Author Topic: Inside My Radio (Wii U) Review  (Read 1404 times)

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Offline Daan

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Inside My Radio (Wii U) Review
« on: March 07, 2016, 03:35:54 PM »

An interesting little game that ultimately leaves a lot to be desired.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/42240/inside-my-radio-wii-u-review

If there’s one thing that the Wii U is known for, it’s quality platforming games. There are a ton of them and most contain clever ideas that makes them worthwhile. So when another one comes around, I usually give them a go and see what they bring to the table. That is how my interest for Inside My Radio started out, before I noticed that one of its key mechanics was moving around on the beat of the music. With my interest piqued, I decided to immediately jump in and see if its ideas come together in a decent way.

The first thing that I immediately noticed was how the controls are set up. While I could get on well with them, I never found it really anything enjoyable. You can move about freely, but anything else has to be on time with the beat of the music. The major problem is that you have to count and really listen closely to when you can jump or slam. I felt that every time I got the timing just slightly wrong and I became annoyed that I couldn't do anything to perfect the actions. This is when I started to put the in-game metronome on and kept it there for the rest of the game. I truly think that isn't what the developers had in mind, but it helped me complete the game faster.

With the metronome on, it turns out that the game is just a few hours long. I was surprised by the length and was expecting something grander, but you can't have it all I suppose. The puzzles and platforming sections were relatively fair overall and I enjoyed the curveballs that Inside My Radio constantly threw my way. From toying with the dials on a mixer to changing up lasers to use them as walls, there are a lot of novel puzzles that keep you going until the end. There are also sections where you have to move from platform to platform on the beat to make it over huge gaps. Once you notice the music and especially the beat are louder, you get what the game is asking from you.

Overall though, Inside My Radio is just alright. There are clever environments and the experience of going inside the old radio is a cool one. The controls are just hard to really get on the hang of and it held my enjoyment of the title hostage. While I was complimenting the level design and puzzles, I was felt frustrated with the timing on jumping or slamming. Before you are at the point of fully grasping everything, the adventure is already over (minus the Time Attack you unlock thereafter). I don't even remember the story that the game was trying to tell, as it was largely glossed over during its brief run. Inside My Radio is decent enough in its own right, but with more time in the oven, it could have been something greater.