Rain World

Rain World may not be the most forgiving adventure, but stick with it through its trickier times, and when it all comes together it’s capable of producing some genuinely brilliant moments.

A visually stunning and often satisfying game, but one with more than its fair share of irritating moments. Put up with its nonsense and you'll be rewarded.

The bountiful promise of Rain World’s grim world and the assortment of cunning creatures which inhabit it are summarily undone by fiddly controls and an overwhelmingly punishing level of difficulty. Underneath it all there’s an assuredly decent effort here; it’s just a shame that all but the most masochistically inclined will ever summon the requisite determination to plumb its intimidating depths.

Rain World's unique look, atmosphere, and world are intriguing, as are some of the ideas behind its unusual style of gameplay. However, there's a lot to the game's mechanics and execution that aren't implemented well. If you spend a little time with Rain World, you'll find the wonder and fascination that you had at the start of the game quickly melting into total frustration.

Rain World asks players to get to know its world over dozens and dozens of lives, to figure out each area one at a time, learning to time jumps and hurl spears to earn their right to survive in a ceaselessly hostile environment. It’s a gorgeous jaunt through an alien world full of horrors, like Another World crossed with the open map of a Metroidvania title. With its incredible art design, tight controls, and extremely deep set of gameplay mechanics, this is a truly special platforming experience that anyone with a high tolerance for constant failure owes it to themselves to try out.