Inside My Radio is a unique indie game that combines rhythm with platforming. It already launched on other consoles a while back but finally found its way to Nintendo’s Wii U. The game is all about bringing back music to a dying boombox by combining rhythm with platforming. It’s an interesting take on the rhythm genre and it’s something definitely worth checking out.
The plot
The plot is rather simple and not really that great. You meet up with a dying boombox that sucks you in the moment you meet it. Once inside, you’re transformed into a green block wearing a headset, good to see your swag stayed active! You’ll need to bring back the poor old boombox by bringing back the music inside it. You can only bring back the music if you conquer the platforming sections and meet up with other characters (representing different music genres) that are trapped inside the boombox as well. It’s not a mind-blowing story at all but it’s better than nothing I guess.
Move to the beat
So the story isn’t that special or worth remembering, the gameplay is rather unique. You can move your little block freely from left to right but all other actions must be timed to the beat. Jumping, dashing, attacking, all those actions are only possible if you time them right to the rhythm of the soundtrack. It’s an interesting mechanism and once you’re sucked into the electronic soundtrack, you’ll have no trouble to feel the rhythm of the beat. Since you’re only able to move to the rhythm of the beat, it’s unlike any other platformer you’ve played before. It’s not an easy task to reach your destination, that’s mainly because everything moves fast.
You’ll have to jump on walls, dodge dangerous spikes and flames, dash your way through walls and a lot more. All those tasks would have been easy to complete if the game controlled like a regular platformer. Since you’ll have to listen carefully to the music, you’ll need to time your jumps very precisely, all to the rhythm of the beat. It will happen more than once that you fall to your death just because you jumped offbeat. The developers did anticipate this higher level of difficulty by adding more than enough checkpoints; you’ll never need to restart that far away from where you just died.
Different characters, different styles
During your adventure, you’ll meet other characters that are stuck in the boombox as well. After you meet them, you’ll be able to control them. Controlling them is fun since they represent another era of the music history, meaning the rhythm will change depending on the character you control. It’s something small but we like the change and variation for sure. The only downside of it all is that the actual gameplay doesn’t change that much. Sure the rhythm changes but the actual gameplay stays the same, you’re still avoiding the same obstacles you avoided before, it’s a shame the developers didn’t include some more variation in the gameplay. That being said, thanks to the strong visual approach, the game sure remains fun to play.
Visually very strong
One of the game’ strongest points is the visual presentation. It uses bright colorful neon colors combined with some great visual effects. The visuals add up to the atmosphere of the game and it’s a true pleasure to play it thanks to the impressive visuals. At first sight, it looks like just another 2D platformer but the visuals really make a difference. Same goes for the music, which is very important in a rhythm game. The music is very bright, so you’ll have no difficulties to find the right beat. Even if you’re struggling to find the right rhythm, the game offers a great little tool that indicates when you’re able to perform an action. The music varies from electronic beats to old school rock and roll, it’s the best part of the game without a doubt!
| The good: | The bad: |
| + Rhythm combined with platforming | – Too short |
| + Great music | – Lacks variation |
| + Great visuals |
Inside My Radio is a unique game that combines the rhythm genre with the platforming genre with ease. Too bad it isn’t a very long experience and it lacks some variation. That being said, Wii U owners should definitely be happy the game finally launched on their console as well, supporting full off-screen TV mode. If you’re looking for a unique rhythm game, this might be the one you should check out.
Score 3.5 out of 5:
