I've been playing Rain World on various platforms since I was middle school sometime in 2018. I adore the various critters, even when they are rending me to shreds. What I find to be best however, is how well the game portrays the fact that the setting is a truly alien landscape, increasing in magnitude at several key points throughout the story. The bonkers insanity of [spoiler] meeting Five Pebbles, followed immediately by the showcasing of the nature of the ancient race of beings that created him, through both the karma murals and the abandoned city atop his structure. This already shocking information is then once more followed by the ultimate revelation that Five Pebbles is not some sort of unique being, but that there are innumerable other godlike beings exactly like him, and that 5P is simply a "newer model" like a mundane household appliance. It honestly made me wonder, if the iterators are so numerous, what kind of structure built by that extinct race could be considered truly unique by their standards? [/spoiler]
The creatures of Rain World feel strangely alive at times, even when the lizards occasionally get stuck on terrain and spin in circles it feels more like some strange quirk of their natural behavior, and not their AI being dumb. The concept of [spoiler] organic lifeforms being seamlessly blended with industrial machinery is such an interesting concept, if somewhat morbid. When first encountering the leviathan in shoreline, I knew immediately that is was artificial in nature, but I also could not help but feel as though it had NOT been directly created. Rather, I felt that whoever created the beast was so skilled at genetic manipulation they could create life somehow capable of passing on cybernetic augmenations on a genetic level. [spoiler]
A minor criticism I once held was that there are a bit too many lizard types compared to other unique creatures, but I honestly did not care that much on account of the lizards not only being excellently designed, but my favorite of the creatures. Plus, the DLCs have done an excellent job in helping to diversify the roster. My only desire is for some sort of bipedal, theropod lizard in a future DLC.
A genuine criticism that I still hold (and I know many others do) is regarding the nature of the Watcher DLC. [spoiler] The concept of using wormholes to traverse through spacetime to other regions is fantastic, due to allowing a multitude of regions that otherwise do not make sense to have near each other, alongside having past and future variants of the same region. Yet I also feel this feature diminishes the interconnected feel that the original game had. I believe the perfect way to have utilized the warp system would be to have small clusters of regions separated by normal gates, and where a dramatic change in theme is required using a wormhole. This would preserve the interconnected feel of the base game while also allowing for more creativity. Also, I just don't really like Aether Ridge's design, and that's coming from someone who not only played the original Aether Ridge mod in 1.5, but thinks Five Pebbles is fun to do backwards. [spoiler]
Praise and criticism aside, Rain World is an excellent game that made up a large portion of my childhood. It is an 11/10 game and I can literally feel the love and effort put into it's creation through my screen. Developers old and new, keep doing whatever it is you're doing.
