Rad Rodgers: Radical Edition - Switch

Remember the opening sequence of Captain N: The Game Master, where a portal opens in Kevin's TV and he's sucked through it so that he can save the (video) world? No? That's fair, it's nearly 30 years old now. But there's a fair chance that someone over at Slipgate Studios does, because that's exactly what happens to Rad Rogers at the start of his eponymous video game adventures. What follows is part meta textual exploration of retro videogames and all action-packed platforming romp.

Along for ride is Dusty, Rad's foul-mouthed but good-hearted games console, now sentient and making up for a deteriorating clock speed with experience and a big old heap of attitude.

The pair must take on the First World, which comprises seven deadly stages of light-hearted but decidedly hardcore platforming complete with run and gun elements. It's a decaying world, though, and every now and then Dusty has to go behind the scenes to enter the electrified pixelverse, a dangerous region behind the game world wreaking havoc with space time, to repair the very stuff the First World is built on.

On top of all the content in the original release of Rad Rogers: World One, this Radical Edition dials things up a notch with the addition of some familiar characters, including Lo Wang from Shadow Warrior, Cosmo from Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure, and Duke Nukem from... well, you know where the Duke's from. With two-player co-op and competitive multiplayer thrown in for good measure, there are plenty of new reasons to see what Rad's up to on the Switch.

All in all, this is straightforward hardcore platforming with a cheeky grin on its face. more