Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan

[i]Rainbow Billy is a family friendly, wholesome adventure game that feels like Paper Mario in the typical Rubber Hose animation style which most gamers might know through the game Cuphead. You play as Billy, a young boy who wants to restore the world's colors after the monochrome Leviathan stole them.[/i] ​The gameplay is based on [u]2,5D exploration[/u], [u]light platforming[/u] and a [u]unique turn-based "combat" system[/u]. Instead of fighting monsters, you have to listen to their problems and use your empathy by "attacking" them with the right words to help them overcome their insecurities and fears, and in the end -befriend them to upgrade your creature collection for the next encounter. The [u]atmosphere is incredibly charming[/u], with a [u]vibrant art style[/u] and a [u]lovely OST.[/u] I'm always in love with games that use rubber hose art style, so personally, that's a huge bonus for me. I like how Rainbow Billy tackles [u]themes like self-discovery, taking care of your mental health and learning about self-acceptance[/u] in a way that’s [u]easy to understand for everyone[/u]. It’s definitely a game aiming for a younger audience, but I still had a lot of fun so far, especially because you can [u]change the combat difficulty between easy, normal and hard[/u]. I've read some reviews saying that the combat gameplay became repetitive over time. I think for a 25, or maybe 30 years old gamer some fights might feel repetitive, but I can also imagine that this can be pedagogically quite useful for a child's brain to apply and understand specific empathetic behaviors in different situations. So since it's also a game for kids, I personally wouldn't consider that a negative point. ​[b]I'm surprised this game is still so unknown, cause It's clearly visible how much time and effort the devs have put into the colorful little world design and plot telling. Overall, Rainbow Billy is a [u]hidden gem for anyone who loves wholesome, story-driven adventures[/u]. Definitely worth the price of 18€ for roughly [u]10-20 hours[/u] of empathetic coloring fun. If I ever have a child who is interested in video games, I will definitely encourage them to play this game at a young age.[/b]

Very lovely indie hidden gem that is a bit tough to categorize as it touches several genres. It's certainly varied. Some might find it looks childish, and it probably hurt its sales, but I found the art style cute and charming with retro cartoon sensibilities. It's not just for kids, and I'd even argue adults would probably like it more. The writing was top-notch and even enlightening on lots of different psychological issues. I honestly think it might be helpful for some people. I loved the game's gentle humor and the empathy shown. It wasn't really preachy, something I was afraid of, and was even emotional sometimes. The exploration and platforming were simple and fun, nothing too challenging. Billy tries to help the creatures and when he does, they go from black, white and/or grey to more vibrant colors and a different, less menacing look. That was always a delight. The fighting wasn't really fighting, more like puzzles with mini-games, using the creatures you previously befriended. It was refreshing and I quite liked it although it might become repetitive at some point. I loved this game so much I completed it 100%, something I rarely do. Rainbow Billy gets my glowing recommendation.

You see, if you’re a huge fan of cutesy wholesome colorful childlike games, then this review isn’t for you, because, let’s face it: 1. You’ll buy this game without looking at the reviews. 2. You’re absolutely f*cking basic and you should be ashamed of yourself. Gaming isn’t an Instagram motivational poster. 3. I’m totally the same and we should totally get married. This review is for those of you who groaned when they looked at this game, but were captivated enough by the trailer (Paper Mario fans, anyone?) that you decided to scroll down here to see if this game is worth your time. Yes. Yes, it is. Yes, this game IS a wholesome game. Yes, this game IS as mushy as moldy marshmallows. Yes, this game DOES have pronouns. BUT, and hear me out, BUT: This game is not braindead by any stretch of the imagination. It’s not empty, with the same hashed out list of what wholesome messages exist out there. The game is full. Very full. An astonishingly large number of characters, each with their plotlines, personality, history, etc. The game plays like a children’s storybook saga, except it’s novel-sized. If you ever read a children’s storybook, and it said “and the hero climbed the gigantic mountain!”, you’d be there. You’d climb it. And it will feel as grand as the book wants it to sound like. The combat begins simple, but as it progresses, I swear, I never felt that thrill of being combo-licious in a very VERY long time. Which is weird in and of itself, because believe me, I bought it because I WANTED wholesome slop. It’s like I got in my pajamas, grabbed a bag of chips, sat in my bed, got on YouTube for my daily dose of brainrot, opened the bag of chips, and found a perfectly cooked lobster inside. It immerses you. It’s designed to immerse you. It sets the right tone, it shifts that tone, it creates progression, it gives you stories within stories, it knows when to shut up and let you tell half the story in your head (silent boat rides where it feels like days have passed, and you wonder how the characters inside are talking to each other, and how they’re feeling). Every encounter feels like “and the hero found a strange penguin! What will the penguin say?”. i.e a fully contained chapter within an overarching greater tale. This game will captivate you with their penguin the way you’d be captivated hearing that line as a kid. Its full, and it doesn’t feel like its dragging. Its just bursting at the seams with satisfying content. In the genre of wholesome-blob games, this game obscenely raises the standard high, almost rudely. It’s like you’re going to your kid’s piano recital, and every kid is sh*t, but you filter it out because “come on, they’re kids, they’re trying”, and then baby Mozart comes on stage; you can’t see the other kid performers the same ever again, including your own kid. G*dDAMN.

Really cute, colorful and wholesome but overstays its welcome a bit. Positives first, the monster designs are pretty solid, the rubber hose style looks great and the "combat" is fun, even tho a bit to easy. I also liked that instead of fighting enemies we befriend them but chipping away at their insecurities. I would however liked a bit more depth here, as it really boiled down to "pick the most positive dialogue option for the best advantage." While I am a big fan of positive afformation I think challanging certain views the charcters have would have made it more interesting. This directly leads me to my biggest problem with the game - how repetetive it is. You visit an island, do some light platforming to reach the monster on said island, pick the obvious dialogue options that feel to be the same each time and do the easy combat/puzzle where you need to play your monsters with the right shapes and colors to fill in all the enemie monsters shapes and colors. There is variety to it in some battles, like one Monster nullifying your attacks if you do the minigame perfectly or one hiding their shapes when you use leveled monsters, but all of these are one offs. This is fun at the beggining, but halfway through the game I already felt bored by the gameplay loop, and now that I am 75% through I cant find the motivation to finish it, its just TOO repetetive. I would still reccomend it because I DID still like the game and enjoyed my time with it!

I liked the art style and the combat was really unique, but unfortunately it got old fast. After the first hour I felt like it was the same thing over and over, to the point that I was completely skipping the dialogue. And I probably would have just played it out, except I got an achievement for "fighting toxic masculinity". That was enough for me.

[b]Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan[/b], was for me a fun, wellwritten and heartwarming game. The "battles" are similar in style to the super mario rpgs, with accessibility features. It was enjoyable from start to finish. The game has something for all ages. Ad a great soundtrack as well. My only real gripes with it, were that the camera.

小孩玩太幼稚，大人玩刚刚好

I played this with my daughter, she loved the creatures being recolored. It's a great game, the story is beautiful. Each creature is unique and the dark thoughts are hilarious. Honestly, I wish I could play this game again for the first time. Such a joy, so much fun. 100% worth it.

An interesting turn-based game with a story around exploring your own emotions and emotions of others. It gets a bit twee at times, but that's to be expected of a game with an art style like that. The thing that made me interested was the combat system - yes, it's quite simple, but the fact that no fight (or confrontation, as the game calls it) is a filler trash fight is quite commendable. Every fight in the game is against a predetermined opponent with dialogue you have to navigate and think about if you want to "help them" by winning the fight. And not only that, but almost every fight brings in some sort of twist on the base combat formula, adding one-off mechanics never seen again in the entirety of the game. It's clever and it kept me entertained enough to continue interacting with the combat system that is basically 'put square peg into a square hole'.