Of Lies and Rain

About

Of Lies and Rain is a single player shooter game. It was developed by Castello Inc and was released on November 4, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

Of Lies and Rain is a story-driven first person shooter built exclusively for VR. Set in a dark, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic world, at the edge of the real and digital realm. You’ll fight to reclaim your past and save humanity from the brink of extinction.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

87%

Audience ScoreBased on 71 reviews

story20 positive mentions

stability4 negative mentions

The game features a compelling story and immersive world-building, drawing players into its narrative.
Gameplay mechanics, including climbing and weapon selection, are engaging and reminiscent of Half-Life: Alyx, providing a satisfying VR experience.
The developers are actively updating the game, showing commitment to improving performance and addressing player feedback.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, including issues with controls, collision detection, and immersion-breaking mechanics.
Graphics and overall presentation are inconsistent, with some elements feeling low-quality and unfinished, leading to a lack of immersion.
The game is priced too high for its current state, with many players feeling it should be significantly cheaper given the existing issues.

story
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
54%
6%
The story of the game is generally well-received, featuring a unique narrative that draws inspiration from titles like Half-Life: Alyx while maintaining its own distinct voice. Players appreciate the depth of storytelling, with engaging character interactions, environmental storytelling, and optional lore found in scattered data files, though some note that the pacing can vary and the narrative may require careful attention to fully grasp. Overall, the combination of intriguing plot elements and immersive world-building contributes to a compelling experience, despite some critiques regarding voice acting and occasional awkwardness in delivery.
- “The story in this game is actually really good and gets you invested.”
- “Of Lies and Rain has a great story, excellent pacing, a wide variety of mechanics to keep the experience fresh, and so many little treats to discover along the way.”
- “The story unfolds gradually, explaining how the world fell into ruin.”
- “When one is helping to test this over months, and at times there were multi-week breaks between releases, it is easy to lose track of the game's narrative and partially forget the story details.”
- “It is my view, it was the most downer ending to a story that I've seen in a while.”
- “The story is terribly cheesy and the voice acting is just as cheesy.”
gameplay
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
62%
9%
The gameplay of "Of Lies and Rain" is a mixed bag, drawing heavy inspiration from "Half-Life: Alyx" while introducing its own unique mechanics and story elements. While some players appreciate the fluid combat, climbing mechanics, and environmental puzzles, others criticize the unpolished weapon mechanics and occasional control bugs. Overall, the game offers a solid experience with a variety of engaging gameplay elements, though it may require some adjustment for players.
- “Of Lies and Rain is a solid indie title with mechanics and gameplay heavily inspired by Half-Life: Alyx.”
- “The combat was fluid and responsive, the climbing mechanic was fun, the environment was great to explore, and despite there only being two characters, I liked their dynamic.”
- “In terms of gameplay, visuals, and storytelling, it feels well-crafted, with a surprising amount of polish and good game design.”
- “Gameplay feels unpolished, with rough mechanics and lack of refinement.”
- “The weapon mechanics are incredibly clunky, making combat feel more frustrating than fun, and target aim is non-existent.”
- “At first I had mixed feelings about data world levels, where the game turns into sort of a 3D platformer & shooter; it felt like the weakest part of the gameplay.”
graphics
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
37%
13%
The graphics in the game are a mixed bag, with some players praising high-quality visuals and detailed artwork, while others criticize low resolution and lack of polish, particularly in VR. Many reviews highlight the need for further improvements, including texture enhancements and performance optimization. Overall, while there are impressive graphical elements, the game still requires significant work to reach its full potential.
- “Playing this on a Quest 3 via virtual desktop and PC, I found the visuals very good, if a little dark in some areas.”
- “A beautiful story with many details and mini stories, great voice acting, amazing graphics, physics, and interactions almost at AAA level... made by a team of five people ❤.”
- “Great graphics, good mechanics, fantastic shooting, and a well-balanced amount of puzzles.”
- “The graphics are very low resolution and feel bad in VR, with little visual polish; I don't feel immersed in the game.”
- “People say the graphics are like Half-Life: Alyx, and I can tell you that this is a blatant lie as the graphics are more on par with a mid-era Xbox 360 title.”
- “Graphics are a mixed bag; some things look really good, while others look mediocre. Overall, the graphics are nice but could be improved.”
atmosphere
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
18%
27%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its detailed environments, engaging narrative, and unique alien aesthetics, reminiscent of liquid mercury. Players appreciate the immersive qualities, including effective lighting and a sense of tension, making it a standout experience in the semi-horror shooter genre. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a highlight, contributing significantly to the game's polished presentation and gameplay.
- “If you like fairly lengthy narrative VR experiences with plenty of action and atmosphere, you will love this game.”
- “Presentation-wise, it's great; the environments are atmospheric and detailed, the voice acting is solid, and the narrative is engaging enough to keep you pushing forward.”
- “Instead of pustulous infection like Alyx, what you face is geometric, flowing like liquid mercury, giving it a very different, alien atmosphere.”
- “The story and atmosphere are easily the highlights.”
- “The rain and thunder atmosphere alone is chef's kiss.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Overall, the optimization of the game is currently lacking, with users noting significant performance and stability issues, as well as a need for extensive bug fixes and graphical improvements. While some players report decent performance, especially with DLSS enabled on PCVR, many express hope for future updates to enhance the experience.
- “Really enjoying it so far at this early access stage of release. There are some performance issues and mild bugs that need to be addressed, but if the devs continue to support the game with patches and updates that improve the experience, then we have a much-needed certified banger on our hands in the VR space.”
- “Performance is pretty good, but hopefully we see some improvements there as well, which I'm confident we will.”
- “Good performance on the PC VR version with DLSS enabled.”
- “Performance and stability need significant improvement, and quality control is clearly lacking.”
- “A lot of work is still needed: bug fixes, graphical improvements, performance optimization, and general polish.”
- “Really enjoying it so far at this early access stage of release, but there are some performance issues and mild bugs that need to be addressed.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is notably poor, with frequent glitches, crashes, and collision issues reported by users. The absence of a manual save feature exacerbates these problems, leading to a frustrating experience. While some minor startup glitches may be setup-related, the overall consensus highlights significant bugs that detract from gameplay.
- “Glitches, crashes, collision issues, etc. All of the problems are exacerbated by the lack of manual save.”
- “Very buggy as of this review.”
- “There are also a fair number of bugs and glitches, from NPCs getting stuck in geometry to some crashes here and there.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a surprising emotional depth in the main character, who evolves from a typical "badass" to a figure that evokes genuine empathy by the game's conclusion. Additionally, the game's mechanics encourage players to engage more deeply with the environment, enhancing the emotional experience through tactile interactions.
- “Despite initially coming across as a typical cardboard 'badass', the main character really made me feel for him near the end.”
- “Touching things is the hallmark of VR!”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is highly praised for its fitting integration with the overall experience, enhancing the atmosphere alongside effective sound effects. While the voice acting is generally well-received, there are mixed opinions about some characters, particularly Sam.
- “Love the music and the weapons.”
- “The voice acting from Adam is really good; Sam could be better, but the sound effects and music fit the game so well.”