
Oftentimes, the frustrations resulting from failure devolve into apathy, which is a wholly unfortunate outcome for a game that gives off a deceptively promising first impression.As a small, soft slugcat you must to rely on stealth and wit rather than force: learn the ecosystem and turn their strengths to your advantage. Its stunningly detailed backgrounds and few rewarding gameplay opportunities are vastly outweighed by its platforming imperfections and hibernation mechanic, which makes little sense in its connection to accessing new areas. It quickly drives home the point that you’re a foreigner in a ruined land where anyone larger than you wants to eat you.

In Rain World, the spectre of failure, often caused by events you can’t control, lingers heavily. Beautiful environments, incredible animations and enticingly hazy mechanics are fantastic, but the sheer cruelty of how it’s pieced out to the player transcends challenge and becomes an unwanted trial. Rain World is a maddening thing, because of quite how special it could have been.


