February 11, 2023Rain World Review

Survival games, when done right, are one of the best, yet most frustrating, games available on the market, and Rain World is one of those games.

Rain World is a game that perfectly illustrates the harsh, desolate world where Mother Nature’s indifference and cruelty are prominent. You can play as both a hunter and a prey in this world.

To me, Rain World is undoubtedly one of the hardest and most frustrating games I’ve played. So despite the many hours of gameplay, I know for a fact that I won’t be able to finish the game. This is because it circles around the idea that failure (death)—unlike in many games that embrace your death as a way for a fresh start—is a huge setback to what you have already achieved throughout the game; new regions, food, levels, etc. It’s a game where your patience will be tested, as well as how much knowledge and skill you have gained in order to not die in the first few minutes of the game.

Photo Credits to Steam

Our Little Slugcat Character

Rain World follows a cute, cuddly slugcat that’s been separated from its family because of the rain. Now, as you take control of your cute little character, you will have to slowly learn how to survive the desolate and sinister world you were ferociously thrown into.

Surviving is definitely the key in Rain World. But, in my opinion, surviving in this world is even more difficult than in Dark Souls. I say this because once you start taking control of our little slugcat, you’ll experience so much unjustified and inescapable death that you’ll start to lose count.

In this desolate world full of hunters and prey, our little slugcat is trying to survive and find its family. But it can be unbelievably hard because our slugcat’s jumps are oddly heavy, its ability to cling on to poles and ledges is inconsistent, and overall, it is a very vexing task. This makes running away from a hunter so hard because of how hard it is to control the slugcat. It also makes hunting for food much harder.

In a game that is entirely about motion and exploration, exploration and movement become frustrating tasks due to the various control difficulties. This would be problematic on its own, but the controls are only the beginning of Rain World’s frustrating difficulties.

Surviving in Rain World

As we’ve mentioned, in Rain World, you become the hunter and the prey. This means you’ll be hunting for food while being pursued by several larger and faster otherworldly creatures. Oh, did I forget to mention that rain is among the deadliest things you have to survive from? Well, that’s right. The reason you were separated from your family is something so deadly inside this world.

To move forward and survive the challenges of the game, you will have to hibernate inside the waterproof dens that are scattered all over the world. These hibernation spots are where you can save your progress. But dying before you get to a hibernation spot will erase every progress you’ve made since your last hibernation. That’s not the only frustrating part.

In order to hibernate, you will need to hunt for food. Whether it’s fruits or even scattered flying bats, you have to hunt for all of them to survive. To hunt, however, you must not be hunted by the world’s larger creatures. Although there are many creatures out there that can kill you, none are as consistent as the rain. So, not only will you have to hunt, but you must also not be hunted, and you have to dodge the rain altogether. So, even if you’re running away from death and want to save your progress before you get caught, without enough food to hibernate, you’re screwed (plus the fact that you have to find a hibernation spot). That’s a lot for your cute little character, right? Well, that’s the cruelty the game has to offer.

That’s not all; the world is extremely huge, and you’re often forced to explore beyond your comfort zone in order to find other food sources and hibernation spots. But once you go into hibernation, the world changes in ways that will surprise you. You know the area(s) you’ve been through before that aren’t infested with creatures? Surprise, surprise, the area(s) may be even more infested with creatures after hibernation, making each playthrough both refreshing and frustrating (because the areas you’re already familiar with have changed).

Since surviving is key in this game, it can be quite detrimental to whether or not you’re going to enjoy the game. Rain World has a very unfair criterion for survival. There are a lot of dos and don’ts you have to remember. Because of these absurd criteria, being able to pass a gate to another area gives you a greater sense of relief and satisfaction that you were able to get through such a hard challenge.

Rain World is definitely not a comforting game. It’s actually quite the opposite. It’s because even after memorizing a lot of the world’s different areas, you’re still left vulnerable to its ever-changing course. The areas inside the map continue to change, especially once you’re hibernating. This maintains a high level of freshness with each playthrough. However, this makes it quite common for you to find yourself in unfair scenarios that could potentially lead to your death.

Death

Death is quite frequent in Rain World. Everywhere you go, you can encounter life-and-death situations for your slugcat. One mistake can lead to inevitable death. If you’re unlucky enough to not have hibernated (saved progress), then the progress you’ve made up to that point will be erased, making you restart from your last hibernation spot. All the progress you’ve made since your last hibernation spot, the areas and discoveries you’ve made, will all be washed off the map. Even the new areas you’ve found and the creatures in the area will be reshuffled, leaving you clueless until you find your way back to that specific area.

Rain World is a high-effort, low-reward game that easily frustrates players, which most will despise.

The World You’re Surviving In

Rain World’s environment and atmosphere are like your typical platformer games, but so much better. It is an ecological wasteland that is flooded; nature overruns architecture, and shifting shadows of different creatures lie within the world. Each scene and each area of the game is undoubtedly crafted with such precision and with so much unnecessary (yet appreciated) detail that I can’t help but think that it has one of the best graphics out of all the 2D platformer games I’ve played. The beautifully crafted graphics are put on such a pedestal that I can’t help but continue the game despite it being unimaginably hard and frustrating.

Moreover, the environment in which Rain World exists is so huge that you just keep discovering different areas of the game. You also won’t know whether the area you’re going to is infested with creatures or safe from them.

You’re continuously served with striking visuals of Rain World’s landscape. The various creatures and even the barren lands made into a beautifully constructed world make up for all of the frustration I had to endure in order to get through the various areas of the world.

Final Verdict

Rain World is not for everyone. It will frustrate the heck out of you and make you want to bang your head on a wall or even quit altogether. But it’s a game where your patience is tested. Plus, it’s quite satisfying if you find your rhythm and get on track because, honestly, not everyone has the patience to move forward with the game with how unfair Rain World is.

There is satisfaction and delight that you can find in struggling to survive and even in death as well. However, I simply cannot say that I have had any of that satisfaction in Rain World. If not for the fact that Rain World has a beautifully crafted world, I would never have reached so far in the game. So, take from this game what you will, and proceed with caution.

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