Rainy City: Pandemic

Good little indie game, created during and influenced by the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic.

Chill and relaxed.

Not bad - on sale

I am going to be up front - I did not like this game within the first 30 seconds of booting it up, and disliked it so much that I could not get through a full hour. [b] 1) [/b] - It is boring, and not a 'relaxing' kind of boring. Needing to make deliveries, from the same store, to very similar locations, becomes tedious when you are trying to properly strategize how to make/save money and make the most out of your fuel and food within a set time span. [b] 2) [/b] - The controls are awful. Every time you try to turn the car, back it up, go up/down, the car overcorrects and controls as if it is extremely heavy. Add this to the fact that the mouse barely controls anything, and the mouse and keyboard controls do not cooperate smoothly. [b] 3) [/b] - This game looks horrible. Normally I am not one to criticize graphics at all as I prefer older games, but this game could not make up its mind visually. Most of the game is clearly intended to have an 8-bit feel to it, however, any static visuals (items on the street, stop signs, dumpsters, etc.) are rendered very well and look like they are from an entirely different era. That's not to say that different visual styles cannot be used in the same game, this game just does it horribly and it's clear that the cheapest and easiest options were chosen. [b] 4) [/b] - This is a blatant attempt to make a "culturally relevant" cash grab. The devs likely wanted to create a story to represent how we all have felt during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was a quick slop job likely borne out of marketability FOMO. You can see this by the lack of good storytelling (this is obvious at the onset), lazy attempt at visuals (#4), horrible controls (see #2), and weak gameplay (#1). Now, I am willing to be proven wrong. I'm open to wanting to give this game another shot in the future. For now, however, this is the impression I've been left with, and the minimal reward makes me doubt whether or not I'll give this game another shot. Fellow Steamers, if you want a good game with the type of energy that this game is trying to give off, try Chronicles of Cyberpunk or NeonCode. https://store.steampowered.com/app/742470/Chronicles_of_cyberpunk/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/976780/NeonCode/

I like narrative based games. After finishing Neo Cab, I was itching for another cab-based adventure game. The stylings of CloudPunk didn't seem to match what I was looking for, and despite some reviews saying Rainy City:Pandemic lacked in narrative and dialogue, the various positive reviews (mostly about how the game had a nice atmosphere - "cozy", "chill" "relaxing") and more-similarly styled gameplay towards Neo Cab swayed me. I thought I'd give it a try - I could always refund it. Issues - The graphics are very basic. The colors are basically purple and yellow (these are the colors that have left an impression). Nothing interesting beyond Betty's pizza sign. - The map directional arrow is vague and confusing whenever you go past a directional point that isn't a corner and it points you to go through buildings. - The "pick up" returns task is a bit finicky to achieve w/the clunky controls. - Whenever I'd try to back up in game after getting stuck on a corner or pole, I got confused as I tried to back up using the standard "opposite direction of forward to reverse in the direction you want to reverse in" maneuver - i.e. if I want to go right, I press back and left so I will be directioned towards the right when I am ready to go forward. However - going backwards does not change the trajectory of left and right - right is right and left is left, same as if you were going forward. - The directions were vague. When picking up an order, there is a "got any other orders?" option, which I thought meant I could pick up an extra delivery or two to drop off on one route. Nope, it means I am rejecting my initial order job and choosing a different one. - Have to buy a new N-95 equivalent (I assume) $20 mask EACH TIME I have a delivery to a "hot zone". For some reason, orders in "hot zones" pay more ("to help make up for having to buy a mask"). How this works practically economically - I'm not sure. There is no impactful character development. Betty wasn't endearing or personable - I didn't feel like an employee getting to know their new employer, much less one who is a unique real-deal grandma-esque independent pizza store owner. Deliveries had no pizzaz - the dialogue was stilted, uncontextualized, and often ended way before I expected them to, leaving me wondering what really transpired in the conversation or what I was supposed to take away from it. I didn't know these people, or the people they spoke of, and none of their monologues had any meaning or reason for me to be attached to them. So in short, there was no "cozy" "cute" "chill" vibes beyond purple and yellow and a car that can go up in the air. The music sounded like the generic music used in every other poorly made cash grab game out there. The song gave me bad vibes, contrary to the "chill" vibes I expected. And the biggest sin of all was the habdashed cobbling of pointless, inconsequential dialogue, giving me absolutely nothing to grab onto in this game. I didn't feel accomplished after a delivery, I didn't get to the point where I understood why I could buy TP, I got no pleasure out of picking up returns or returning to Betty's pizza shop to check in and pick up another order, and there was nothing to explore in the city. The gameplay was rote and dry, like the cold naan and tasteless sauces at a bad Indian food buffet. I was expecting something a little bit more heartfelt, in ANY capacity, from an independent dev. You'd get more satisfaction and dopamine out of Candy Crush. Unless you like accomplishing tasks like going over a start or end of shift checklist, pass this cyber punk themed game up. The game functions, but lacks any joie de vivre.

I didn't earn enough cash in time 😭

A straightforward yet charming delivery sim, which deftly captures the vibe and anxieties of 2020. The writing gets you invested in the characters very quickly, and despite the ostensible time/money pressure, the play experience is more soothing than stressing. It's not a big game but it's cheaper than a large Starbucks.