Developer: Asmodev
Publisher: Art Games Studio S.A
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Infernal Radiation – Preview
Infernal Radiation is a love letter paying homage to the bullet-hell/arcade genre. The game adopts the “Easy to learn but hard to master” formula surprisingly well, but the consistent bugs and difficulty spikes in certain areas can be a huge issue to certain players.
The story in Infernal Radiation is an enjoyable one but can easily be compared to a supernatural fever dream. On Halloween Island, a chemical spill at the local power plant that reaches to the bowels of hell caused an outbreak, which in turn affected the townsfolk, possessing and transforming them into monsters. The player takes the role of an exorcist named Cardinal Godspeed who is tasked to venture to the island to save the townsfolk and figure out the source of the problem.
Godspeed can easily be described as a somewhat rude and highly antisocial protagonist, only focusing on his task at hand. When talking to other inhabitants of the island, the dialogue is absolutely hilarious; calling almost everyone he comes across either a “jerk” or “scrub”. The townsfolk are all unique and funny also, each with their own backstories and motivations the player will eventually learn over time.
Overall, the story is interesting and very enjoyable with a wide cast of characters, but definitely does not take itself too seriously.
Infernal Radiation’s art direction fits the tone and setting of the game near-perfectly making it dark and dense. The game has some sort of implemented cel-shading, which is highly noticeable when it comes to the main character and some of the enemies the player fights. The main character takes the appearance much like a steampunk version of a plague doctor which fits the dark, depressing vibe the game has. The townsfolk, more or less, despite not being originally monsters, look horrifying; ranging from priests covered in blood to anthropomorphic animals highly fitting of the Halloween Island namesake.
From a technical standpoint, the game runs ok, with no dips or stutters on PC at 1080p and 60fps; but the real issues lie with the few annoying bugs the game has which will be explained later on.
The game’s music is well done, with this being spooky all the time which highlights the mood when fighting different ghoulish enemies. There is a pleasant mix of classical and techno music that fits with the dark undertones the setting expresses, making traversal on the island far more enjoyable. Sadly there is no voice acting at all in-game besides the weird sounds Godspeed makes when interacting with the environment or when in combat. The latter can be easily compared to a drunken man slurring words, which is still hilarious.
Infernal Radiation is a bullet-hell/arcade side scroller with light RPG elements. The primary goal is to traverse the island to find townsfolk and exorcise them to revert them back to normal, which usually ends up turning to a boss fight.
Combat is simple but complex, only using two buttons to fight enemies, one for deflecting, and one for attacking. The main goal is to lower the enemy’s defenses by deflecting their own attacks in order to deal huge amounts of damage with Godspeed’s “prayers” but there is a catch. Godspeed cannot spam these abilities, if that happens, the player will be instantly stunned leaving them open to attack. A green outline will appear around Godspeed when it’s safe to use another move.
Godspeed gains experience based on the number of hits the player deals to an enemy, which can be used at the shop for permanent stat boosts. The player also has the option to buy items from shops using gold that can be found around the environment that can permanently buff Godspeed’s abilities, as well as gaining prayers to give an extra edge in battle.
Each enemy the player fights has a different sequence and form of attacks and spells ranging from poison that does damage over time, ice damage leaving the player completely frozen, or even messing up the player’s inputs, making each fight unique and rewarding your patience when the situation calls for it. The issue with combat lies with the difficulty spikes that happen early on in the game as well as the constant bugs during combat. Some of the beginning bosses can be very brutal, making the endgame bosses way easier in comparison which is contradicting. Also, the game can get surprisingly buggy, with constant force-closing and glitches during fights that almost makes the game unplayable at times.
Conclusion
Infernal Radiation is an enjoyable title with an interesting story, likable characters and a unique twist on the bullet-hell genre. The game is very difficult early on which may lead to plenty of early upsets along with the constant bugs. Since the game is still in early access, hopefully, some improvements can be made to ease the issues the player will find early on.
Infernal Radiation - Preview,
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