Rain World Review (linkrot)
Im Going to try to make this review as concise as possible, focusing on if you would (for me) like this game.
This will be difficult for me since resuming 250 hours of playtime in a way that makes sense is way that makes sense for a newcomer is comically hard for me.
This game is unfair. Objectively? There was always something you could've done to fend off that threat and you couldnt objectively have lost more than 13 minutes this cycle by dying. But thats what you only see in hindsight, and knowing this wont make you feel better when you'll find yourself stuck somewhere unable to make progress. Did the game expect you to know that? No, this game expect you to die, learn from your mistakes and try again.
This game is frustrating by nature, to curve that you need gain knowledge about its mechanics and build skills of this game, but for that you need to experiment, and when you inevitably fail and die again youwill only feel more frustrated.
This is the cycle of this game, to truly enjoy your time with this game you need to accept it and embrace it, only then you will start to enjoy this game. It doesnt mean you wont die in seemingly unfairs ways anymore, just that you accepted the nature of this game and eventually you will realise that you dont die as much as you used to, that you know where to go and what to do, that you indeed fended off that group of enemies. That you indeed are having fun and havent felt frustrated in a while.
This game will have you lost confused and frustrated. Despite that this game does reward you for learning, in this departement this game has a lot of dept, a lot of experienced players dont know that you can wiggle to swim faster or that gooieducks repel worm grass or where pipeyard is actually located.
The thing is the game doesnt tell you that. Its up to you to find out on your own and while that is usually great, there are things you really wish the game told you about. The road the game leads you on for your first playthrough is not the easiest, its basically a mountain of increasingly difficult regions with every time new mechanics to learn until you reach its peak, then on the way down there would still be things to learn and even when you reache the end, you would have barely scratched the true dept of this game. Dont feel ashamed to look for guidance on the wiki, it is by no means necessary but dont let your enjoyment be ruined because you cant figure out what to do.
I love this game its absolutely one of my favorite games ever, I did absolutely everything this game had to offer. Which is why I feel sad to say that this game is not for everyone. But if you read this and still feel determined to try this game I urge you to give it a try. Otherwise I hope you find what you're looking for.