Review by Alyx Jones
Developer: Acquire, SCE Japan Studio
Composer: Yugo Kanno
Reviewed on: PS3
Rain is a striking game about two children lost in a world where they have no body, only a silhouette that is revealed by the rain. It is available through the PlayStation store but sadly only on the PlayStation 3.
I’ve been interested to play Rain for a while now and, as a fan of artistic games, this one is definitely up there! You have to navigate the world, without always knowing where you are at times, solving puzzles in an attempt to reach out to others also trapped in this strange place.
The music immediately reminds me of Paris, mainly because the composer Yugo Kanno’s soundtrack takes me to the setting of one of my favourite films: Amelie. The heavy use of accordion across the game gives it a very trademark sound, complementing the game in a strange, beautiful way, as you traverse the cobbled streets of an empty city.
From start to finish there is the constant sound of rain (as you might expect), blanketing the game in a bleakness, which is then coloured with melodies. The ghost-like monsters have their own roars throughout the night. The boy spends his time escaping from them while trying to reconnect with another girl, also seemingly trapped in this land. Although the sound design is appropriate, what with a game being about rain having a lot of rain, it doesn’t stand out greatly. It seems the music overshadows the sound design to some extent. This is not necessarily a bad thing, only that the music is what the player is drawn to rather than the sounds of the environment they are in.
The sound design does come through when the player is in danger. The monsters’ footsteps and cries cut through the mix, helping you to feel a sense of urgency, especially in conjunction with the clock counting down for you to solve a puzzle. This is particularly true as you progress further through the game. The more the threat increases, the louder the monsters seem to become.
While the music does exaggerate this with trilled strings, it is not the music remembered when you put down the game. Throughout the game, the song “Clair De Lune” by Claude Debussy is replayed through slightly different arrangements. It becomes the trademark sound for this game, often signaling the children’s safety and time to explore a strange, yet beautiful landscape. Clair De Lune simply means “moonlight”, and seems appropriate for the game environment which seems to take place in a dark, rainy place, but when the “moonlight” signaled by the music shines through, it is when there is hope and often a literal light to be seen, that the children follow towards the end of the game.
When the final cinematic plays, an arrangement of “Clair De Lune” is the last song the player hears but also with the voice of the young Connie Talbot. Entitled “A Tale Only the Rain Knows”, the original composition is rearranged by Yugo Kanno, in a way that the piano keys sound like raindrops themselves. It brings the game to an emotional ending, and the silence of the rain.
Rain does have mixed reviews, but they are mostly positive. So if you enjoy artistic, puzzle-based games with a pretty narrative, this is definitely one to sit down with.
Article by Alyx Jones
Edited by Sam Hughes
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Picture Credits:
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/rain-ps3/
http://www.acquire.co.jp/eng/
http://www.jp.playstation.com/scej/
http://www.yugokanno.com
http://connietalbot.com
https://twitter.com/connietalbot607