Rainswept

68%
Game Brain Score Based on 325 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • music
Rainswept Game Cover
Rainswept has an interesting plot, well-written characters and a distinctive visual style, although a few bugs and overly simplistic gameplay do let it down a bit.
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"Rainswept" is a single-player, point-and-click mystery game known for its fantastic story, masterful graphics, and beautiful music, but with some bugs. As Detective Michael Stone, investigate the death of a couple in the small, atmospheric town of Pineview, while grappling with your own past. Additionally, experience key moments in the victims' past relationships. The game contains mature content and high emotional stakes.

  • Mac OS
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Linux
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

68%
Audience ScoreBased on 325 reviews
story141 positive mentions
stability18 negative mentions
  • The story is compelling and emotionally impactful, exploring deep themes such as trauma, depression, and relationships.
  • The art style and atmosphere are beautifully crafted, creating a unique and immersive experience.
  • The characters are well-developed, with engaging backstories that make players care about their fates.
  • The gameplay is overly simplistic, with minimal puzzles and a lack of meaningful player choices.
  • There are numerous technical issues, including bugs and awkward animations that detract from the overall experience.
  • The narrative can feel rushed at times, particularly towards the end, leaving some plot points underexplored.
  • story415 mentions

    The story in "Rainswept" is a central focus, characterized by its emotional depth and exploration of heavy themes such as loss, mental health, and relationships. While the narrative is linear and primarily driven by dialogue with limited player agency, it captivates players with well-developed characters and a compelling murder mystery that unfolds through engaging flashbacks. Despite some critiques regarding pacing and a few narrative clichés, many players found the story to be poignant and impactful, leaving a lasting impression.

    • “Most importantly, the story is good and the characters are deep.”
    • “The dev really knows how to tell a story and how to use visuals to send an even more powerful message.”
    • “The story is amazing, though, and I genuinely feel that it changed how I view the world.”
    • “Unfortunately, I was left rather unmoved by the story, both as a character drama and a mystery.”
    • “The biggest problem of the game is the main storyline, because the plot of a tortured detective beating himself up over the death of his wife is rather cliché.”
    • “The story got so stretched that the ending felt very fast and I didn't really understand it completely.”
  • graphics117 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the unique art style and atmospheric visuals that enhance the storytelling. While some players appreciate the minimalist design and beautiful scenery, others criticize the dated graphics, rough animations, and occasional glitches that can detract from the experience. Overall, the visuals are seen as charming and fitting for the game's tone, despite their imperfections.

    • “Awesome art style with stunning visuals, well crafted and interesting characters, gripping story, strings you along despite the rather linear storyline, little touches here or there that make certain interactions so much more enjoyable.”
    • “The atmosphere and the graphical style is kind of beautiful at times, and its gorgeous color palette and picturesque scenery is emphasized by fitting music that doesn't overwhelm you while playing.”
    • “Visual impact and style are strong and decisive in setting the tone for the investigations: a moody art direction of excellent level, with meaningful choices regarding the overall look and cinematographic cutscenes.”
    • “Rainswept suffers from quite a few graphical glitches that, while not game breaking or detrimental, were distracting.”
    • “I didn't like the art style much, especially the character design.”
    • “Yes, it is graphically dated.”
  • music90 mentions

    The music in the game has been widely praised for its atmospheric and evocative qualities, enhancing the overall experience with a moody and beautiful soundtrack that complements the visuals and narrative. Many players noted that the music creates a captivating ambiance, fitting perfectly with the game's themes and enhancing emotional engagement. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's artistic and storytelling elements.

    • “The music creates an atmosphere that entrances you fully and you'll find yourself staring at the wonderful visuals like paintings at a museum.”
    • “The musical score by micamic is something absolutely unforgettable, it perfectly fits the game’s atmosphere, its gloomy mood and dramatic condition of the main character.”
    • “The music is absolutely perfect for a game of this style, and you know a story is excellent when you feel sad to say goodbye to the world and its characters.”
    • “The music stops when looking at the map and tasks.”
    • “While the silent text helps the soundtrack shine through, I spent the whole time thinking this could have been amazing with audio dialogue.”
    • “It's not as if there aren't good things: the solution of the mystery is plausible, the music works well, and if not for the animation, the art is fine.”
  • atmosphere82 mentions

    The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its emotional depth and immersive qualities, enhanced by a captivating soundtrack and unique visual style. Despite some graphical limitations, the art and music effectively create a cozy, evocative environment reminiscent of classic narratives, drawing players into a compelling story. Overall, the combination of sound, visuals, and storytelling contributes to a memorable and engaging atmosphere that resonates with players.

    • “The dream sequences gave the atmospheric vibes of night in the woods, yet it manages to establish its own unique aesthetic.”
    • “The atmosphere and the graphical style is kind of beautiful at times, and its gorgeous color palette and picturesque scenery is emphasized by fitting music that doesn't overwhelm you while playing.”
    • “The musical score by micamic is something absolutely unforgettable, it perfectly fits the game’s atmosphere, its gloomy mood and dramatic condition of the main character.”
    • “The only issues were some minor video glitches here and there and the quality of animations throughout the game (which is subpar and could even be funny but that exactly what could hamper the game’s tragic atmosphere).”
    • “I was absolutely amazed by all these landscapes and how they managed to convey the atmosphere of the bright and colorful little town when it’s a sunny day and how it becomes pretty dull and grim when it’s raining.”
    • “There's just one condition you gotta tick off to like this game -------> you gotta love reading and get into the game atmosphere.”
  • gameplay52 mentions

    The gameplay in Rainswept is primarily focused on storytelling, featuring minimal interactive elements such as walking, dialogue, and occasional quizzes that lack significant consequences. While the narrative and character development are praised for their emotional depth, many players feel that the gameplay mechanics are simplistic and underdeveloped, with few impactful choices or puzzles. Overall, the game prioritizes story over gameplay, which may appeal to some but leaves others wanting more engaging mechanics.

    • “Maybe, Rainswept doesn’t make a revolution in terms of the story or the gameplay, but considering the fact that this is a game, the player completely immerses into the action, thus every single emotion is on an absolutely different level.”
    • “It follows the formula 'story over gameplay' and it perfectly works in this game as the player is excited to know the outcome of the story and find out what happened in this peaceful town.”
    • “The gameplay is mostly walking back-and-forth and talking to people while piecing together a story behind an unfortunate couple and their deaths.”
    • “There's not a lot of gameplay, but there's plenty of story, intrigue, and emotion.”
    • “To be perfectly clear, there is not much gameplay in Rainswept.”
  • emotional49 mentions

    The game is praised for its deeply emotional narrative that intertwines a murder mystery with themes of loss, mental health, and personal relationships, often leaving players in tears. Reviewers highlight the immersive atmosphere, relatable characters, and heartfelt storytelling, despite some criticism regarding gameplay mechanics and pacing. Overall, it is recommended for those seeking a poignant and thought-provoking experience rather than traditional puzzle-solving challenges.

    • “What started off as a murder mystery took me through an emotional and deep exploration of the lives of troubled characters and left me weeping.”
    • “A powerful and moving detective game, with a charming art style, great dialogue, and an emotional story to boot.”
    • “Tl;dr: a heartfelt game with a touching and important story about relationships and mental health issues.”
  • stability18 mentions

    Rainswept is plagued by various graphical and animation glitches, including shader errors and misplaced hotspots, which can be distracting but are generally not game-breaking. While some players find these issues detract from the experience, others feel the emotional depth of the story compensates for the technical shortcomings. Overall, the game could benefit from additional polish to enhance stability and visual quality.

    • “I love the story but the game could be a bit of a buggy mess sometimes.”
    • “- Shader glitches (water refraction errors; sometimes errors leave the whole screen blue except the interface, making it almost unplayable).”
    • “- Animation glitches and overall poor quality.”
  • humor12 mentions

    The game features chuckle-worthy humor that contrasts with its serious narrative, often highlighted by awkward animations that can be unintentionally funny. While the characters provide comedic relief and keep the experience engaging, the subpar animation quality and occasional glitches detract from the overall tone, leading to a dissonance between humor and the game's intended atmosphere.

    • “Chuckle-worthy humor.”
    • “The characters are funny and you never get bored.”
    • “There's too much running from place to place, which only highlights the hilariously awkward animation.”
  • character development6 mentions

    Character development in the game is praised for its strength, with users noting that it effectively enhances the narrative's twists and turns. While opinions on the art style and character design vary, the minimalist approach is seen as beneficial, providing detail only when necessary to support the story.

    • “I didn't like the art style much, especially the character design.”
    • “The character development is strong, the art style is very appealing, and the story is a twist and turn of unexpected events.”
    • “The minimalist take on character design works, offering more detail only when it enhances the scene.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat excessive, with multiple reviews noting that it can feel repetitive or tedious at times.

    • “It can be a bit grindy sometimes, but the rewards make it worth it.”
    • “The game feels a bit grindy at times, yet it adds to the overall experience.”
    • “While it can be a bit grindy, the sense of progression keeps me engaged.”
    • “It's a bit grindy sometimes.”
    • “The game can feel a bit grindy.”
    • “At times, the gameplay is a bit grindy.”
  • replayability4 mentions

    Rainswept offers limited replayability, primarily due to its nature as an interactive visual novel that emphasizes character backstory and emotions. Players can experience one alternate ending and minor variations in outcomes, but overall, the game is best enjoyed through a single playthrough, with subsequent runs mainly serving to appreciate missed details.

    • “In any case, don't expect a lot of replay value here--it's essentially an interactive, visual novel, focusing a lot on character backstory and emotions.”
    • “The game can be replayed to obtain at least one alternate ending and some very minor changes to the outcome, but I’d say there is almost no replay value in Rainswept, other than revisiting the story in hindsight, savoring the details you probably missed in your first playthrough.”
  • optimization2 mentions

    Users have expressed disappointment with the game's optimization, noting that it runs laggily even on systems that may struggle with modern AAA titles. There is a general hope for future improvements in performance.

    • “I didn't expect the game to be laggy on my computer (which, to be fair, cannot run any of the latest modern triple-A titles). I still hope that the game can be optimized better.”
    • “I didn't expect the game to be laggy on my computer (which, to be fair, cannot run any of the latest modern triple-A titles). I still hope that the game can be optimized better.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

67% average critic score

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Play time

5hMedian play time
5hAverage play time
4-5hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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