mysterious world where his favourite console, Dusty, is alive and things are not well. The jungle world is being corrupted and it is up to Rad & Dusty to save the inhabitants and restore order.

The story is not really that crucial in a game like this, and even though it is not the strongest storyline I have ever seen, it works. The game is narrated by voice actor Jon St. John and young Hunter Pratt, and they both do a great job giving the game that little extra.

The humor in this game is just fantastic! Yes, it is juvenile. Yes, it is foul and has a lot of really bad words. Yes, it made me laugh out loud so many times! Calling hearts “odd-shaped buttplugs” and complaining about the “stank” on them makes me giggle. Sue me.
8/10

Graphics

The graphics in Rad Rodgers are actually much better than it seems in the beginning. The reason is that they have used new-school tech to make it look old-school and pixelated, but the devil is in the details. The effects of guns, water, light and ambiance prove that they have put a lot of work into making it seem as old-school as it is. The cut-scenes are perfectly animated and fit very well into the game.

I also have to add the amazing music this game has, because it matters a lot! You will spend a lot of times in each level, so if the music had sucked, you would be bored. A good thing that it doesn’t suck, at all. It is actually incredibly good and very varied.
9/10

Gameplay

Games like this are never better than their gameplay. In Rad Rodgers you are going through the levels armed with a gun that you find special ammo for here and there, to defeat various enemies. Every now and then (quite often) there is a “glitch” in the gameplay and Dusty has got to help out to fix this in the pixel-world by finding something in a small maze or solve a small puzzle.

The different levels offer some variation but at times you may find yourself stuck and not sure how to progress, and that’s a really bad feeling. Some kind of indication about what to do next would have been nice. Sometimes you have to criss-cross the levels so much to finish it, that you may actually miss the very things you need to progress.

A bit more variation could have been nice, but then again I remember the old-school platformers where the only thing you could do was jump, and that never bothered me back then. Anyhow, the gameplay of this game is good enough to keep me entertained for hours at end.
7/10

Controls

The controls here are very standard, you move with one stick, aim with the other and shoot with R2. Nothing special, nothing to complain about. Nothing to praise too loudly. When thinking about it, there is not much to say about the controls other than the fact that they are nice and do what they are supposed to do.
8/10

Replay Value

The game has a high replay value, because they have added a genius thing called a leaderboard on each and every level. You get score based on the number of gems you found, the number of secrets you found (homes you invaded) and the time it took you to finish the level. Did I mention the hats? No? THere are hats hidden around in the game that unlock when you find them, so you can defeat the level wearing viking horns or maybe a crown?
9/10

You can check out our review policy right here, if you wonder how we set our scores.