Bringing back the 90's-era PC platformer with a game inspired by classics like Commander Keen, Conker, Ruff'n'Tumble & Jazz Jackrabbit.
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I don't remember buying this game so I guess I must have gotten it from a Humble Bundle or something. Or maybe my memory is just really bad. Anyway, I only played it because Bombshell is an unlockable character and my inner 12-year-old has a crush on her
At its core, Rad Rodgers is actually pretty fun, and the music is great! Unfortunately, it's a Slipgate Ironworks AKA Slipgate Studios AKA Interceptor Entertainment AKA Shin LJN production, which means it isn't finished and doesn't work correctly. Seeing one of their various logos when you boot up a game is a huge red flag. Let's take a quick peruse through the titles in their portfolio I'm familiar with:
Rise of the Triad (2013) - Notable only for kicking off the modern "boomer shooter" renaissance and having a god-tier soundtrack. Looks and feels like an Unreal Engine asset flip even though it isn't. The shotgun they added as free DLC causes the game to freeze every time it's fired. Patches that altered the physics and/or mechanics have rendered one of the secret levels unbeatable.
Bombshell - Notable only for introducing the title character, who would later go on to star in an actual good game (by a different studio) that was named Ion Maiden until Iron Maiden got mad because they thought it might cannibalize sales of their mobile game, which I'm hoping was gacha because that would be hilarious. Has several game-breaking bugs that their Discord PR department promised would be fixed in a Definitive Edition for like 6 years before they forgot it existed.
Graven - A game initially advertised as an immersive sim (it isn't) where, by all accounts, the finished product is actually worse than the early access beta.
Daymare: 1998 (console port) - The game itself is okay, but the console port performs so badly it made me feel sick.
Kingpin: Reloaded - A remaster of a game from 1999 that is worse in every way compared to its original release. Took 4 years to develop somehow.
SiN: Reloaded - A remaster of a game from 1998 that they were developing alongside Nightdive. Has been in development for over 4 years somehow. Nightdive allegedly kicked them off the project for obvious reasons.
Rad Rodgers purports to be a spiritual successor to Commander Keen, Jazz Jackrabbit, and the original Duke Nukem games no one under 30 knows exist. In truth, the only similarity it holds to those classics is that it's a 2D platformer which looks uglier and feels worse to play than its Japanese console-oriented contemporaries. But don't worry, it has A T T I T U D E, which means bloody violence and jokes about child-trafficking. Interestingly, even though it's considered the full release, RR only contains World 1. I'm sure World 2 will be releasing any day now, just like Allegiant Part 2.
Rad Rodgers is also a collectathon platformer where you literally can't collect everything. Levels 3 and 5 (possibly more, I gave up in the middle of 6) contain gems that just do not exist. This has been a known issue since launch of the Radical Edition, its second(!) enhanced re-release in as many years. Much like the aforementioned titles, a patch to fix its problems has never materialized, because Slipgate's whole shtick is capitalizing off of nostalgia while putting in the bare minimum effort. I want to clarify that I don't blame the actual dev teams for this, as all their games have the foundation of something great, and I'm sure they tried their best given the circumstances; unfortunately, the incompetence and cynicism of their management seems to derail every project they work on. What better company to carry the torch of 3D Realms into the modern era?
At its core, Rad Rodgers is actually pretty fun, and the music is great! Unfortunately, it's a Slipgate Ironworks AKA Slipgate Studios AKA Interceptor Entertainment AKA Shin LJN production, which means it isn't finished and doesn't work correctly. Seeing one of their various logos when you boot up a game is a huge red flag. Let's take a quick peruse through the titles in their portfolio I'm familiar with:
Rise of the Triad (2013) - Notable only for kicking off the modern "boomer shooter" renaissance and having a god-tier soundtrack. Looks and feels like an Unreal Engine asset flip even though it isn't. The shotgun they added as free DLC causes the game to freeze every time it's fired. Patches that altered the physics and/or mechanics have rendered one of the secret levels unbeatable.
Bombshell - Notable only for introducing the title character, who would later go on to star in an actual good game (by a different studio) that was named Ion Maiden until Iron Maiden got mad because they thought it might cannibalize sales of their mobile game, which I'm hoping was gacha because that would be hilarious. Has several game-breaking bugs that their Discord PR department promised would be fixed in a Definitive Edition for like 6 years before they forgot it existed.
Graven - A game initially advertised as an immersive sim (it isn't) where, by all accounts, the finished product is actually worse than the early access beta.
Daymare: 1998 (console port) - The game itself is okay, but the console port performs so badly it made me feel sick.
Kingpin: Reloaded - A remaster of a game from 1999 that is worse in every way compared to its original release. Took 4 years to develop somehow.
SiN: Reloaded - A remaster of a game from 1998 that they were developing alongside Nightdive. Has been in development for over 4 years somehow. Nightdive allegedly kicked them off the project for obvious reasons.
Rad Rodgers purports to be a spiritual successor to Commander Keen, Jazz Jackrabbit, and the original Duke Nukem games no one under 30 knows exist. In truth, the only similarity it holds to those classics is that it's a 2D platformer which looks uglier and feels worse to play than its Japanese console-oriented contemporaries. But don't worry, it has A T T I T U D E, which means bloody violence and jokes about child-trafficking. Interestingly, even though it's considered the full release, RR only contains World 1. I'm sure World 2 will be releasing any day now, just like Allegiant Part 2.
Rad Rodgers is also a collectathon platformer where you literally can't collect everything. Levels 3 and 5 (possibly more, I gave up in the middle of 6) contain gems that just do not exist. This has been a known issue since launch of the Radical Edition, its second(!) enhanced re-release in as many years. Much like the aforementioned titles, a patch to fix its problems has never materialized, because Slipgate's whole shtick is capitalizing off of nostalgia while putting in the bare minimum effort. I want to clarify that I don't blame the actual dev teams for this, as all their games have the foundation of something great, and I'm sure they tried their best given the circumstances; unfortunately, the incompetence and cynicism of their management seems to derail every project they work on. What better company to carry the torch of 3D Realms into the modern era?
This game comes with 2 versions, World One and Radical Edition. Radical Edition is a sort of definitive edition with extras such as new playable characters and mini games. I played up to the 9th level. I didn't finish it and also had one more mini game left along with the last boss. Why you ask? The Radical Edition is super buggy. It's insane. It's a plaftormer with heavy emphasis on collecting things, yet it's impossible to collect everything in certain levels due to bugs. My motivation for collecting everything, something that I enjoy, is sucked out of me. I accepted this and wanted to just finish the game. Level 9 has a nasty bug where you get stuck on environments and not being able to fix it. Time wasted because you have to restart the level. I tried again for it to happen a second time elsewhere in the same level. I've had enough. I'm noticing a pattern with this publisher where they pretend to care about the bugs and then they hide, never to be heard from again. They should be ashamed of themselves for leaving the game buggy like that. I learned my lesson when other reviewers warn of buggy games. World One edition is apparently more stable but I'm not planning on giving it a try any time soon, if ever.
Bad Bodgers