The Raintime

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The Raintime is not a game, it's an e-book that's been dumped on Steam masquerading as a game. As a visual/interactive novel, this doesn't feature any notable gameplay, it's just a lot of clicking through badly written dialogue that would never have been accepted or published in print, which poses the question, "How did something this badly written end up on Steam?". When someone hoping to become an author is unable to get published in print, they spend $100 and dump their high school fan-fiction onto Steam, under the guise of a game. This badly written e-book is a shoddy fan-fiction written by someone who clearly saw too much Twilight Zone or something... but like all e-books that were dumped on Steam as if they were games (books are not games), the writing is so bad that, as usual, if any real book publisher ever saw it, they'd be on the phone to legal for yet another restraining order filing. Visual novels/e-books are tedious at best... imagine the best novel you ever read, be that Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy or 2001: A Space Odyssey or Twilight (if you have terrible taste in literature), but then translate that to a format where the words dribble out and you have to cli…

This is a phenomenal work of literary genius, bringing to mind classics like Knut Hamsun's Hunger or La Rochelle's Le feu folie, both favorites of mine. More a kinetic visual novel than a game, the prose is gorgeous. The characters, while not always likeable, evoke strong empathy in the audience. There are occasional flaws in the text that give away that the author is not a native speaker of English, but this is forgivable considering that the prose is otherwise so powerful and impressive. Whoever wrote this has an excellent command of literary English overall. Its depiction of substance abuse is as brutal as it is fully relatable. The author's flare for description is delightful and the historical sense of place in the story drives the narrative in a unique way. Much of the story feels dreamlike, dissociative in nature, which is fairly accurate for a depiction of someone whose mental state is slowly eroding. The mental health themes feel authentic and can educate others about the experience of living with depression, addiction and psychosis, but more importantly, their driving role in the narrative does not feel exploitative or stigmatizing like in so much other digital media. The…

Although the story resonated with me a lot, most of the dialogue is actually very boring. The writing is good at times, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Overall, it's an experience that's not for everyone, and having to click every time I want to read the next sentence is very tedious. I agree that this should be a website or published into a book instead of being made into a visual novel, as it is not fun to play at all.

With games such as this we're always subjected to copious quantities of verbal diarrhea, regurgitated by the brooding not-like-other-people highschooler/undergraduate whose "journey" never goes anywhere. Perhaps visual novel enthusiasts (creators and players alike) would do well to abstain from anime for a while and open a real book instead. The illustrations were certainly eye-catching.

Игра "The Raintime" - это уютное и трогательное приключение, идеально подходящее для тех, кто ищет неспешный геймплей и красивую атмосферу. Визуальный стиль выполнен в приятных пастельных тонах, а музыкальное сопровождение создает умиротворяющую атмосферу, идеально подходящую для расслабления после тяжелого дня. Геймплей заключается в исследовании небольшого, но детально проработанного мира, решении простых головоломок и взаимодействии с дружелюбными персонажами. Сюжет, хоть и не отличается особой глубиной, рассказывает милую историю о дружбе и заботе. Не стоит ожидать от игры динамичного экшена или сложных испытаний. "The Raintime" подкупает своей простотой и искренностью. Она как чашка горячего чая в дождливый день – согревает душу и дарит ощущение уюта. Рекомендую всем, кто ищет спокойную и красивую игру, чтобы отвлечься от повседневной суеты.