Developer/Publisher: Hexage
Genre: Arcade/Shmup
Price: $0.99
Acquired: Review Copy Provided
Verdict: A solid pickup for retro arcade shmup fans
Pros: Controls work well; graphics are retro-inspired but have nice effects, online leaderboard
Cons: Game is challenging; You can’t resume from where you die, so you’re mainly playing for high scores

Radiant is a classic-styled vertically scrolling shmup for the iPhone, inspired by classic games like Space Invaders and Galaga. You’re constantly flying vertically, shooting giant space rocks and enemies that fly in your path. You pick up weapon powerups and money which you can spend at occasionally appearing shops. There is a very basic story that occurs in popup dialogue, but it mostly just provides a basis for why what you need to shoot at is there for you to shoot at.

If you’re wondering why this game is called ‘Radiant’, it’s because this game is very, very glowy. One might say the graphics are radiant, even? The sprite work is all inspired by classic arcade games, and is all well-animated. The game’s controls are simple – tap or hold on the left side of the screen to move left, and vice versa to move right. Firing is handled automatically, which may frustrate some experts who would like to control their shots, so this may not be a game for shooter fans who feel like they need their actions to be precise and controlled. However, it all seems to connect into the game’s theme – simple, but effective. The controls are basic but work, the graphics are basic but work, even the game’s online high score leaderboard just has you input a name and there you are on the leaderboard.

So Radiant is basic, but it’s reasonably entertaining. You don’t have to fight the controls, and the auto-firing was rarely an issue for me. The game is forgiving but challenging – your ship can take multiple hits before it dies, but surviving things like boss fights is a challenge, and if you fail, then you have to start over from the beginning. If you’re a completionist gamer, then you may want to avoid this one, as it’s a high score affair all the way. While the game may not provide the nostalgia that a game like Galaga or Space Invaders would provide on the iPhone, Radiant being designed for the system means that it works a lot better functionally while still capitalizing on the elements that made those games fun and stand the test of time as being relatively fun even today.

Radiant won’t exactly light the world on fire, but as a retro-inspired shmup with nice graphics and solid controls, it does a good job. It’s only $0.99, and fans of classic arcade shooters wouldn’t be wasting their money to check it out.