Capsule Review: rain
This game wants to be atmospheric and moody, and sometimes - briefly - it is. Other times the game supplies unnecessary text narration telling you how to feel. The puzzle platforming nearly always boils down to finding the shiny piece of the environment and hitting the interact button, with the only added complexity being time pressure via instant-death enemies. Mechanics are introduced and then ignored instead of being explored and combined to create interesting situations. (There’s exactly one satisfying puzzle which actually combines elements and has multiple stages, and it happens inside the circus tent.) Bizarrely, the level design features many pointless dead-ends - until you beat the game once, and can then return to those dead-ends to find collectibles that ostensibly add context to the game’s story, but don’t really clarify anything and leave things just as vague and contradictory as before. It’s an uninteresting way to lengthen the few hours of gameplay. (Do you really want to explore the world again, after effectively being punished for it the first time? You do if you want all the trophies!) Still, the premise is cool, the aesthetics are consistent and enjoyable, and the soundtrack is pretty great.
I Stopped Playing When: I finished the game and then picked up the collectibles for the trophies.
Three Stars: Good. I liked the game enough to finish it (or just play it a bunch, for games that don't end). I recommend it to most genre fans.