Beat ’em up nostalgia meets modern RPG ambition in Chorrus Games’ co-op fantasy adventure.
Chorrus Games is used to making games that are driven by passion. This small studio has been hard at work since 2014, producing over 50 game ideas and garnering more than 30 million downloads. They are based in Madrid. This is their most ambitious project yet, though. It was inspired by their love of old-school arcade beat ’em ups and their desire to tell a deeper story through in-depth RPG mechanics.
The idea of Radiant: Guardians of Light came from the creative minds behind the team. The team did a lot and added to the emotional landscape, and made the technical polish even better. Radiant first caught people’s attention at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki, where it won third place in The Very Big Indie Pitch. It’s easy to see why.
Radiant: Guardians of Light takes place in Helia, a world that is broken up. You play as Ainar, a chosen warrior who is thrown into a desperate battle against the evil tyrant Gultar and his army of darkness. The elemental spirits, which used to keep the world in balance, have now turned against it, turning each area into a dangerous nightmare with a biome theme.
Hero, prophecy, and darkness may sound like tired plot points, but the way it’s told makes it work. The dialogue in the game has a charming sincerity to it, with humorous, heartfelt, and even sad moments woven in. Journal entries with lots of lore, side quests, and NPC chatter make the world bigger without slowing it down. The story doesn’t try to be the first RPG of its kind, but it does what it needs to do with heart and speed.
Radiant: Guardians of Light is mostly an action brawler that wants to be an RPG. You fight waves of enemies by punching, slashing, and casting spells. You can play alone or with a friend in local or online co-op. The combo system is fast and powerful; chaining light and heavy attacks together creates flashy finishers and crowd-controlling special moves. Each character has their own unique abilities and fighting style.
You’ll find loot, explore different areas, complete missions, and talk to strange side characters when you’re not fighting. It’s a pretty standard loop: fight enemies, gather resources, improve your gear, and move on to the next zone. But it’s done with style and energy. You can play the game more than once because it has optional challenges, hidden collectibles, and upgrade trees that reward trying new things.
Battle is what makes Radiant: Guardians of Light shine. Every area has a different type of enemy and a boss fight that is based on that area’s corrupted elemental guardian. You will have to fight fire demons in molten caves, ice beasts on frozen peaks, and toxic attacks in fungal swamps.
Boss fights are especially fun. They have multiple stages with complicated patterns, attacks that fill the screen, and rules that test your timing, reflexes, and sometimes even your ability to solve puzzles. For one boss, you might have to turn off elemental totems in the middle of a fight. Additionally, you’ll need to avoid environmental hazards while dealing damage.
How are things? What a variety. Each battle feels like it was carefully planned and is very intense. What’s wrong? Sometimes, the spikes in difficulty can feel sharp, especially for players who are playing alone. However, when you play with a friend, these fights become exciting displays of teamwork and chaos.
Radiant: Guardians of Light‘s progression isn’t based on raw XP bars. Instead, upgrading gear and gathering materials are very important. When you defeat an enemy, they drop crafting materials, and when you open a hidden chest, you get rare parts. You can use these to change how your weapons and armor work, so you can make your build faster, stronger, do more damage, or have special effects.
You’re not just grinding for levels; you’re grinding for the right parts, which gives every exploration run meaning. When you’re stuck on a tough boss, going back to earlier zones to gather materials and improve your gear doesn’t feel like a waste of time. The way it works rewards smart planning over just making numbers bigger.
Radiant: Guardians of Light is full of personality in the way it looks. The game features a bright, cel-shaded art style that gives it a look reminiscent of an epic Saturday morning cartoon. Helia is made up of different areas, such as lush green forests, glowing ruins, violet deserts, and corrupted underground cathedrals.
The character models are expressive and a little too big, which fits with the fantasy theme of the game. The animations are smooth and clean, which is especially helpful in combat where clear images are important. Special attacks are full of bright colors and cool effects, but they’re rarely so busy that they’re hard to read.
Radiant: Guardians of Light is a great game that makes you feel something, whether you’re jumping across platforms in a temple that’s falling apart or fighting monsters in a fiery canyon.
Chorrus Games wrote a great soundtrack that deserves a lot of praise. It fits each biome and situation perfectly, with big orchestral tracks for boss fights, creepy ambient tracks for places that have been messed up, and soft melodies for quiet exploration. Every piece has an emotional undertone that makes the story moments more interesting and the combat more tense.
When you hit something with a big hammer slam or a combo, the sound effects make it feel even stronger. Voice acting is limited to grunts and short phrases, but it fits with the retro feel of the game.
Radiant: Guardians of Light isn’t trying to be the next big open-world RPG. It makes a name for itself as a tight, fast-paced action game with just the right amount of RPG depth to keep you interested for hours. As seen through the lens of modern game design, it’s a love letter to old-school brawlers like Streets of Rage and Knights of the Round.
Your experience is always rewarding, whether you’re killing monsters by yourself or with a friend in couch co-op mode. You can always make a new weapon, fight a tougher enemy, or find a hidden chest. Further DLC and expansions are already on the minds of the developers, so Radiant could become an even bigger and better franchise.
