Kathy Rain (2016)
Released in 2016, Kathy Rain follows in the footsteps of the early-90s classic adventure games. It channels them in a way that suits the modern player: the best parts are preserved, the frustrating ones trimmed away. For me, the experience was above all relaxing. The story carried its weight well, entertaining and darkening the mood in just the right proportion. A sponge cake baked to the LucasArts recipe, filled with shades of Gabriel Knight, and dusted with a hint of Twin Peaks — how does that sound?
Kathy Rain was created by the Swedish one-man studio Clifftop Games. Joel Staaf Hästö handled virtually everything except the graphics and audio. For a debut, the game is remarkably mature and polished. Samooja’s archive contains another debut by a Swedish one-man studio, The Samaritan Paradox. Its problem was uneven quality. The same cannot be said of Kathy Rain, where the only qualitative shortcoming in my view is the music — the budget seems to have been the limiting factor there.
Story
Kathy, the protagonist, is a young woman studying journalism. The year is 1995, somewhere in rural America. Kathy rebels against everything conventional and treats goodwill with sarcasm. At the beginning of the game, she learns that her grandfather has died. Against expectations, she shows up at the funeral and, out of what seems like a mixture of obligation, gratitude, and inner compulsion, begins to investigate the mysterious illness that led to his death.
What secrets lie hidden in this small town? Aliens, a cult, or drugs? Something strange has clearly been going on for a long time. The game progresses by following leads. At the same time, Kathy is forced to face her own past — a broken family. It turns out that beneath the hardened biker-girl shell there is a wounded child, and her sarcastic words and attitude merely mask a caring heart.
The story becomes increasingly intriguing and open to interpretation toward the end. Descending into Kathy’s subconscious happens gently, and for me it didn’t trigger acute anxiety or fear. It felt as if I was in good hands — that the story, and the writer behind it, would not betray me.
Execution
All major characters are voice-acted, with voice-over production handled by Dave Gilbert of Wadjet Eye Games. The graphics also reminded me of Wadjet Eye titles, though the creators are not the same. I found the characters well-written and well-realised overall. Stereotypes are avoided, and the humour is notably more mature than in the classic 90s era.
The game was made with Adventure Game Studio, and it both looks and feels like it — in a good way. These are tried-and-tested solutions. I can’t imagine it taking any other, supposedly “better” shape. It fits the skin of AGS as if tailored for it.
In traditional style, the environment contains clickable objects with no relevance to progress. I would say there’s just the right amount of them. In old games, the player’s eye becomes unnaturally sharp and almost obsessive — at odds with the imprecise pixel graphics. Kathy, by contrast, perceives her surroundings in a healthy, believable way.
The only rough tear in the otherwise beautiful whole is the music, which feels muffled and insignificant. There is ample room for improvement there. It clearly wasn’t commissioned, yet better choices might still have been made.
Verdict
Playing the game was pleasant and calm. I didn’t feel I got answers to everything, which left a slight disappointment. The puzzles were not difficult, and I never felt tense. The phone-based puzzles, which play a central role, were enjoyable. My playthrough took just under seven hours. Everything in the game inspired confidence — its elements are balanced and proportionate. In Kathy Rain, the old formula is in the hands of a competent modern tailor.
My personal score for the experience: 78 out of 100.
Availability
Kathy Rain is available for Windows and macOS computers, and for iOS and Android devices.