Radiolight: A Review of a Surreal Horror Thriller
A video game thriller where radio frequencies play a crucial role.
Radiolight is one of those independent productions that plunges us into the supernatural, making us experience moments where we hold our breath, in an anxious wait that will lead us to discover the mysteries of the fictional town of Ashwood Creek, in the United States.
We are in the 80s, 1985 to be precise, a perfect historical context to tell events that lead to inevitable consequences: think of Stranger Things and all the events that followed in Hawkins... but that's another story. Let's go back to Radiolight, a kind of horror-tinged walking simulator that made us think of a mix between Firewatch and Oxenfree: a true dark tale based on exploration, narration, and with an overall interesting visual compartment.
Perhaps the most successful aspect of this work lies in its minimalist nature, in a gameplay stratagem where everything revolves around a radio (yes, those portable ones from the 80s) and a walkie-talkie. This is proof that a video game doesn't necessarily have to be animated by frantic gameplay where you (literally) slice zombies or other ravenous monsters.
Many ideas, perhaps a few minor stumbles, but all in all, Radiolight tells an interesting story, leaving some doors open on certain narrative elements: could a sequel be planned?
We are exactly in 1985, in the charming town of Ashwood, a place where unsolved mysteries occur. Our role in this story is that of a simple police officer named Ethan, dealing with a strange disappearance case: apparently, fourteen-year-old Elliot Laire disappeared on August 30th in the Blackwood area, in the heart of the National Park. And as if that weren't enough, one of the area's rangers (Harvey Waters) has also gone missing. On the surface, these seem to be "just" routine investigations, but soon, we will be "thrown" into a journey through the unknown. Thriller premises, after all, in a formula that combines exploration with the search for clues to solve the case.
From the very first moments of the game, we found ourselves in a context that doesn't present many gameplay elements. As police officers, we will have a portable transceiver, probably a service weapon (which we will never use, as it's not provided by the game) and a small radio, one of those analog ones where you have to find the right frequency to listen to good music.
Too bad that the latter, taken by our daughter during the last conversation, will not serve us to relax but to intercept some frequencies of a, shall we say, paranormal nature. We are faced with a kind of "walking simulator" where we can interact with the surrounding world, namely: examine photographs, read ranger reports, find keys to unlock shelters, and discover useful objects to continue our mission (like wire cutters or adhesive tape).
And even if we will apparently be alone, Robert will be there to help us with this mystery, to whom we will report via walkie-talkie. As police officers, we will share the mysteries plaguing this (formerly) cheerful town with our colleague/friend, conveying more than a few perplexities to the other interlocutor. Ethan is a divorced father and, following some events that are only mentioned in the game, he must toe the line to maintain custody of his daughter.
As we said, what seems to be a standard search case turns into something mystical, surreal, that will leave our policeman breathless. In fact, as a good thriller teaches us, we will see suspicious figures lurking in the National Park in a kind of almost tangible hallucination. That strangeness, those eyes on us, are felt at every moment of this adventure: we often found ourselves vulnerable and we happened to jump out of our seats hearing a bird squawk more than it should.
And how can this tension be fought? What weapons does Ethan have at his disposal? None! Or rather, his radio. In Radiolight there are no bad guys, but demonic shadows (let's put it that way) complete with horns. The only solution to defeat them, at least apparently, is to tune into their frequencies: by doing so, their eyes will turn white and their horns will break. A unique and original combat, it must be said, which also puts a good dose of tension on the player: if you don't find the right frequency in time, the demon will suck you into its world and goodbye to solving the case.
What we found ourselves facing is a particular experience, animated by a decidedly pleasant graphic system and convincing glimpses. Of course, the few "flesh and blood" characters we will meet on our journey are rendered a bit too stylized, and in a certain sense, they "clash" with the overall style of the production. The sound system also convinced us, with forest echoes of fauna and flora that amplify the player's solitary search state, not to mention the crackling and otherworldly sounds coming from that radio.
The union of two main elements, namely the walkie-talkie and the "small radio," makes the narrative smooth and quite original. In fact, for all 5 hours it takes to complete the story, we never felt moments of frustration: the formula guides us very concisely to the next destination, without the hassle of having to solve particularly complex puzzles.
It must also be said that the title leaves too many questions unanswered, questions for which we would have needed concrete answers. The ending made us think that perhaps the developer has a new chapter planned, but it is undeniable that we were left with a bit of a bitter taste. And this is definitely not a bad thing; on the contrary, even in cinema, this ploy is used to leave the viewer's interpretation free. However, understand us, the feeling was that we hadn't completely solved the case: probably the developer's goal was precisely this, and we respect it in a certain sense.
Radiolight, although it presents no technical problems of any kind, projects us into a scenario that is perhaps a bit bare of details, where perhaps the presence of more points of interest, such as buildings or other shelters, would have been more functional. However, it must be considered that the adventure takes place in a National Park, so one could not expect real miracles in that sense.
It's a shame about the lack of Italian language support, a factor that now afflicts some of the most recent productions (especially indie ones). For those who don't speak English perfectly, the enjoyment of this title is not the best, and some of the key elements of an already enigmatic narrative can be lost.
7
Score
Editorial team
Radiolight: A Review of a Surreal Horror Thriller
Radiolight is a first-person thriller that plunges the player into a story full of suspense and the paranormal. The player's weapons are a portable radio and a walkie-talkie, around which all the simple and functional gameplay is built. If you loved adventures in the style of Firewatch with a touch of Oxenfree, then Radiolight could be that production capable of entertaining (and with a pretty good quality-price ratio).
A game that starts very slowly and, little by little, manages to turn the events around. The duration is also quite convincing, about 5 hours to tell an interesting story that leaves several loose ends (which can also be seen as a positive sign). At this point, we are curious to find out more about a possible sequel and return to investigate as a police officer who struck us with his ordinariness.
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