Radiolight – On The Thrill Train
A torch and a radio – that’s all you need to know about Radiolight. Behind this inspired title lies a game developed by Krystof Knesl and published by Iceberg Interactive. After five years of development and smaller projects, the solo developer has delivered his first major project: a narrative thriller set in 1985.
Alluring Influences
All it took was hearing about Twin Peaks‘ influence for me to dive headfirst into the game. It’s a great introduction, but what kind of feast awaits players on the other side?
Radiolight is undeniably a game under influence. After a few minutes, it becomes clear that if you’ve played Campo Santo’s excellent Firewatch, you’ll be on familiar ground. The gameplay mechanics are much the same: the player is led through a forest that gradually opens up for exploration. They will encounter obstacles that can be overcome by discovering certain objects, solving certain puzzles, or simply advancing the storyline. Nothing particularly innovative, but so what? Firewatch‘s gameplay has proven itself time and again, offering a particularly refreshing experience that kept players on the edge of their seats without adding superficial layers of gameplay. There is no complexity on the part of these developers, no fear of being seen as ‘a game that isn’t really a game’. Radiolight unashamedly follows this path, right down to the centrality of the walkie-talkie – and rightly so!
Simple yet effective gameplay and storylines
But then, what do you do in a dark forest armed with a walkie-talkie, a radio (I’ll come back to that) and a torch? The action takes place in the fictional town of Ashwood Creek in 1985. Elliot Laire, a young scout, has been missing in the forest for several days. While a rescue team is formed and actively searching for the boy, Harvey Waters, a park ranger, also disappears. The game begins when police officer Ethan Collins receives a call at his home ordering him to investigate and find the missing ranger. He leaves his daughter Mia at home, but not before she gives him a small radio.
As soon as we arrive at the park entrance, the mood is set: we have to look left and right to understand what has happened and see if there are any clues left behind. Without ever being truly horrific, Radiolight manages to set the mood quite quickly and effectively. While it is reminiscent of Twin Peaks at times, Knesl’s game is more often reminiscent of Alan Wake, or the excellent series Dark by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, which shines – especially in its first two seasons – with its atmosphere and writing. Add in a few nods to Friday the 13th with the presence of the leisure centre, and more generally to 1980s horror films, and you’ll have a good idea of the cocktail on offer.
Agent Collins will therefore traverse the forest of this spooky Firewatch accompanied by the gentle voice of his friend Robert, who gives him instructions and information via walkie-talkie.
The appeal of Radiolight lies largely in discovery, which is why I will remain fairly vague about the progression of the story and certain gameplay mechanics that would reveal its elements. Similarly, I won’t say much about Firewatch, which is based on the same principle, and I won’t reveal the details of what the two games have in common. I don’t want to spoil anyone’s enjoyment of either of these two works. In fact, if you haven’t got your hands on Campo Santo’s game yet, I strongly encourage you to do so.
In Radiolight, the player’s activity mainly consists of… walking. You go from place to place in Ashwood Creek Nature Reserve, and each time you have the opportunity to look for clues or objects that will help you solve the mystery and continue on your way. There are no puzzles like in Silent Hill or Resident Evil here. The few puzzles are very simple and usually involve assembling various items found along the way. Is there any action? Not really. Put your weapons away! It’s up to the player to figure out how the action scenes play out. However, once you understand how, it turns out to be of limited interest. Fortunately, these moments are rare.
A video game dark ride
In a game like this, where the player’s actions and interactions are very limited and have little influence on their progress, we need to look elsewhere. Walking simulators are fundamentally derived from scenic journeys, of which ghost trains and haunted houses are the most prominent examples. Everything depends on the ability of the scenic elements to provoke a certain number of emotions, feelings and reactions in the spectator. It is probably no coincidence that horror scenic rides are the best known and that the English term “dark ride” conflates the two through synecdoche. More generally, fear and anxiety are linked to the subject’s passivity and their inability – real or imagined – to protect themselves from dangerous events or events experienced as such. Paradoxically, it is therefore the significant passivity imposed on us by games such as Radiolight or Firewatch that allows them to frighten us or at least make us feel uncomfortable.
The artistry lies in the ability to stage this passivity. In this regard, the magic works quite well. Although the game is visually simple and borrows heavily from Campo Santo’s artistic direction, it remains effective nonetheless. A twig snapping, a bird flying away, a light bulb burning out: it’s classic stuff, but sometimes you don’t need to be exotic to be effective. The game controls its pace quite well, alternating between moments of calm and sudden rises in tension.
The clean lines that characterise the game’s visual identity provide subtle guidance for the player and simply convey the desired atmosphere. The arrival car park, for example, works very well. You immediately understand where to look: the gamekeeper’s car, the little hut. And at the same time, the tone is set: this is the last place before truly unknown and wilder lands, and yet it is already an unsettling place. There is not a soul in sight, and the only person who should be there is… missing. The same goes for the leisure centre: no people, a mascot that becomes disturbing once night falls, a guard who is not quite right, a few cabins, a campfire. Immediately and with great ease, the imagination is carried away. It is in these moments that Radiolight knows how to make the most of its references: it is perfectly aware of what the night-time leisure centre evokes in players and manages to use this intertextuality to create a great thrill.
In the same vein, the soundtrack is another of Knesl’s successes. The musical compositions are of high quality and immediately bring to mind Carpenter’s compositions and the disturbing use of electronic music in others. The choice was made to accompany the adventure with music throughout, but there is no doubt that it is a success. Finally, the walkie-talkies and radio that accompany us throughout this terrifying night play a major role in the soundscape that is so important in immersing the player. When you are used to company, even if only from a distance, every moment of solitude becomes even more oppressive.
Where to?
While Radiolight is undoubtedly appealing and inspired by the greats in terms of its influences, atmosphere and gameplay principles, what about the game as a whole? That’s where, in my opinion, it falls a little short. Taking up the walking sim principle that makes Firewatch a little scary? Great idea! Taking from the latter the principle of permanent radio connection and choices in discussions? Just as great! But… to do what with it? In Firewatch, the relationship between Henry and Delilah was absolutely central. The events were almost a pretext to see this relationship evolve, the way it became anchored in the respective pasts of the two characters. Here, you can sense the desire to go in that direction at times, but it’s always glossed over and too superficial. Whether it’s Ethan, Robert or the missing people, the observation remains the same. You sometimes think you see attempts at this, but they are only used to serve the immediate advancement of the plot. The game doesn’t seem to know what to do with it afterwards.
Some of the tropes used are literally the same as in Firewatch, so much so that at one point I wondered where it was all going. In this case, Radiolight knows how to take a different route from its predecessor.
Finally, I believe that the game struggles to decide which direction to take in its final part. Paradoxically, it seems caught in the act of hesitating between Twin Peaks and Dark.
In Twin Peaks, the relationship between what happens in the town – the characters, their personalities, the plots and secrets – and what happens in the forest and beyond, in the lodge, is profoundly mysterious. It does not work by metaphor, nor by cause and effect, nor is it an analytical relationship (one concept understood within another). It is the tension, which is mounting, between the palpable yet inexplicable nature of these relationships that makes Lynch and Frost’s work so interesting. If the 1990s series started from a very simple premise – Laura Palmer was murdered – it was in order to arrive at something eminently ambiguous. It functioned like an inverted funnel, where the revelation of who the murderer was, far from satisfying the viewer’s curiosity, actually reignited it. The further we get into Twin Peaks, the more we discover the extent of our ignorance. Conversely, Dark is a series that can seem difficult to watch because of the concentration it demands from the viewer: time travel means you have to constantly keep in mind the identity of each character in each era, as well as understand when the various events are taking place. But despite this, it works in a much more conventional way: the mysteries that hang over the beginning and those revealed as the story progresses are all answered by the end. Everything is perfectly explained, and the series even allows itself the luxury of landing on its feet rather well.
Radiolight has a plot that, on the whole, makes good use of mystery. Unfortunately, the final stretch suddenly becomes very explanatory, giving players the impression that they are being led by the hand. At the same time, however, the work fails to shake off its simultaneous desire for mystery. You feel caught between two opposing forces, and there is something about it that doesn’t quite feel right. In the same vein, we regret the somewhat light and superficial use of visual symbolism, even though the game offers some very well-crafted visuals and playful effects, particularly at the end.
Radiolight makes rather judicious use of its references to enhance the atmosphere. We shiver, we want to find out what happened, and we are presented with a clever set of questions about the relationships between children and between children and adults. Despite all this, Knesl’s software suffers from its inability to transform its influences into something truly unique.
Conclusion
While Radiolight doesn’t exactly break new ground, sometimes lacking depth and not always managing to produce a coherent and accomplished synthesis of its influences, it’s still enjoyable to play. The qualities of the software are undeniable, even more so when you remember that this is the first major project from a solo developer. It will certainly be interesting to follow Knesl’s future work!