It Doesn’t Move the Genre Forward
Sure, there are some novel ideas introduced to the battle royale formula in Radical Heights. The shifting grid system, for starters, moves us away from the whole shrinking circle concept that has emerged as the standard. There’s also the vending machine design to buy weapons, which makes a nice change from having to randomly search chests and floor loot in Fortnite (even though Fortnite has just introduced its own vending machines too). But is that really enough to pique gamer’s interests and shift their attention away from the communities of other battle royale games?
Everything else about Radical Heights retro 80s aesthetic looks less like an interesting point of difference and more a desperate cry for attention. Neon lights, cheesy music, BMX’s – it’s the video game design equivalent of peacocking for attention, but it really doesn’t feel as though there’s a great enough foundation of ideas here to make a song and dance over.
