Kathy Rain - gamescom Preview

Kathy Rain is the product of nostalgia. A nostalgic art-style, a nostalgic setting and even a nostalgic genre. Everything is a call back to lead designer Joel Staaf Hästö’s gaming backlog growing up in the 1990s. In a nutshell, it’s a point-and-click adventure inspired by the likes of Monkey Island and Beneath a Steel Sky, it’s so 90s in fact, that it almost forces you to plug in your SNES, part your hair down the middle and turn up the Nirvana.

You take the role of Kathy Rain, a badass biker chick, who pretty much says what she wants and does what she wants. After returning to your home town following the untimely death of your war hero grandfather, a short conversation with your grieving grandmother reveals that there is a huge mystery surrounding his passing. Being the strong willed young lady that she is, Kathy then takes it upon herself to investigate the mystery and discover the truth behind her grandfather’s fate and the strange goings on in Conwell Springs.

My short playthrough with Kathy Rain took me to three vastly different environments: a graveyard, Kathy’s grandmother’s house and the local police station. Each had a unique, soothing and emotional score and altered the sound of Kathy moving. It may have only been a small touch but the change in sound from walking on gravel, hardwood floor and concrete, or the effect of the rain beating against a lounge window really showed that the attention to detail in this game is phenomenal.

Of course, in true point-and-click style, you have to solve ‘puzzles’ and work your way around certain scenarios. One instance involved tricking a police officer away from his desk so you could root through confidential police files and had you bribing an inmate. Another more domestic problem saw the light bulb in the attic blow - you had to ask your grandmother where to find any spares. It’s standard point-and-click bread and butter, so fans of the genre are going to be completely at home. These were all very early on in the game's narrative and instantly the story pulls you in by the scruff of the neck and has you hooked. Just what the hell went on with your grandfather?

What I particularly enjoyed was how you navigated from one environment to another. As the game is set across a large town, it’s not as simple as walking through a number of streets to get to your desired location, instead, you hop on your Harley and select where you need to go. There is no player control of the bike, but it is a nice addition, and one that discreetly blocks intrusive loading screens. This is particularly poignant as designer Joel told me that come launch there would be around 40 different environments, all hand drawn and beautifully designed like the three on display at gamescom.

I’ve never really been one for slow paced point and click adventures, but the premise of Kathy Rain and the short time I got hands on with it certainly piqued my interest. The hand drawn pixel art style, setting and aesthetic all harp back to a much simpler time, one that touches the nostalgic nerve of any lifelong gamer. It has a unique and mysterious story to pull you in and although the dialogue was currently only text based, voice acting is coming once the game releases which will of course add to the overall experience. When Kathy Rain releases it’s easy to see it opening up the genre to new and old fans alike.

Kathy Rain will be available on PC, Mac and Linux, with plans for release on consoles further down the line. The attitude is very much ‘it’s ready when it’s ready’ but Raw Fury Games has hinted at an early 2016 timeslot.