Radiant Crusade

[h1]Introduction[/h1] Here we go again! As much as writing negative reviews might displease me, I can’t always post positives and especially so when there are so few redeeming points to outweigh a game’s many flaws. This is in fact my first negative review since Curator Connect has been implemented by Valve and I’m partially to blame since I wasn’t selective enough. Nevermind, I shall do my best to point out the decent aspects of the game as well. It’s certainly not the case of an asset flip or lazy/broken Early Access project. That former label isn't even featured and perhaps it should have been. As the Steam debut of developer Radiance Games, they started off on the wrong foot regardless of their intentions. [h1]Story[/h1] At least half of the title bares some resemblance to what you’re seeing on-screen. It is radiant in the sense that there are lots of glowing objects around the map. They’re more like neons though and that vehicle which the players shall control seems like a poor depiction of a scrapped piece of Tron artwork. But crusade? Crusading against what, those giant insects? From the looks of it, since we have zero story development, I am more inclined to consider this an invasion of an alien homeworld than a crusade which by definition, involves a campaign for political, social or religious change. You see now, why it’s important to have an introduction to your game, Radiance? Even a static text box or a picture with some flimsy generic sentences such as “this is the future, the year is bla bla and we have discovered bla bla bla”. By offering that bare minimum, you avoid both confusion and my twisted interpretation of your project as being the miscarried love child of Tron and Starship Troopers. [h1]Graphics[/h1] Unity Engine is credited as being the game’s graphics engine as soon as you boot it up. It’s a nice touch for it and the dev team’s own logo. Since they’re showing a commitement to decent looking symbols, how hard would have been to offer some much needed context to their project? What’s truly striking is that Radiant Cursade has some pretty nice visual assets that are being wasted by lack of diversity in almost any sector of its development. Those enemy insects you must constantly fight, range in color and size more than in different shapes. You cannot customize the vehicle at all, nor can you place new defense towers or even select another battle map. It all feels like a tech demo and it’s disappointing that there’s no label for Early Access to at least acknowledge Radiant Crusade’s unfinished state. I refuse to believe that the developer intended that single map, no story, single vechicle and handful of foes to be the game’s content in its entirety. I didn’t have any performance issues with it and that’s certainly why Unity Engine was one of the few inspired choices in Radiant Cursade’s case. [h1]Audio[/h1] Very few sound files are present. A repetitive set for both effects and soundtrack. I guess I shouldn’t have expected the audio assets to be much more diversified than their visual counterparts. One can only hope, right? There were rare cases of games that had a far better soundtrack than their gameplay segments had to offer in terms of actual entertainment value. Radiant Crusade stick to its misunderstood minimalist approach even for its sounds. “Less is more” only applies if there’s some abstract or hidden meaning to it, Radiance. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] As soon as you hit “New Game”, you’re being plunged right in the middle of the action. Defending a tall structure which fires lasers as well at the ensuing onslaught. It does half the job on its own so at least on the lower levels, you can just roam around the map without caring about any defense plans. Not that you have much to look at anyway. It’s a missed opportunity that players can’t even place new towers or turrets. It would have been a throwback to the Perimeter series which might have been a saving grace for this title. In all honesty, I’ve seen mobile “games” with more gameplay diversity or narrative development than Radiant Crusade. That’s right, I don’t even consider those timesinks you get to play on a smartphone or tablet as being proper games, but even some of them can potentially be more entertaining than the title I’m reviewing now. It’s a real tragedy when you can offer a valid comparison between a PC game and something you play while waiting for the next bus or contemplating on the “throne”. On Radiant Crusade’s Store Page, I saw some (deceptively) promising screenshots within the gameplay’s first person perspective. Why was it a deception? It’s only available in the game’s VR Mode for some inexplicable reason. If you’re a strictly “mouse+keyboard peasant” just like me and you didn’t give in to the marketing BS claiming that spending as much on a VR headset as you would on a mainstream GPU, is a wise consumer choice, then guess what? You are stuck with the third person perspective in a game that was already in desperate need for diversity of any kind. And the gameplay gets old very fast. All you do is drive that space buggy close to the alien insects, blasting them into oblivion and advancing to a higher level that just involves more and bigger insects to shoot at. No explanation and nearly no reward system other than a few upgrades that seemingly increase the fire rate or shield capacity. I actually started drifting while shooting, just to add another layer of absurdity on top of the ones already present. [h1]Verdict[/h1] Unless you own a VR headset, just don’t bother with this game unless you get it bundled somewhere. Not even Trading Cards can save Radiant Crusade from its severe lack of content. If you’re going to release a title and claim that non-VR users can also enjoy it, at least have the decency to offer the same experience. If you can’t, then specify that they’ll get shafted even more than the VR players. Perhaps more maps/foes/vehicles shall be added at a later time. I will obviously readdress the rating if that happens. For now, Radiant Crusade is worst game I’ve played in 2018. I know, the year just started and there are plenty more disappointments on the horizon. I’ll be sure to write about them, as the situation demands it. [h1]Strong Points[/h1] + Pleasant graphics. + Steam Trading Cards. + Interesting concept in spite of its poor execution. + VR Mode could be decent, but the gameplay remains basically the same. [h1]Weak Points[/h1] - First person perspective only for the VR Mode. - Lack of content and visual diversity. - No Steam Achievements. - Limited sound selection. - No story whatsoever. [b]Rating 45/100[/b] [quote]This review was submitted for [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/gaming_until_end]Gaming Until End[/url], through the generous contribution of [url=http://steamcommunity.com/id/HellCowON]HellCow[/url] and the Steam Curator Connect program.[/quote]