I have been playing video games for over 20 years and I am only 30 years old now. I have been playing different genres of games (ranging from RPGs, FPS to platformers) and even attended large scale competitions during my teenage years. I wish to use my experience as a gamer to truly describe what you are to expect playing this game. I have completed this game in around 20-30 hours without cheating and have truly experienced what it takes to enjoy this game.
I will not describe the story nor the mechanics in depth, i wish to review it honestly and help the consumers to truly make a great choice.
Having completed the game, i wish to explain the story of this game which will unfortunately not be introduced in the game itself which i find to be one of the few flaws that left me confused when i first launched it.
( WARNING: THE STORY HAS MANY INTERPRETATIONS, IT IS FOR THE GAMER TO DECIDE)
Rain world is a fictional planet where an advanced civilization lived and flourished in the past. After thousands of years, the civilization on Rain world was creating devices, machines technology to balance the many forces in order to stabilize the planet. The main theme of Rain world is rebirth, hence the karma system and the many karma gates. The ancient civilization believed that they could escape the cycle of birth and rebirth by using a strange substance that was found at the bottom of the planet called the Void. This strange black substance was used to dissolve things and beings to escape the cycle. The ancient ones built machines to pump and stabilize the many processes of Rain world which required large amounts of water responsible for the environmental erosion and gave the planet its heavy rains and post-apocalyptic scenery.
The story starts with Slugcat, a half slug half cat who falls down from a cliff after one of the many rainstorms pushes him away from his family. Now he must learn to live off the land, hunt, survive and most importantly find shelter during the heavy rains. Your goal in this game is to feed, rest and advance through the many areas until you reach the top of Rainworld. Along the way you will unravel the true story about Rainworld and the nature of reality. After being lost and seperated from your family, you will quickly find that saving your family is perhaps not the true goal behind it all. The answer lies within the void at the very core of Rainworld.
Let me start by saying; There is nothing wrong with this game. The game was well designed using a mixture of old school graphics and enemies in 3D. The landscape, levels and overall music was more than satisfactory. The controls are fluid, and the enemies feel real and their artificial intelligence is suprisingly natural when compared to other platformers. I simply cannot find any structural flaws in this game other than your individual preferences as to certain graphics and other similar details. Having said that, i wish to discuss what the true reason is for gamers to either love or hate this game. Rainworld is a one of a kind game that either makes the player love it, or hate it, there is simply no middle ground to debate further.
Now my theory is that the game will either be hated or loved depending on the type of gamer you are.
There are 2 types of gamers
The first type (The Call of Duty Gamer) are those who play to have fun and do not wish to waste time on long learning curves, abstract storylines and too-challenging gameplay. These types of gamers will find this game to be difficult with an unclear story and very frustrating moments. The gamer will scratch his head trying to figure out where to go and what to do as soon as the game is launched. I would understand if the score this game gets reflects the majority of gamers out there and really, if you do not wish to scratch your head and learn the true mechanisms of how to complete this game. Do not waste your time, don't buy it.
The average gamer will find this game (Excluding graphics):
- Too difficult
- Lack of story lines and explanations on how to play and where to go.
- The explanation of the hibernation system and how to complete the game.
- A general feeling of being lost in a labyrinth.
The second type of gamer is the veteran gamer (The Dark Souls Gamer) who enjoys challenges, difficult storylines which require interpretation and his own inner ability to figure out puzzles. He feels satisfied knowing that he had to struggle to pass a certain area and that his understanding of the story feels like he is the detective rather than the reader.
The veteran gamer will find this game:
-Challenging due to its randomness and understanding how to pass or kill different enemies.
- A difficult and abstract story which is cut into pieces and forces the player to assemble it throughout the lenght of the game.
- The many ways, areas and styles of gameplay to complete the game.
General Review Items include:
-Great Music and a nice minimal techno-like soundtrack.
-A moving and deep story about the reality of the planet "Rainworld" and the surviving species of animals that inhabit it.
-A nice mix of oldschool graphics with 3D elements.
- Fluid gameplay and enemy AI.
-The post-apocalyptic atmosphere of the game and the deadly rain you must run away from.
-A massive and intresting world filled with many unique areas and many different and unique enemies.
-The ending of the game which asks questions about reality and this unique world where rain is deadly.
The conclusion
I personally found this game to be unique and interesting. I have great memories of the time spent playing it. Yes I had occasional moments where I couldn't pass an area due to the low amounts of karma or the inability to find sufficient food, but I am glad that i figure it out and made it until the end without anyone's help. I truly understood how to play this game and experienced it to the maximum.
Once you know what to do, you can speed run through the game in a matter of hours.
Peter.M