Kathy Rain

The game may look like an old school point and click but it is much more polished. There is no pixel hunting thanks to the the function which highlights the points of interest on the screen. The puzzles for the most part are logical and all the information you need to solve them is in the game. The main character is likeable and at certain points in the story I got worried about her fate which tells a lot. It is not the typical detective mystery plot since it has some X-Files influence which might not be everyone's cup of tea. Graphics are serviceable although the aspect ratio is odd and cannot be changed. The soundtrack is OK and the theme song(menu screen) is quite good. I like point and clicks but I get frustrated with the illogical puzzles and the pixel hunt and I haven't played one for a while. Kathy Rain ignited my interest in that type of games again.

Most adventure games feature good graphics and an interesting setup, but they usually fall short on characters, dialogue and plot/story development. This is not the case here, and Kathy Rain is the first game in YEARS that has kept me glued to the computer. I was completely and totally invested in this story and I cant wait for it's continuation. Kathy is a compelling protagonist and the game is filled with realistic, interesting and well written characters. The dialogue never feels forced or railroady and the twists and turns of the story are both surprising and feel natural. This is honestly one of the best adventure games I've played in the last 20 years. Only surpassed by their next game "Whispers of the machine" which is a bonafide masterpiece. I cant wait for the sequel.

Beautiful visuals, consistently done. Well-done voice acting. The story starts out interesting and keeps on going for a while but the ending is uninspired, melodramatic and somewhat confusing. The characters are thought out to a level (better than average) and I wouldn't mind seeing another game with them but only if the story was either funnier (think Monkey Island / DotT funny) or more logical and thought through.

Kathy Rain is an atmospheric and well written adventure game set in small town America in 1995. The writing and voice acting is excellent with believeable dialogue. The pixel art is gorgeous capturing the feel of an early 90s adventure game perfectly. Conwell springs is a moody town seeming to be under perpetually grey autumn skies punctuated by frequent showers. This suits the tone well though that's not to say it's unrelentingly bleak. There's some good jokes in there and Kathy is a likeable protagonist. She's smart, tough and won't back away froma fight with a biting sense of humor. But she's human too displaying moments of vulnerablity and sadness showing her as a complete character rather than a simple archetype. The ending is a little underwhelming, I felt they didn't really explain everything but I think that may have been intentional, to leave the player something to think about afterward. I'd love to see a sequel.

I enjoyed Kathy Rain immensely, the writing is smart and fun and quite suspenful (despite what other reviewers claim) and there really is something at stake and that feeling is transmitted quite well to the player. The puzzles aren't very hard, imo, but they are reasonably intriguing and let you focus on the story, which is really quite nice. Plus, unlike other point and click protagonists, Kathy isn't a completely inept moron that insists on performing a task overly complicated. The story feels much more lively, because the setting seems real, as do the people in it, especially the protagonist. There is a playable Demo of the game, so I'd say: Don't believe me, just try for yourself, it really is an amazing point and click that follows its vision to the last.