Radiolight – Did You Hear That? Just now, on the Radio?

“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.” – T.S. Eliot

Overview

Radiolight is an ’80s thriller created by solo developer Krystof Knesl. It sees a police officer venture into a quiet national park after the disappearance of a young boy. Once there, he must investigate, follow mysterious radio signals, face the unknown, and survive.

Narrative

Set in 1985, Radiolight follows Ethan, a police officer tasked with finding a missing park ranger called Harvey. Harvey’s disappearance occurs just 4 days after a 14-year-old Boy Scout, Elliot, also went missing in the same national park in Ashwood Creek. As he ventures through the different areas of the park, a strange static interferes with the radio, and soon he finds himself picking up unsettling signals from the unknown and strange otherworldly transmissions. Ethan is accompanied on a walkie-talkie by Robert, a childhood friend and the town’s chief of police. Between them, they must piece together clues and decipher the supernatural happenings to discover the truth and find the missing people.

The game begins in Ethan’s house, granting a glimpse into his homelife. Similarly, dialogue with Robert reveals details of his somewhat troubled past. This deepens the player’s understanding of the protagonist, instils empathy for Ethan, and further engages the player in the role.

Radilight’s narrative is delivered in a variety of ways. Primarily through the dialogue, which is natural and believable, but also via found documents and objects, and the gameplay itself. The story progresses in an intriguing and satisfying way, creating a tangible suspense within the mystery, blurring reality, and taking the player through a series of twists and turns until Ethan can finally uncover the park’s dark secrets.

Gameplay

Radiolight plays much like a walking simulator in that much of he game is spent traversing the park, exploring different locations, finding documents and objects, and progressing the storyline. The game is quite linear and leaves little room for exploration off the rails. It is, however, up to the player how thoroughly they explore each area that they visit. There are plenty of missable items and dialogue triggers that will provide a more in-depth and rounded narrative, and overall experience for the player. The main aspect that separates Radiolight from a more traditional walking simulator is the inclusion of enemies; however, these encounters are limited, and death is fairly forgiving.

As Ethan, the player possesses a map, a walkie-talkie, a radio, and a flashlight, as well as found objects such as keys that will reside in the inventory. The walkie-talkie is used to converse with Rob and report things that are discovered during the investigation. The radio, however, has many uses, including checking the park’s station for weather updates and safety notices, listening to music, and following eerie transmissions. It picks up supernatural signals and also some unexpected uses that make it even more instrumental to the player’s (and Ethan’s) success.

Movement is quite generous for a walking simulator, in that players can freely sprint and jump. Players can choose either keyboard and mouse or a controller, and the controls themselves are pretty intuitive. Some actions can be a bit cumbersome, for example, it is sometimes awkward to find the right spot to be able to interact with an object or climb a ledge. This is not a major problem, however, and the gameplay is smooth for the most part.

Radiolight spans a number of genres, including walking simulator, as previously discussed, but also thriller, mystery, horror, and investigation. The game builds tension as the player progresses, and things generally start to feel more ominous with changes in music, scenery, and lighting, as well as more frequent encounters with unsettling or otherworldly things and events. The occasional jump scare also adds to the overall sense of apprehension.

Styling

Radiolight uses a stylised 3D art style, slightly simplified or blocky, but ultimately rooted in realism. The colour palettes are muted and dark for the most part, with atmospheric lighting that provides some vibrancy as well as striking shadows that add to the sense of unease and tension. This works really well for the style of game and narrative themes, depicting the various locations in an immersive and visually pleasing way. The human NPC models, however, are more simplified and cartoonish, with a lack of detail, basic features, and stilted animations. These fit well with neither the visual style of the rest of the game nor its themes and tone. They feel quite jarring to look at, even silly, especially initially, and can really drag the player out of the experience.

The game features an eclectic mix of music with background tracks ranging from calm and quite gentle to much more dramatic and ominous. The main theme leans more towards the latter of these descriptions and has a distinctly ’80s feel to it. There is also a good number of diegetic tracks, played mostly from radios; these tend to be from popular ’80s music genres. Ambient sound effects such as the weather, crickets, birds, and radio static are well implemented and help create a sense of immersion and connection with the game world.

Summary

Radiolight will take around 4-6 hours to complete. It is a brilliant example of a walking simulator and an amazing feat from its solo developer. It boasts atmospheric visuals, emotive and immersive sound design, engaging gameplay, and a fantastically delivered narrative that will take players on an otherworldly journey full of twists and turns, building tension gradually until it all culminates in an unexpected but satisfying ending. It has some similarities with games such as Firewatch with the location, investigative gameplay, and walkie-talkie mechanic, but it is absolutely its own thing and provides a fresh and welcome experience to fans of such genres. I thoroughly enjoyed playing Radiolight and would happily recommend it to anyone looking for a more casual take on thrillers, supernatural mysteries, and horror games.

Enjoy walking simulators with a darker side? You may also like these reviews:
Paradise Lost – Karma: The Dark World – Still Wakes the Deep

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