Hey so here’s a game that came out over a year ago and I didn’t hear about until two days ago. I find it pretty weird that I never heard about Kathy Rain for an entire year after it was released because I goddamn love point and click adventure games.
Kathy Rain is an adventure game in the style of a classic LucasArts title, which makes me hard as hell. The pixel art is lovely and there’s a lot to be said for the character and scene design. The plot holds a lot of intrigue and there are even one or two legitimately spooky moments, despite not being a horror game.
The voice acting is great and really helps bring each character together as a distinct, believable person. Kathy herself is an interesting character, with just the right combination of obnoxious edgelord and vulnerable young woman to come off sympathetic, yet flawed.
The final section of the game (you’ll know it when you see it) is a tad weak and I feel that several plot threads went unresolved after all was said and done. This was probably done for a sequel hook, but apparently the first game didn’t sell too well so a Kathy Rain 2 is hardly guaranteed. I have a big problem with questions left unanswered in media that isn’t likely to warrant a follow-up.
The game’s puzzles are pleasantly devoid of ‘moon logic‘ and many of them are difficult, but definitely fair. Everything you do as a puzzle makes total sense in the context of the game’s plot, which is a nice break from adventures such as Her Interactive’s Nancy Drew series, which, while being one of my favorite series, features puzzles such as solving a 2048 game in order to open a lighthouse.
Kathy Rain is a pretty short game (I finished it in one six hour sitting), but that might be on par with other point and clicks. It’s on the individual player to decide whether or not that warrants whatever price the game is currently selling for (in my case, the full price of $14.99).
At any rate, Kathy Rain is a well put together point and click adventure game, reminiscent of the genre’s golden age back in the 90’s. It falls apart a bit at the very end but the ride to get to that point was very enjoyable nonetheless. Unlikely though it may be at this point, I’m going to start holding out for a sequel.