Dark And Mysterious ‘Radio the Universe’

Inspired by classic Zelda, Symphony of the Night, Hotline Miami and Dark Souls, this dark and atmospheric SNES-style action game has captured my attention. Radio the Universe is a beautifully realized game about a mysterious, labyrinth-like city.

We don’t know much about the story other than the protagonist is nameless and has been sleeping for quite some time, only to awaken in this strange, science fiction universe. We do know that the gameplay is designed to be difficult and paced deliberately in an open world. Also, according to the Kickstarter page, “Players who die in-game die in real life,” which is a rather intriguing statement.

The player will master the use of different tools to navigate through Radio the Universe safely. The Driver is a multipurpose dash which will allow them to dodge attacks and can be upgraded to do various useful things such as leaping over gaps or used to gain more control over your character’s momentum. The Shields come in different varieties, one in the later portion of the game can switch polarities based on the character’s orientation. The last of the player’s primary arsenal is the Pulser, a weapon that can be used to trigger switches and explosive burst attacks.

The presentation of Radio the Universe is just beautiful. The beautiful retro environments and graffiti motif give the game it’s own brand of style, and the hand-drawn cutscenes are full of that dark charm that is reminiscent of an edgy The World Ends With You.

You can find out more about Radio the Universe by heading to the Kickstarter page or the official blog.