Another point-and-click adventure, this one with a more adult and darker theme. A student learns of her grandfather’s death, and on attending his funeral is sucked into a mystery that consumes a small town in America. It’s a story of a young woman becoming a detective and learning to let go of the past.
There will be spoilers for Kathy Rain in this article.
Loss
In Kathy Rain’s opening scene we learn of a loss. Her friend Emily tells her that her grandfather recently died. Kathy, who is clearly not that close to her family these days, decides to attend the funeral.
After meeting her grandmother at the funeral, Kathy learns that there are some strange circumstances around an accident her grandfather had when she was a child, leaving him in a vegetative state with no medical explanation. This leads her on a quest to discover what really happened to him.
As we follow Kathy on her journey, we learn of her past, of the family she lost. Her father disappeared. Her mother lost her mind and had to be committed. Her unborn child. We learn of the town’s dark past, of an ancient god, and how the town is slowly being consumed.
During her investigation she learns her father tried to gain custody of her. She starts to understand that she had no choice in sending her mother to an institution. She didn’t give up on her, she got her the help she needed. And she realises that it would have been wrong to bring a child into the world that she couldn’t raise.
Ultimately she is forced to confront her past, and learns to let go of the things she had to lose.
The Game
Kathy Rain is a point and click adventure game a la Secret of Monkey Island. It has a more serious and adult tone than the classic adventure game, though it isn’t a stranger to humour. The game involves a lot of talking and asking questions. Kathy Rain keeps notes in her notebook, and these notes provide us with topics to ask the various characters about.
Though you may still get a little stuck occasionally, every step in the game is logical and makes sense. There are various puzzles to solve as the game progresses which can be difficult, but they can be solved given enough time and thought. I only struggled with one puzzle because I’m not used to the American date format.
The story is interesting and keeps you hooked. It slowly pulls you into the supernatural elements near the end of the game, but it also leaves you wondering if any of it really happened. A lot of it could be explained by an hallucinogenic red flower, but even with that explanation there are one or two things that can’t be explained.
It’s a short, yet rewarding experience that can be completed in a few hours. There is a Director’s Cut with extra content out on Steam, but as far as I can tell it doesn’t add much if you’ve already completed the game. It’s probably worth getting if you haven’t played the game yet, but as I’m trying to complete my entire library before buying anything new I’ll skip this version of the game for now.
Eliza: Think Carefully
I’ve completed the only achievement in Eliza. It was fairly challenging, but only required a bit of patience. So I think I can upgrade this, one of my favourite games, to completed.
