I am a huge fan of the talented team over at Double Fine Productions and with the recent news that they have now joined the Xbox Studios family, the future is certainly bright for this amazing developer team under Tim Schafer. Before they bring their magic to all things Xbox, we have another little gem from the studio to sink our teeth into, released during Gamescom 2019, RAD took me by surprise the first time I saw gameplay and made a beeline to get it on my console and boy, did it continue to surprise me right from the start.

RAD is set some time after world fell victim an apocalyptic event and mankind is barely holding on. The first Apocalyptic event took place in the 1980s and as expected, devastated all live on Earth wiping out most of humankind and reaping havoc on the planet itself. Sometime after that a new civilization rose called the Menders, building colossal structures and scientific machines in the hope of saving the world but then they all vanished. Now the Menders are revered by the remaining humans who are hoping to use the technology they left behind to continue their work to save the world from the new monstrous creatures who now roam the nuclear wastelands. Now you, the player, have been selected as ‘The Chosen One’ to go out into the world to seek out and activate Mender technology.

At first there are a few characters to select for players, with more that can be unlocked but they are really just a visual cosmetic choice as they do not differ in either ability or have a back story that makes any real difference in the world or how you play RAD. Initially the game is rather deceptively basic with the player simply armed with a baseball bat of power for attack and the ability to jump. Very little is also explained to you other than you are tasked with heading out into the wastelands. One of the first things that hits you is just how vibrant the visuals and colour scheme is with a pallet that very much uses the theme of the 1980s with neon greens and pinks showing the effects of the nuclear fallout. The music as well has that tremendous 80s vibe and ‘The Voice’ that offers short little commentary on your gameplay adds a really lovely touch as you explore.

When I say the gameplay is deceptively basic is because at first it does genuinely feel very simplistic. You are in the world and exploring, revealing more of the map the further you explore with the aim of finding a Mender temple and the statues that provide the power needed to open its door. The maps are all procedural generated so you never visit the same map twice and they can range from quite small to larger sized areas to explore. Maps are also filled with different types of creatures, some small, some large and some that can fly but all of which want to fight you. The creatures also have different attacking patterns and attacks which starting off with only 3 basic attacks from swinging your bat to a charge attack and a jump kick attack, can make combat feel very one sided when you first start off on your adventure.

But this is where RAD fully comes to life and changes the gameplay for every creature you kill, you will absorb ‘rads’ into your body. Building up enough rads will cause your body to mutate. Mutations are random so you can never be too sure what you are going to end up having and they can either provide you with a new attacking option such as a projectile attack from a “boomerang” style arm that can be thrown to having a throwable Skull head which acts like a grenade. You can also gain more defensive mutations such as legs that allow you to leave a trail of toxic waste behind which will damage anything that comes into contact with it whilst some mutations will aid you in exploring such as wings to glide and to jump higher. You can have up to three physical mutations at one time and learning to adapt to these new abilities and learning how to use them to aid you in combat or exploration will be key to your success in RAD. You can also gather ‘Endo’ mutations which can boost your ability to resist an element type or give you more health or attack power. Endo mutations are limitless, working like the ‘Badass tokens’ in Borderlands so you can collect as many Endo mutations as you can find.

Gaining mutations is an absolute must in RAD and your first mutation will happen as pretty quickly by killing the creatures in the first area you arrive in. Maps will also have a Mender underground tunnel system which is filled with creatures but in a far more confined space but is a great way to farm the rads needed to learn a mutation. These tunnels can also be a quick way to move around the map and a source of Endo mutations so they are worth investigating on your travels. The world also has its own currency in the form of classic cassette tapes collected from defeating creatures and can be used at the various shops either at home base or from the random people you can meet out in the wastelands. Special crates, which require a floppy disc key, scan also be found which will contain helpful items to use such as rad boosters to health potions. There is certainly a lot to do and find as you explore in the world but not everything is straightforward because there is one challenging aspect to RAD which I came to love but can also be very frustrating at the same time…death!

Like other rogue-like games, there is a penalty for failure which comes in the form of your death. When you die, your character will be remade at home base, ready to set off once again but you will lose any and all mutations, items and currency you had acquired in your previous run or ‘life’. You will lose your progression in the world so if like me for example, you had a run/life that lasted for 2 hours but then you suddenly died to a level boss, having to start all over again can be disheartening. The game does offer a band-aid however in that after you complete a level and defeat the main boss, you have the chance to return to home base and can bank any currency you have so if you do need to restart over, you can at least use some saved currency to purchase items from the shops to give you a head start on your next run. Successfully progressing and surviving in the world will also unlock new characters and items in shops for you to buy which remain available even if you fail again. By playing and dying over and over can also lead to new shortcuts being accessible in the world but it also forces players to get better by learning from mistakes. Gaining an understanding of mutations and creatures will help you develop a winning strategy that allows you to survive longer and progress further.

That is where RAD becomes a true gem of a game that whilst the punishment for failing is cruel, at the same time it gives you the incentive and desire to give right back in and try again and because each run is different due to not knowing what mutations you will acquire or creatures and the strive to not fail becomes a true challenge because should you fall, back to the start you go. Like a game of Snakes and Ladders with a good dose of 80s Nostalgia, RAD was a surprising fun experience that kicked my butt more times than I care to admit but gave me a real Rocky Balboa need to jump back in and do better.

RAD offers a true challenge that fans of this genre will find entertaining and though it can be unforgiving at times, it will always give you a fresh chance to meet that challenge. Not to mention it managed to fulfil a dream I never knew I had of becoming a mutated Valley Girl with a baseball bat!

Remedy has always been a game studio I have kept my eyes on from the amazing Alan Wake games to the very experimental but highly entertaining Quantum Break for Xbox One. When I learned that Remedy were working on a new title I wondered what lessons had been learned from Quantum Break, an Xbox exclusive that unique in that it was combining video games with actual television style full episode’s to further the narrative in between the story telling through the game itself which even had the full backing of a brand new Xbox Entertainment studio although it was closed pretty soon after Quantum Break actually launched. So, what could this new game deliver…. well it was time to find out if I could keep my ‘Control’.

Control is an absolutely fascinating video game in so many ways from the visuals and audio systems used to enhance the incredible level designs to the just bonkers story that feels as though it was inspired by every form of sci-fi show and film ever made. Right from the moment you press start and are transported into the game world, there is a deliberate intention to keep you as the player as confused as to what is happening as it is to the main hero in the game Jesse Faden, a young women who is making her way to the main head office of the Federal Bureau of Control (FCB) based in New York. All the player knows comes from a short bit of narration from Jesse herself as she explains she has been on a journey to investigate and find out why this organisation took her brother away seventeen years ago.

Which is about all you have going into the game from a story point of view, as I said there is a definite desire to keep the player in the dark as to what is happening right from the off and usually this style of story telling can prove to be frustrating but Control uses is rather intelligently in that instead of laying down loads of exposition, it simply introduces you to Jesse and explains why she has gone to the building and then lets the story be discovered rather than told. This works by using the many collectables Jesse can pick up from Company Documents with redacted information to media such as audio and video footage which gives more insight into what the Bureau of Control has been doing.

At first the lack of explanation can leave the player a little baffled especially as the first character you meet is rather mysterious janitor called Ahti who seems to think Jesse is there to apply for the job as his assistant. Right after this you go to the FCB Directors office only to discover the dead body of Zachariah Trench, the now former Director as well as a strange gun lying beside him. Jesse is compelled to pick up the gun, discovering that it is actually something quite extraordinary as weapons go but the strangest thing about it is how the wielder of the gun, known as the service Revolver, instantly becomes the new Director of the FBC meaning that all the actual staff of the FBC now respond to Jesse as the new Director. Jesse soon learns that the FBC has been investigating the paranormal connection of the real world to the astral plain and something has gone very wrong and is centred within the FBC main building, referred to by staff and paperwork as “The Old House”.

This means that Jesse really has two objectives at the start of Control, finding out what happened to her brother Dylan and now finding out what has happened in the FBC. Characters will ask Jesse to complete tasks as the Director, which the player will do because the hope is that by playing along, Jesse will be able to uncover the secrets of the FBC and find her brother. Gameplay comes in the form of the familiar third person action seen in Quantum Break with the Service Gun providing the weapon. But this is not the only attack option Jesse has as she also develops powers such as the very inspired by the Jedi, ‘Launch’ power which is pretty much telekinesis allowing Jesse to pick up objects and ‘launch’ them at enemies. Those enemies come in the form of The Hiss, beings from the astral plane who can take over the body of FBC staff and control them to fight you with conventional guns and grenades. As you progress through the story missions and explore further into the FBC building, Jesse can claim ‘control points’ by clearing the area of any Hiss Enemies and cleansing the point. These points can then serve as fast travel as many of the main missions and indeed the many side missions you can pick up, will require you to go back and forth from areas you have already visited.  The game also borrows the Metal Gear Solid system of having levels of clearance which Jesse will need to obtain the correct clearance card to access, most of which are obtained by progressing through the story. To say this game offers a lot for the player to do and it is worth seeking out and completing the side missions in order to obtain materials and experience points needed to upgrade your Service Revolver and abilities.

The Service Revolver has different modes, which essentially turn it into different forms of gun such as a machine pistol, a shot gun for example with two modes able to be carried and switched between on the fly during combat. They can then have mods added to increase their recharge rate or damage. The same applies to Jesse’s abilities and attributes as mods can be added to improve health recovery or energy spent using. There are different tiers of quality for these mods and boosts and they are easily obtained through natural play so there is always a chance to improve your load out because the battles you can find yourself in can range from being a doddle to being an absolute cheap nightmare.

The Hiss can also come in various types from your base standard type with guns to ones that can float, having shields and some that can even heal other Hiss. Then you have Boss type Hiss who can do a lot of damage with every hit which can catch you unaware until you can adapt your loadout to battle them. I did find this one of the most frustrating elements to control until my had enough modifiers to improve the Service Revolver modes and boosts to my abilities. Jesse using her powers felt very much like using Force abilities in The Force Unleashed and the physics in the game allow for some amazing uses of the powers with everything near enough capable of being turned into a weapon to use. A nice touch happens to be if you have thrown everything you can find with Launch, if you aim at the ground or a wall Jesse can rip off cement to hurl about instead.

The level design of each section of the FBC building is staggering really especially when you encounter areas where the astral plan and our reality have started to blend together. There are plenty of puzzles to find and solve as you try to navigate around the building which may depend on abilities you will not learn until further into the game. The best way to describe it would be to imagine what it would be like to have the building inside the TARDIS and discovering it changing around you. Visually the game is just stunning with so much attention to details that bring it more to life as you explore and find more and more secrets via the collectables. There is a downside however to all this if you are playing Control on anything but the Xbox One X. When playing on the X the visuals are sharp and fluid but moving down to the S or even the original Xbox One and performance issues can make Control quite annoying at times. Severe slow down can happen when exiting a menu screen which can take a few seconds to settle down and facial animations when in dialogue scene can come across as stone faced and emotionless. Future game updates have been promised to address these issues but it’s a shame that it can tarnish the experience from what is a real GOTY contender.

Control is a brilliant and mind-bending game to experience and you can see the lessons Remedy have learned from Quantum Break by now blending real film footage into the game engine to add that extra enhanced level of reality to the story telling. The combat is fun and you can feel Jesse becoming more powerful with every new ability she learns and the modifying system is pretty easy to use and navigate to boost those powers further. I loved how the story is left to be discovered and the reward for paying attention to the extra lore and information found in the collectables. Jesse is a fantastic lead character and getting to hear her inner monologue at crucial times is spell binding.

Performance issues aside and hopefully updates and patches will address them, Control is a step forward in how story telling in a sci-fi game can be and Remedy have really found their footing in using the paranormal and science to create worlds for players to be fully immersed in. Action packed and deliciously abstract, Control felt fresh in a gaming year brimming with heavy hitting titles already out and still to come.