Occasionally, it’s the smaller games that really resonate with us. A prime example: Kathy Rain, which just received a sequel.
Sometimes, lengthy video games can be overwhelming. I recently completed the fantastic The First Berserker: Khazan, then enjoyed Clair Obscure while on vacation, and now I aimed to dive into the insider suggestion Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon… and after the first hour, I’m starting to feel fatigued.
How am I supposed to familiarize myself with a complex role-playing game filled with countless notes, skills, and quests? I already require 60 percent of my mental capacity just to finish my daily Duolingo assignment.
Thus, I needed to find a balance! Occasionally, I seek out smaller games, narrative bites, easily accessible and fun single-player titles that ideally wrap up after two or three evenings.
Hence, I begin playing Kathy Rain, a narrative game that has been in my Steam library for several years.
Kathy Rain, Nintendo Switch, GeForce Now, Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Unravel a mysterious case in a quaint town as a young journalism student? With a charming retro aesthetic reminiscent of the classic Lucasarts adventure games? And voiced fully in the Director’s Cut? This sounds precisely like what I’m after.
But Kathy Rain went above and beyond my expectations.
What’s great about Kathy Rain?
To summarize a bit: Kathy Rain was initially launched in 2016 as a small indie endeavor, but was re-released as a Director’s Cut at the end of 2021. The updates feature expanded scenes, and a more engaging story with a more significant ending.
I’ve played both versions, and you can confidently disregard the original in favor of the Director’s Cut, which is often available in every Steam sale (including right now) for just 3.70 euros.
Kathy Rain kicks off in a very traditional and unremarkable manner. 20-year-old Kathy is studying journalism but returns to her hometown of Cornwell Springs for her grandfather’s funeral. She soon discovers that there’s more to her grandfather’s death than she initially believed. At first glance, it resembles a standard retro crime narrative, highlighted by the fact that it takes place in the 90s.
However, the developers drew inspiration from Twin Peaks during the development – and it’s evident! The narrative quickly shifts into a mystery, everything in the town seems to revolve around three glowing spheres, Kathy spots a bald man with piercing eyes in a red silk suit, and the story unfolds in a manner I hadn’t anticipated.
The actual puzzles are relatively simple to solve, mostly achievable through logical reasoning, and thanks to the excellent full voice acting, the adventure never feels dull or tedious. Even exploring hotspots remains enjoyable because Kathy’s (English) voice actress beautifully showcases her punk spirit.
I don’t want to give anything away, of course, so I’ll keep my summary quite ambiguous: Kathy Rain lingered with me longer than I had expected from a game that takes about four to five hours to complete. The narrative doesn’t delve as deep as some psychological dramas, but I found myself awake for quite some time afterward, puzzling over its true meaning.
If you’re on the lookout for some enjoyable distractions between two major role-playing games, you can’t go wrong here. Especially since, after a four-year break, a second installment has just been released, receiving an impressive 96 percent positive rating on Steam. Smaller projects like this truly deserve more recognition.
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