Rain World is an indie survival platformer made in 2017 by Videocult. You play as a little mammalian creature called “slugcat” who’s forced to fend for themself in an ecosystem after getting separated from their family from a deadly downpour. After many challenges they encounter mountain sized cybernetic super computers, who once encountered, lead the slugcat to go to the subterranean where the ancients disappeared. The game is beloved by most fans yet critics were appalled on the level of difficulty the game launches at you. So the question remains is the game too difficult for its own good.

Gameplay: 8/10

The game’s main buildup is the ecosystem which does not disappoint. The creatures have an advanced and realistic AI and procedural animation that make them appear alive. Some of my favorite enemies were the lizards. There are multiple different types of lizards with different colors to visualize their lifestyle. Green ones are heavy and bulky who stick to the ground, while black ones are blind and hide in dark spaces, yellow work in groups and telepathically communicate with each other. On paper the lizard would be the Rain World equivalent to the goomba; however they have their own interactions outside of your view as they hunt other creatures, fight with other lizards for territory, and run from beasts such as vultures. Not to mention that they are tameable after feeding them meat a few times truly makes them more than a simple enemy. This isn’t a unique thing; other creatures have their own unique quirks such as the scavengers, ape-like creatures that have colonies and a trading system. Just give them a pearl and you can walk past their toll but if you give them some rock they won’t let you in, and if you dare kill any of their members enough times, they send kill squads to go to your shelter and stab you with explosive spears. Speaking of combat, the game lets you wield spears and rocks to throw at your opponents. Pairing that with the fluid and complicated movement tech, the game delivers a dynamic combat system. But the game is more about evasion than hunting due to how low the slugcat is in the food chain.

 The game has a unique and dynamic environment such as the platforming based sky islands, the oceanic shoreline, and the dark corridors of shaded citadel which have their own set of creatures and challenges keeping the experience nice and fresh. 

The game isn’t perfect– it’s notoriously difficult to progress due to the complicated enemies, food being difficult to reach, and a karmic system where you have to survive several days in a row and find a gate within a large environment. The game also does not reveal much, forcing you to throw stuff at the wall to see what works. Its replay value is not the highest as well with only one side quest and two other campaigns which act more as difficulty modifiers with some minor changes to dialogue and goals.

Art: 8/10

Rain world has a simple pixelated art style with procedural animation making it surprisingly charming. The cutscenes are hand drawn and beautiful using a bunch of static images to tell a story each image fills the screen with vibrant colors of blue, yellow, and pink. And the creature designs rule too with creatures like “rain deer” who are giant fluff balls with long spindly legs with rabbit looking features and the “miros bird” being mechanical birds which have scissor-like mouths and glowing yellow eyes. However the cutscenes are only at the beginning and the end with a small amount in the dreams with this being the most advertised part of the game visually may lead to some people feeling disappointed with the game. Some of the regions in the game looked bland as well with areas such as the industrial complex, outskirts, and chimney canopy looking very similar from one another. Shaded citadel is extremely dark making most of the map unseeable without a light, and when the light turns on, the region looks empty and boring. 

Music 7/10

The music in this game is good for the atmosphere. Most of the music can be put in two categories: calm and atmospheric tunes and stressful, fast paced beats. The music is nice to listen to on its own and helps convey the feeling at the moment however a good chunk of the music sounds the same with some slight difference such as industrial complex threat being more industrial then outskirts threat. Most of the game’s music also isn’t memorable enough to give a lasting impression. My favorites are the light hearted and fun Kayava and the action pact and fear inducing threat theme for Chimney Canopy.

Story, Characters, and Lore: 8/10

The story of Rain World is quite simple, so simple that 75% is written into its trailer.  A “Slugcat” loses its family from a devastating rain and now travels in an unexplored ecological war. The character list is also very small with three of them being animals who can’t speak and another who barely gets any screen time. The only real character is ‘Looks to the Moon,’ an “iterator” which are massive supercomputers with cities built on top of them–an optional character who doesn’t do much for the story other than talk to the protagonist. What the game thrives on however is the lore. Have you ever wondered why the world has rain in the first place? It’s due to the iterators needing the ocean’s water to fuel them similar to modern day AI which it foretold nearly a decade ago. Another thing that’s intriguing is the rot enemies, large cancer creatures that consume everything they see and spread throughout the world, even  capable of fusing with machines. The Rot, a mutating entity, was an accident created by an iterator. The gargantuan iterator who is an unintentional antagonist for creating the rain, the main danger in the game, ,  helps them find their kin who wish to be free from the cycles (the way to respawn in the game). There is more to the lore but I wouldn’t want to spoil everything. However most of the lore is locked in pearls which you have bring to Looks to the Moon to translate. The pearls are small, hard to get, and easy to lose. It only takes one slip up to reset the cycle and get back. This isn’t even mentioning how you could lose it by trading to scavengers. Thankfully, the lore in the pearls is minor and most of the wonderful lore is in the game itself.

Overall rating: 8/10 

Rain World is an incredibly good game with unique and engaging gameplay, charming and beautiful art styles, creative and strange lore, and good music. However the game is frustrating  and bland at times which might hinder your experience. The price is $25 and cheap compared to some other games with its quality that go for up to $70. If you like survival games with platforming elements and wacky lore, it’s a must buy. However, if you aren’t into difficult games then try to avoid it.