Not quite as rad as I had hoped.

Rad Rodgers is the game that I took one look at a screenshot and said: “I need this in my life.” After spending countless hours digging through its throwback campaign I might have been a little overzealous in my approach. Rad Rodgers is a throwback to classic side scrollers of the past. Everything from its dated humor to basic design feel like it is stuck in the past. While there is fun to be had, the majority of the game struggles to find its identity.

The story follows Rad as he is sucked into his own video game. When he arrives he is greeted by Dusty, his trust cartridge who aids him in his journey. Dusty is voiced by Jon St. john of Duke Nukem fame, and the game touts having plenty of expletives along the way. Most of the humor falls flat due to its incessant need to rip on video game tropes. We have heard them all before, and the delivery just isn’t there.

MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: XB1 (reviewed), PS4, PC
Price I’d Pay: $14.99

At its core Rad Rodgers is a classic side-scrolling action game. Players move along a 2D plane and blast enemies while taking on plenty of platform challenges. The 3D models used for the backgrounds help the world pop and the jumping feels good. The shooting takes a bit to get used to as aiming at some enemies can be a chore, but the mechanics here work for what the game is attempting to convey. It is beautiful in its simplicity.

Where Rodgers falls short is its unevenness. The game ranges from extremely simple, to overly complex and frustrating towards the end game. The levels are also a touch longer than they need to be. There are eight total levels, but it feels like it would have been better suited to break them up into 16 shorter areas. The checkpoints are fine, and I never had to backtrack too much, but the lives counter becomes a problem in the later levels. The difficulty jumps up too drastically, causing replays of entire levels that are simply too long for their own good.

Speaking of long levels, what drags these out are the insane amount of things to pick up in each of them. The laundry list that displays at the end feels overwhelming. If I wanted to do a perfect run I had to search every nook and cranny and most of the time I wound up missing one or two things, thus causing a replay. It is frustrating, but again mostly due to the lengthy design of each stage.

I really do love the look of this game though. It is a modern take on a classic style and it works. The levels are bright and colorful, and the designs are top notch. It can be difficult sometimes discerning enemies as they blend into the background, but on the whole it works. While the jokes may fall flat it is always a good time when Jon St. John is doing voice work. His tones are always welcome in games and we truly need more of him.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.