It's been interesting to dive into Kathy Rain 2 right after playing Old Skies, another point and click adventure which recently came out. Old Skies has puzzles that often feel like distractions from its central story, vestigial obligations included only because adventure games are expected to have them. But in Kathy Rain 2, literally every puzzle I've encountered so far …
It's been interesting to dive into Kathy Rain 2 right after playing Old Skies, another point and click adventure which recently came out. Old Skies has puzzles that often feel like distractions from its central story, vestigial obligations included only because adventure games are expected to have them. But in Kathy Rain 2, literally every puzzle I've encountered so far has been good to great, just a nonstop cascade of delightful detective work!
Why am I loving one set of puzzles when I was so ho-hum on the other? The investigation and inventory mechanics I'm using are more or less the same. Both games are brimming with arcane roadblocks that make less sense the longer you think about them. What's different?
So far as I can figure, Kathy Rain 2's success mostly comes down to two factors. For one, its murder mystery plot is just a way more natural narrative fit for all these puzzles than is Old Skies' focus on existential crisis. And for two, Kathy Rain's hint system is absolutely killer at sanding away the traditional pain points of the genre. It's truly nuts how much special case dialogue Kathy has to keep you from getting stuck, or course correct you when you're approaching the right answer from the wrong angle. And that all these hints can help without ever feeling overbearing is even more impressive!
Anyways, can't wait to jump back into the Soothsayer case tonight.
