Monday, February 13, 2017

Kathy Rain - Unsatisfying

Kathy Rain is a old school style adventure game where you play as Kathy Rain, a rebellious college student who found out that her grandfather recently passed away. Going back home to the family that she hasn't seen in over a decade revealed a old family mystery. What this game really reminds me of is The Blackwell Legacy. The graphic style is similar, they both feature a whiny young woman as a protagonist, they both have a sidekick of sorts, they both get dragged into the occult and solve mysteries that others cannot. The biggest issue is, Kathy Rain was also set up as an episodic game like The Blackwell Legacy so you basically learn nothing from playing the game. It just ends out of the blue and it leaves you pissed at the whole thing. The Blackwell Legacy did the same, but it at least ended at a better place than Kathy Rain. It did take 8 years to finally complete the entire series but each game in the series left you satisfied.

Enough comparisons and lets get on with explaining this game. You start off waking up in your dorm as Kathy Rain and your hyper religious roommate tells you that your grandfather died so you take your motorbike down to your hometown and find out your grandfather suffered some kind of shock one day 30 years ago exploring the woods and became a vegetable. So you spend the rest of the game digging up clues of your family's past. This part is fun there are interesting puzzles to solve, a few characters to meet a few areas to explore. One issue with the game though is that its incredibly tiny in areas to explore. You get one or two areas at first which only has a few objects of interest. Near the end of the game you start getting into the supernatural. The story is really similar to The Blackwell Legacy. Instead of being a spirit medium to help dead spirits move on in the afterlife, you are the chosen one by whatever magical force of the other world. If I knew more of the story I would explain it but there really isn't. Apparently people meet the will-o-wisp of the woods and then get visions of the future and then the "red man" shows up and tells them to do shit and they end up dying or disappearing or going vegetable. You go to the other world save your sidekick and then the game ends with nothing being explained.

Thats it. After the game ended you know about as much of the game as you first started. Absolutely fucking nothing. The characters are all boring, the places you explore are boring, the story is complete trash and the whole entire game left you unsatisfied. If you want a good point and click adventure game with supernatural elements then pick The Blackwell Legacy.