Kathy Rain

I held off on playing this game for a while and now that I've finished it I have no idea why. This has some solid writing and a good cast of characters. The voice acting is great and the puzzles struck an excellent balance regarding difficulty. There's some heavy subjects in this game but I felt they were dealt with well; there's a bit of a Silent Hill vibe toward the end that I enjoyed. I'd say if you enjoy point-and-click adventures you should definitely give this one a go. I hope it gets a sequel.

This might be one of the best Point-and-Click Adventures I've played; it's at least a top favorite. From before I even started the game, the main character resonated very strongly with me, and that never really stopped. I'm far from the emotional type, but in this particular adventure, I was like a puppet, dancing at her whims, so maybe whatever that was is coloring my opinion of the game, but I just couldn't stop playing. The story had me hooked from the very beginning, and the further it went, the better and more bizarre it became. Saying much more would probably spoil the experience, but it is quite a ride! The meat of it was pretty good, too. You had good characterization, a protagonist with a very interesting backstory, nice visuals, and fitting music. The writing was mostly very good, but for a game that takes place in 1995, there are a few phrases that are a bit anachronistic; nobody talking like they just fell out of a Doggo meme or anything, but they weren't anything I ever heard anyone say in the '90s. Nothing too jarring, though, and a younger player might not even notice. The puzzles were great, too; not all of them were spectacular, but there were quite a few gems that weren't the straight-up moon logic of yore, but were tricky enough that it was satisfying to solve them. There was also at least one that my lady got sucked into while watching me play, and we both simultaneously felt like idiots when we figured it out, so it has those, too. I'd recommend this to all Adventure fans, even if you might not like it as much as I did, but if you're looking at this thinking, "She's SO COOL!" then pick it up; you'll probably love it!

I kept thinking there had to be more to it, but there never was. The puzzles are only about a couple of steps long and the solutions rarely need you to think about them in any interesting way, even if Kathy isn't outright telling you how to solve them. The story seems to promise and aim for mystery and suspense but ends up feeling flat. It's not bringing anything new in terms of plot or characters (most of whom are pretty bland archetypes) and the big mystery is never built up enough to produce any intrigue or suspense, so when it starts to be revealed it feels like it was written in a hurry, never fully fleshed out. It was...boring. Which is a real shame, because the artwork and soundtrack do a banging job of setting some really strong atmosphere. Story and gameplay just drop the ball, unfortunately.

Kathy Rain gripped me right from the start with its stunning pixel art and moody 90s vibes. While Kathy comes off a bit abrasive at first, as you become more familiar with her backstory you understand the reasons behind her personality much better. I really loved unraveling the mystery and interacting with the intriguing cast of characters she encounters along the way. One of the things I appreciate most about the game is its nuanced approach to some quite dark, heavy subject matter (which, yes, was a bit difficult for me to stream at times, but it led to some productive discussions in chat); there are good reasons it's rated M! But it was refreshing for me to see a game that was not only willing to explore challenging emotional topics and psychological themes, but to handle them with grace and tact. Atheist Kathy's friendship with her Christian roommate Eileen is just one small example. It feels as if so much media these days comes across as preachy, wanting to lay down moralistic messages in a black-and-white good/bad way, when reality is overall much messier and more complicated. It felt nice to be treated as an adult by the writers. No, the puzzles aren't as challenging overall as those in a lot of classic point and clicks, but is that supposed to be a negative thing? I for one really appreciated the absence of moon logic and found most of the puzzles to be fun and engaging. What sticks with me most after playing it, however, is the story, characters, and ambiance of the game, so if you're mostly about the puzzles, you may be disappointed? But I think that's largely subjective, and bear in mind that modern audiences have different expectations than retro audiences. I for one was not disappointed. I played Soothsayer shortly after KR1 so it may be influencing my viewpoint a bit, but I loved both games and now miss being immersed in that world. I'm picking up both OSTs so that I can bask in the vibes. I hope others enjoy these wonderful games as much as I did!

BEST thing was to pay 1$ for the game...story is ok minus...mainly talking, puzzles are too easy