Rain World (2017)

I'm really excited for this mod, as I've been dying for some more Rain World content. It's called "More Slugcats Expansion" and looks like they're adding a huge amount of content to the game. I can't wait! I'd still like to beat the game on hard mode some day, but yeah, Rain World on hard mode might actually be beyond the limit of my gamer skills. I'm also eagerly awaiting Rain World 1.7 to come to steam. :( If anyone hasn't yet played Rain World, the unparalleled masterpiece, then I'm going to glare at you intensely for an extended period. I've lost count of the number of people I've gifted this game to, just on the basis that I want to shovel money at the devs. Pretty sure it's available on all platforms now, so there's no excuse.

More info can be found here: http://eggzero.serv.pink/rainworld/web/web.html, from website:

More Slugcats Expansion is a massive overhaul to Rain World that adds five new playable characters. Each has their own storyline, are unique in their abilites, and unique in their spot on the timeline. As a result, there is a lot of new content exclusive to each playthrough. There are new creatures, items, music, alternate endings, as well as 9 new regions spanning over 1500 new maps.

This expansion not only adds content, but tackles the base game as well, with quality of life gameplay and mechanical fixes, bug fixes, performance improvements, and other such tweaks and polish to address some of the frustrations that were cited by players and reviewers. It was made with love and passion by a community of Rain World fans who want to see the game equally loved and appreciated by a wider populace.

My Top 10 Games from 2017

I think there was already a forum thread about this, but I was thinking and trying to compile a list, so here it is. :)

1. Rain World
2. Hollow Knight
3. Wuppo
4. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight
5. Stephen's Sausage Roll
6. The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human
7. Tormentor X Punisher
8. Chantelise
9. A Bastard’s Tale
10. Lithium: Inmate 39

Those were my favourite games that I played this year. Rain World wins a landslide victory in this case, probably the finest game I've ever played. Interesting, I've noticed they're all indie games, zero AAA games on the list. I think I like to play unique games with a bold vision and I feel like AAA publishers are unfortunately quite wary of funding risky/creative projects these days. Also I've listed a lot of 2D platformers, haha, makes me wonder why I have an expensive gaming PC.

Honourable mentions go to: (in no particular order) Gloom, Mu Cartographer, Teleglitch, Razenroth, The Shrouded Isle, Towerclimb, The Last Guardian, Nioh, Sundered, Inside, Abzu, Kathy Rain, Malus Code, Castle in the Darkness, DarkMaus, Dead Cells, Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor and the DLC content for Furi and Dark Souls 3.

Big Update for Rain World

A massive update has been released for Rain World, and it's pretty exciting. Rain World is easily the best game I've played all year, and it might even be the best game I've played period. Yesterday I realised I never reviewed it, so I'll have to do that at some point. I've recommended it to countless people but it seems like no one gives it a chance, and the review scores are often pretty low.. I think this game is an original masterpiece, unlike anything I've seen/played before. But I'll save my fanboy gushing for the review.

One big gripe people have is that the learning curve is too steep, or that the game is just brutally unfair/difficult. Possibly in response to this criticism, the new version now has an easier mode, and also a hard mode.

Playing as "The Monk" will make it easier to access some areas that are usually locked. Slugcat also doesn't need to eat as much to survive, and enemies will be less hostile towards him. Playing as "The Hunter" makes the game significantly more difficult. Slugcat can only eat meat and requires much more food, though he can now kill and eat some of the larger predatory creatures. He can also carry an extra spear on his back. However I believe the environments and enemies are more dangerous, and he begins in the game in a completely different, dangerous area, much more distant from his goals. There are a bunch of other changes (many are probably still unknown) but I've already seen a range of new enemies, creatures and the possibility of new locations and lore.

The update also delivers multiplayer which is really fun! Each player controls a slugcut and you run around an arena of obstacles, collecting food, fighting off enemies or instead choosing to try to kill each other (up to 4 players) with various options to adjust the experience. I played it locally when my friend was over, it was a blast.

If you haven't checked out Rain World yet, you're really missing out on something extraordinary, and now with this fully-polished edition and regular big price cuts there's no longer any excuse for not helping Slugcat on his mysterious, perilous journey.

I did it! IT IS DONE!

74 hours deep and I have finally "completed" Rain World, or at least I saw some sort of ending.

It was so intense, I had to remind myself to breathe. From the little hints, clues and rumours scattered around the game world I know for certain that I missed a lot. There are many unanswered questions, branching paths unexplored, rumoured figures whom I never managed to track down and meet. I estimate (from the achievements) that I probably only did around half of the possible quests, objectives and special events. I feel like I've just had a religious experience or something, the hairs are standing up on the back of my neck.. I need some time to process what I've experienced before I can write up this review. I think I also need a break from Rain World and possibly some counselling, haha. But I'm also very keen to dive back in and do/see everything and explore every corner of this game. I need to dive deeper and know EVERYTHING about it.

I think I'll also write up a little "Getting Started" guide, because 15 hours of my playthrough was my initial aborted run, after which I restarted from scratch. I'm immediately adding this to my "greatest games of all time list," though I'll just slot it in somewhere randomly. I can't really tell the ranking of it until I digest and explore a bit more. It's possible I'm blinded by some sort of manic honeymoon period and that Rain World is actually a terrible, boring, buggy, uninspired 2D platformer asset flip made by a couple of 12 year olds in MSPaint and RPGMaker.

Just out of curiosity I had a peep at the contents page of the wiki, to get a little indicator of how deep I was. I thought I was nearing the end of Rain World, but really it sounds more like I've only just completed 'chapter 1' and I'm at the very beginning of 'chapter 2.' This game is humongous. The storytelling is fantastic as well and (apart from the superb gameplay) it really keeps me putting in the hours. You're exploring this ruinous world and you're wondering how it came to be this way. Little hints are revealed through subtle environmental details, each being a piece of the puzzle. Occasionally Slugcat will have a vivid dream and that will offer more information, and on rare occasions there will be a revealing plot climax, sometimes presenting you with an array of choices which I assume will affect things further down the line.

One thing's for sure. If that was only the first chapter then I'm genuinely terrified about what this game will throw at me next. D: