Inside My Radio Review

I have previously stated that I have, and will never have, any kind of rhythm. I have no swing, no soul, or any kind of inner beat. I would be voted off Strictly Come Dancing before they even switch the cameras on. So it’s with fear and pure loathing that I load up Seaven Studios new game Inside My Radio.

But ten minutes later as I play through my worst fears, my nightmares stop, the sun comes out, my loathing has turned to love and yes god damn it, I think my foot is tapping.

The game plays through a mixture of old style left to right platformer with a rhythm style title like the recent indie delight Beatbuddy or that old favourite, Parappa the Rappa. You move along a series of well rendered fantastical backdrops in a series of musical themed worlds. The story involves a green fella who gets pulled into a radio and meets other similar little fellas in there; disco fella and reggae fella. They are fighting evil or are evil…I got lost. The point is it doesn’t really matter as plot and dialogue is all tongue in cheek with a mass of music/film in-jokes. The main point of course for any rhythm game is the music and Inside My Radio delivers in droves.

The music is brilliantly realised with a hybrid of retro 90’s house, funk up disco, rare groove and dub. I promise that you will never grow bored or lose the smile on your face while listening to this soundtrack. The gameplay works in tune with the soundtracks beat and you have to time your jump, glide or attack with the music.

There is a basic tutorial at the start of the game that explains all the moves you need. You even have a practice option in the menu in case you can’t get the hang of it straight away. The controls are very familiar if you are used to playing platform games. There’s a jump button, to take you onto objects. A glide button to…well, to glide across gaps or through barriers and a slam button to go through barriers again or kill certain enemies. Simple you might say, but the trick is that these only work when used in tandem with the beat of the particular track that is playing. You can have a little visual helper in game if you need help, but I felt when I used this it made the situation worse, not better. If you just feel the beat and move with the bass you will make the jump, or like I did, press the jump really rapidly and you find you won’t miss a move.

Graphically and design wise the game is beautiful and cleverly considered. The background details are dazzlingly colourful, humorous and epic. You move through urban streets, nightclubs and a techno Armageddon in a flash. The cartoony world is fantastically realised in each place and there are some nice easter eggs hidden in there as well; I will just say VIP room and leave it there. The main characters are nicely drawn and move with ease across the world. The environments works in tandem with the sound as well, and you need to hit certain items like speakers or vibe trees in time to unlock the next sequence of events.

The gameplay itself is fun and always entertaining. I found there was always a surprise around the corner or a different texture involved in the gameplay or puzzle to make me want to keep playing and playing. There are lots of inventive touches in the design, neat little puzzles and really great platforming fun to be had. The boss battles can be suddenly a bit too tough and a tad annoying though and the final boss battle is really repetitive, making you want to tear off your own hands and bury them deep in a hole in the back garden, so you won’t have to attempt it anymore.

The whole game experience found in Inside My Radio is quite short, between two and three hours long. Although the content in that time is solid, this in gaming terms is a bit too short for my liking. If the game was between five and seven pounds I wouldn’t argue but with a download over the ten pound mark I expect a bit more beat for my money. There is some replay action in the time trial sections where you replay the levels up against the clock, collecting stopwatches as you go for more time. This wasn’t my type of thing and after two attempts I put down the controller and walked away from the game for good.

Inside My Radio is an interesting game and I am really looking forward to what Seaven Studios produce in the future, as they seem exciting, fun, game developers. The experience they’ve produced today is really fresh, addictive and luminously designed. I do think though it’s too short and I rarely ever say I want more on a game as normally less would be good (I’m looking at you Dragon Age), but here I really wanted a couple more hours with more puzzles and new musical worlds.

When the game does come down in price, I would say it is a must buy, but for now if you want to spend a couple of high quality gaming hours and your wallet is bursting to be spent I say… buy buy buy.

The best review I can give is that my useless rhythm of a foot is still tapping away, well after I have finished the game.