There are plenty of ways to get yourself into trouble, but becoming too big to fit through a gap has to be one of the more unusual ones. Radiation Caterpillar has now crawled onto Xbox, bringing its peculiar mix of physics, platforming and puzzle-solving along for the ride.
You play as an alien caterpillar that needs radiation to survive and grow, collecting radioactive elements scattered throughout a series of increasingly demanding levels. The catch? Every tasty bit of radiation makes you bigger, and being a gigantic caterpillar isn’t always particularly convenient.
At A Glance
- Game: Radiation Caterpillar
- Price: £5.79
- Formats: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
- Previously Available On: PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, PC
- Developer: Sharkgame
- Publisher: Brainium Games
- Genre: Physics Puzzle / Platformer
Getting Bigger Is Only Half The Battle
Growth might sound like an obvious good thing (think Snake, but different), but Radiation Caterpillar quickly turns that idea on its head. Collecting radioactive elements allows your alien body to become stronger and larger, yet that extra size can make navigating the environment considerably more awkward.
A narrow passage that was easy to squeeze through earlier can suddenly become impossible. A route that looked straightforward can turn into a logistical nightmare once you’ve got a much longer caterpillar to manoeuvre.
There are also plenty of ways to make things even more complicated. Physics plays a major role, meaning the caterpillar can interact with its surroundings in ways that require a little more thought than simply heading towards the next collectible.
But then there are also the more conventional dangers. Saws and spikes can put an immediate end to a run, while unstable platforms can collapse under the weight of your increasingly sizeable creature. Sometimes the solution isn’t to get bigger at all – you’ll need to find a way to shrink down so you can continue.
A Strange Idea With Plenty Of Potential
Radiation Caterpillar isn’t exactly your typical puzzle platformer. Its central idea is so simple that you can understand it almost immediately, but the combination of growth, restricted spaces, physics and hazards gives it plenty of opportunities to make you reconsider your next move.
It also means that failure can be rather easy to understand. Get too big, misjudge your trajectory, trap yourself or wander into a saw and you’ll quickly know what went wrong. The trick is making sure you don’t repeat the mistake on your next attempt. With 40 levels on the table, this one should last you more than an evening too.
Already available on PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC (Steam), Radiation Caterpillar is now looking to find a new audience on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. For £5.79 from the Xbox Store, this strange little alien has arrived with one simple request: feed it radiation, help it grow and, above all, try not to get it stuck.
