Of Lies and Rain

About

Of Lies and Rain is a single player shooter game with horror, post-apocalyptic, violence and science fiction themes. 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

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83%

Audience ScoreBased on 95 reviews

story28 positive mentions

grinding30 negative mentions

Engaging story with good voice acting and intriguing world-building that rewards exploration with hidden lore and upgrades.
Solid VR gameplay inspired by Half-Life: Alyx, featuring physics-based interactions, climbing mechanics, and varied combat with enjoyable weapons and enemy designs.
Unique 'data worlds' sections offer fun platforming variety and well-executed digital environments that complement the main game.

Game is buggy with frequent glitches, crashes, collision issues, and control jank that sometimes break immersion and cause frustration.
Visuals can be inconsistent and sometimes low resolution; some areas feel empty or drab, reflecting the indie development constraints and resulting in less polish compared to bigger titles like Half-Life: Alyx.
The price point is considered high relative to the production values and game polish, with many recommending waiting for sales or further updates to improve the experience.

story
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
50%
5%
The story in this game is engaging, mysterious, and gradually unfolds through radio dialogue, environmental storytelling, and scattered text logs, keeping players invested in its unique post-apocalyptic sci-fi world. While some find the voice acting and certain narrative elements cheesy or tedious, many praise the depth, pacing, and atmosphere, noting it as a standout feature despite occasional roughness typical of a small indie production. Overall, the narrative appeals especially to players who enjoy piecing together lore and appreciate a complex, immersive storyline.
- “The story on first shallow playthrough is good, keeping quite a lot of mystery, narrated by intriguing radio dialogue with one person, plus a bunch of data files (memories) with text and few papers with text lying around. There is a lot of optional reading if you want to get deeper into the story, but beware, through the reading you might discover the story is not just good, but truly masterfully written, keeping you guessing what are actually the lies, with only small breadcrumbs scattered in the memories.”
- “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.”
- “A beautiful story with many details and mini stories, great voice acting, amazing graphics, physics, interactions almost at AAA level... made by a team of five people.”
- “The story gets tedious; I don't want to hear people effing and jeffing the entire time in my ear and some over-the-top gruff voice that's meant to be your player character with amnesia just so they can infodump the story on you as you try and play.”
- “They seem awkward and forced, even though I know it ties into the core storyline and lore.”
- “The story is terribly cheesy and the voice acting is just as cheesy.”
gameplay
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
63%
6%
The gameplay is heavily inspired by Half-Life: Alyx, featuring immersive VR mechanics, physics-based puzzles, and a mix of combat and platforming elements, particularly in the "data worlds," which some find highly engaging. While generally praised for its depth, variety, and polish—especially given its indie status—several players note occasional clunky weapon handling, grip issues, and a somewhat unpolished feel compared to bigger VR titles. Overall, it offers a compelling and enjoyable experience with unique mechanics, despite minor flaws and occasional bugs.
- “The gameplay is engaging and the graphics and sound are good, probably above average for a relatively small indie developer. I especially like the data worlds, which bring to mind the cyberspace portions of the old game System Shock.”
- “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.”
- “It’s built from the ground up for VR, with physics-based puzzles and mechanics that only make sense in VR.”
- “The copied game mechanics aren't copied well at all.”
- “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 nonexistent.”
graphics
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
44%
12%
The graphics received mixed feedback, with praise for good overall visuals, atmospheric design, and crisp PCVR quality, often impressive given the small indie team. However, criticisms include inconsistent quality, low resolution in VR, occasional poor art style choices, and the need for further polish and optimization. While not AAA level, the visuals are generally above average and contribute well to the game's moody and immersive setting.
- “The gameplay is engaging and the graphics and sound are good, if not the best I have experienced, and are probably above average for a relatively small indie developer. I especially like the data worlds which bring to mind the cyberspace portions of the old game System Shock.”
- “A beautiful story with many details and mini stories, great voice acting, amazing graphics, physics, interactions almost at AAA level... made by a team of five people ❤.”
- “• Crisp PCVR-quality visuals with solid frame rates.”
- “The graphics are very low resolution and feel bad in VR, with little visual polish; I don't feel immersed in the game.”
- “The graphics themselves get tedious; something about the ambient occlusion (AO) is poorly implemented for VR and so it isn't stereoscopically correct, leading to half the surfaces having a sort of dim shimmer due to the slightly different lighting in each eye.”
- “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.”
grinding
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is widely described as tedious, with repetitive enemy fights, cumbersome inventory and puzzle mechanics, and monotonous exploration activities such as searching through numerous drawers. Many gameplay elements and combat sections, including climbing, weapon use, and boss fights, tend to drag on without sufficient engagement, leading to player fatigue. Overall, the grinding detracts from the experience despite occasional moments of fun or interesting design.
- “Enemies get tedious, especially the cuttlefish with an obvious weak spot but you still need to hit it 3 times with an upgraded pistol, which will turn immediately upon contact so you have to go to your little hiding spot again and wait it out for him to turn around again.”
- “Looking for GPUs (not resin) gets tedious especially when the environments look like Half-Life 2 but you have to look through 50 drawers and cupboards.”
- “Opening drawers gets tedious; you can't stand close enough to them without your hitbox attempting to move you out of the table so it feels like a stretching competition.”
atmosphere
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
38%
The game's atmosphere is consistently praised for its dark, gloomy, and immersive qualities, enhanced by detailed environments, solid presentation, and a strong narrative that keeps players engaged. Despite some criticisms of texture quality, the overall mood, lighting, and unique, alien ambiance contribute to a compelling and polished experience, especially appealing for fans of atmospheric, narrative-driven VR shooters.
- “The world feels dark and gloomy, which fits the atmosphere perfectly, and the graphics are good overall.”
- “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.”
- “This is a very ambitious early access VR game with fantastic atmosphere.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent bugs, glitches, crashes, and collision problems, which are worsened by the absence of a manual save feature. While some bugs appear minor or setup-related, overall the experience is notably hindered by its instability.
- “I would love to play the game through but it's just so buggy.”
- “Glitches, crashes, collision issues, etc. all of the problems are exacerbated by the lack of manual save.”
- “There are also a fair number of bugs and glitches, from NPCs getting stuck in geometry to some crashes here and there.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Optimization is currently mixed, with several users highlighting the need for significant improvements in performance, stability, bug fixes, and graphical polish. While some experience good performance—especially with features like DLSS enabled—many expect ongoing patches to enhance the overall experience as the game is still in early access.
- “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 developers 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 PCVR 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, 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.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game evolves from an initially clichéd "badass" protagonist to a character players genuinely empathize with by the end. Additionally, subtle gameplay mechanics, like interacting with blocks in data worlds, enhance the immersive and emotional connection, highlighting the importance of tactile engagement in VR.
- “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 well-received, fitting the game's atmosphere perfectly. While voice acting receives mixed feedback, the overall sound effects and soundtrack are praised.
- “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.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users feel that the humor is lacking or falls flat, especially given the game's $60 price point, suggesting the joke or comedic value is not worth the cost.
- “But $60 is not a funny joke.”