Rain

Game: Rain

Developers: DDRKirby and Kat Jia (Cocoa Moss)

Platform: Browser

Play here: https://ddrkirbyisq.itch.io/rain

Got another weather-based game to speak about. Previously, I took a look at the game Wisper, a game where you control the wind to help an island's inhabitants. This time I'm taking a look at something a little bit different. Instead of wind being our weather pattern of the day, this time we'll be accompanied by rain. The rain has this sort of vibe of to it, like somberness, sadness, and sometimes intimacy. There seems to be this feel to rain where you just want to stay indoors and cuddle with someone or something and just hang out and stay dry as you listen to the rain pelt the roof of your home and the thunder rumble in the distance. The collaborative work of DDRKirby and Kat Jia have a somewhat different approach to rain though, with Kat Jia commenting how they and their programming partner love the feeling of walking in the rain. These two try to invoke this sort of wonder through their collaborative project called Rain.

Rain is an atmospheric flash game where you control a child walking through the rain. No enemies, no time limit, no end goal. You simply just walk in the rain and soak in the atmosphere. The atmosphere of this game is great. The graphics have this intimate, childlike drawing to them, and having you play as a kid sort helps with this feeling of innocence as you walk through the rain. The sound design is also rich, with the pelting rain and the booming thunder in the distance. All of this, coupled with the soundtrack, give this game quite a bit of personality.

It's kind of hard for me to put into words the kind of feeling Rain is looking to invoke, to me at least. The mood I get from this game is a sense of childlike wonder of playing in the rain, without the baggage of getting sick from being in it for too long. All of the elements of this game combined give this sort of intimate feel to it, like a passion project from somebody, even though it is small in scale.

Rain is a short, but sweet little game. If you're looking for a small game with a good sense of mood to it, I recommend playing this game. It's not exactly grandiose in scale, but it doesn't need to be. Sometimes some great mood setters come in a small package.