A Cyberpunk Hacking RPG Told Entirely in Static and Secrets
Signal detected. Someone's listening. Alp Arslan is excited to announce that Radiotext, a cyberpunk hacking game about a long-lost 90s communication network, is set to release on September 30th. A free demo is available now on Steam.
You're handed a USB stick by a stranger in a quiet alley. Inside is Radiotext, a long-abandoned 90s communication network. As a newcomer, you'll talk your way through forgotten channels and the lives left behind, some friendly, some broken, some not even alive, and uncover a cyber activist uprising against corporate overlords fought entirely over these airwaves. Will you join them?
Built Different: The Design Behind Radiotext
The developer previously worked on the tabletop RPG sourcebook Historica Arcanum: Serenade for the Damned, which won a Silver ENNIE Award for Best Adventure - Long Form, and Radiotext leverages some genuinely distinctive design choices:
Although it looks 3D, Radiotext actually runs in 2D, keeping the game's size, RAM, and VRAM allocation to around 200MB, even at 4K with realistic environments.
It's built with modding in mind, the demo and full game includes a modding guide, letting players quickly create their own stories, NPCs, and puzzles.
Similar to the asynchronous multiplayer notes in Dark Souls and Death Stranding, Radiotext features an in-game social media platform similar to X, where players can post and see other players' messages mixed in with NPC messages.
About the Game
In a quiet alley next to a busy street, you are handed a USB stick by a woman you don't know. If you want to see what's inside, plug it in.
Radiotext is software built in the 90s, allowing people to communicate using radio waves. In this long-lost network, you are a newcomer, a stranger. By talking with the users inside, piece together what is going on in this old net and become part of the culture.
Establish links across forgotten channels. Meet lives left behind. Some are friendly. Some are broken. Some aren't alive. Learn and adapt to your new environment.
Dive deep inside the long-lost communication network and explore the wideband. There are strange people to talk to and various mysteries to be solved inside your terminal. Hear static whispers. Decipher frequencies. Piece together the deeper story inside the noise.
They will ask who you side with. The answers you give ripple across the net. Trust is fragile. Some of them lie, some tell too much. And there might be a mole inside.
Key Features
Retro Interface: Old terminal aesthetic, typing mechanic, authentic sound effects
Unique Voices: A unique cast of characters, each with a story worth unraveling
Branching Paths: Choices ripple across conversations, choose your words wisely
Customizable UI: Colors, node placement, make the terminal your own
Hidden Choices: Not every option is in plain sight
Short & Sharp: A complete story in 3-4 hours
Multiple Endings: The network never plays out the same way twice
The Network Never Sleeps: The story ends. The network doesn't, keep exploring, you don't know what you'll find