Unfortunately, the genre of adventure games in the App Store is not very popular with users - they prefer something simpler and shorter, while adventure games, by definition, require the player to immerse himself in it in its entirety. This is what happened with Radiant One - first the game was released on Steam, and then (without much difficulty, of course) it was ported for iOS. And despite the fact that the game itself turned out to be gorgeous, it did not become popular - in the Russian App Store it has a low rating of 3.6, with 144 people voting for it. In our subjective opinion, Radiant One is one of the most underrated titles, and we will now try to restore justice.
It's worth noting that so far two stories are available, but the developers promise to release one novel each month. It's a worthy idea, and I hope that the developers kept their promises, because the game already gives an opportunity to earn good money - according to the company Fntastic, the first month after the launch revenue from in-game purchases was 18.6 thousand U.S. dollars. Although, to be honest, the statement is not quite correct - at first the game was paid, and after the transition to the freemium version there were subscriptions, in-app purchases and so on. But the fact remains that the game had to pay for itself and start generating revenue.
The developers succeeded in creating a great atmosphere, and as a result, you have to let each novel through yourself. So if you like storytelling and atmospheric games, you'll be hooked. And as an added bonus: Fntastic is a Yakutian indie development team who apart from the above mentioned title also worked on The Wild Eight. And since the guys have been in game-development for more than a year, there is no doubt in their abilities.
Anyway, after the download, the episode "The Awakening" is available, which is about a guy named Daniel. He is a middle-class office plankton whose life (like that of most people on our planet) is like Groundhog Day: every day he goes to work, comes back from work, eats pizza and goes to sleep on the couch in his one-room den. One day Daniel finds a book on conscious dreaming, greedily swallows all the information from it, and quickly learns the art of dream management. Now he rushes home from work every day to rush off to sleep and embark on another impossible journey. But one day he stopped feeling the difference between dreams and reality, mysterious events began to happen to him, nightmares began to creep in, so also in all dreams he began to be haunted by something. A fairy tale suddenly turns into a horror story, and now you have to solve this mystery and understand what is really happening to Daniel.
This story is not new, but the developers tried to do everything to make it as addictive as possible. But firstly you will be taught the basics of the game, good thing in point-and-click adventure games you don't need to learn much - to move around the location you just need to tap, and the character will move in the specified direction. Controls will be highlighted in a certain way, so you can not touch everything - the developers have limited us in this, which displeased some users. Also in Radiant One there are several gestures that you need to learn in order to perform some actions, a little tutorial on them you will also see. So in terms of controls, the game is a collection of scripts that you will need to execute in a certain sequence.
By limiting the freedom of movement and freedom of interaction, the developers "shot themselves in the foot" - at least, it is impossible to call Radiant One a full-fledged action game because of this. It is, rather, a linear puzzle game - all because, in addition to story-driven movement through locations, the protagonist will have to complete some complex tasks (such as "find a pair"). In the end, everything ends the way it should, and you can not affect the ending, as well as the process of passing.
However, if the plot does not catch someone, the atmosphere will not leave indifferent even the most sophisticated user. Radiant One has excellent drawn lamplight graphics (you want to download the game at least because of the picture) and intelligent audio (the melody conveys the mood of the game to the user). Everything is drawn with soul, this world really wants to be explored (within limits), it scares and attracts at the same time. Music only enhances the effect - gives you the opportunity to relax or vice versa, makes you stay in tension for as long as necessary. And by the way, some of the gameplay is different in terms of dynamics - sometimes you have to do a lot of action at a high tempo, or you may not wake up. Not a spoiler, but keep in mind.
Radiant One is a game with a compelling story, beautiful graphics, and music that perfectly complements all of the above. You want to pass it from the first time, but measured, without rushing anywhere, savoring every step. The denouement, unfortunately, turned out to be banal - we won't tell it, of course, but you may get upset with the result. However, Radiant One is about the process, not the result. And the process is excellent, to the point where you want to forget about the blurry ending, the length of the game session (half an hour of playing time at most), and some minor flaws. Radiant One creates its own world and forces you to live by its rules - isn't that great?
I have been writing reviews of mobile games since 2011. I am actively involved in the development of mobile eSports, commentating on Auto Chess, Clash Royale, PUBG Mobile matches. If I like a game, I like it for a long time and study it thoroughly. And share my thoughts with everyone!
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