I’d somewhat not liken Grasp Detective Archives: Rain Code to the video games its artistic group is finest identified for, however I can’t assist it when Spike Chunsoft and Too Kyo Video games’ newest homicide thriller positive does invite the comparability. Like Danganronpa earlier than it, Rain Code is a homicide thriller from the thoughts of Kazutaka Kodaka, adorned within the distinct artwork fashion of Rui Komatsuzaki, all to the backdrop of Masafumi Takada’s techno jazz rating. Practically each mechanic has a close to 1:1 equal to Danganronpa, to the purpose the place I play via and marvel if everybody concerned would somewhat be making one other a type of titles however can’t due to Danganronpa V3’s damning meta-commentary about operating a sequence into the bottom till it’s past recognition.
Regardless of the motivation, Rain Code nonetheless has a whole lot of Danganronpa’s pink blood operating via its veins, and whereas it takes a while to begin dwelling as much as its predecessor, it had me wrapped round its finger by its last instances and hopeful that Kodaka might have discovered a brand new outlet to indulge his fascination with mysteries with out returning to a narrative that’s lengthy completed.
Rain Code follows a detective-in-training Yuma Kokohead in a world the place detectives are superpowered figures revered around the globe. He’s an amnesiac who’s made a cope with a dying god named Shinigami who takes the type of a purple puffball ghost with a love of carnage and dying, all whereas basking in it with lighthearted whimsy. Very like Kodaka’s earlier work, the sport makes use of the 2 characters’ contrasting views of the world to always oscillate between dire stakes and absurdist humor however makes use of its supernatural framing to crank the group’s normal antics as much as an inevitable over-the-top conclusion. A lot of Rain Code seems like Kodaka’s writing fashion at his most unhinged, now not sure by the restrictions of a (comparatively) grounded setting and free to make use of magic, superpowers, and god-like entities to justify some wild imagery, for higher or worse.
For the primary few chapters, I used to be postpone by Rain Code’s supernatural components and the way they framed the mystery-solving. As Yuma and Shinigami stumble into fixing crimes across the metropolis of Kanai Ward, Shinigami opens up a pocket dimension to a Thriller Labyrinth. These are fairly corresponding to a Palace in Persona 5 in that they’re bodily manifestations of the thriller itself. Each query there’s a couple of case is given a literal kind, whether or not that be doorways to stroll via to reply a multiple-choice query or an enemy that Yuma should battle with a truth-bearing blade to actually reduce via their arguments as they seem in textual content on the display screen.
Danganronpa represented these identical ideas via mini-games that had been extra symbolic, akin to imagining your self snowboarding down a slope and selecting paths representing solutions as you made deductions. Rain Code makes use of the Thriller Labyrinth to present every little thing a diegetic place in its world. I love the dedication to the bit, however the framing initially felt prefer it was the sport bending over backward to convey Danganronpa mechanics right into a legally distinct format in a manner that justified each second of deduction and reasoning in a tangible manner, somewhat than a conceptual one.
It wasn’t till later chapters the place Rain Code began to actually reckon with the truth of utilizing the Thriller Labyrinth that I began to purchase in. Shinigami is a ghost when she and Yuma are in the actual world, however as soon as they enter the Labyrinth, she sheds her mascot character design for her true kind: which is a tall, gothic lady who reaps upon the souls of the wrongdoer on the finish of every case. As soon as Yuma is confronted with the reality, he’s additionally confronted with the price of discovering it. In contrast to Danganronpa, this methodology and end result aren’t pressured on Yuma, he simply regularly falls on it as he’s placed on his again foot. At its core, Rain Code is in regards to the pursuit of the reality and its penalties, however whereas Shinigami leaves our bodies in her wake, the sport posits that the reality isn’t meant to be morally proper or flawed. In exposing it, individuals can construct from the reality somewhat than tear themselves down additional.
Because of this Rain Code always invitations comparisons to Kodaka’s most prolific work. If it weren’t for all of the clear mechanical and creative parallels, that baseline perception in individuals is the symmetry that connects this group’s previous and current work. Rain Code’s latter chapters invoke the identical outburst of feelings that this group is finest identified for, even when it takes its time getting there. In some ways, its narrative and mysteries get messy, generally diluted by the supernatural framing somewhat than enhanced by it. However regardless of my preliminary misgivings, I used to be shocked at how properly it got here collectively. Given this group’s historical past, I most likely ought to’ve trusted Rain Code to get me by the top.
All of the framing apart, Rain Code does really feel tough across the edges from a technical standpoint. Quite than utilizing the 2D sprite-based visible novel fashion of Danganronpa, just about every little thing in Rain Code is rendered in 3D, and this sport chugs one thing fierce on Swap. Whether or not it’s through the exploration segments via Kanai Ward or the action-oriented setpieces throughout the Thriller Labyrinth, the sport usually feels prefer it’s struggling to carry itself collectively. Whereas third-person, 3D setup offers Rain Code its personal taste and permits the sport some fairly spectacular visible moments (the neon-soaked cyberpunk aesthetic of Kanai Ward seems nice when it’s not in movement), there have been stretches of time the place it felt like the sport wanted one other cross for technical polish.
At a sure level, I believe I grew to become desensitized to the framerate drops and purchased into the idea and was joyful to dive into Thriller Labyrinth. Comparatively, Rain Code’s instances aren’t fairly as elaborate as its predecessor’s, however they every had satisfying mysteries and an explosive human aspect at their core. Even after I would really feel skeptical a couple of reveal, Rain Code would shortly level to a clue I’d lengthy forgotten that tied issues collectively. Some options might need felt farfetched, however throughout the world it established, these instances felt hermetic and satisfying to resolve, even when the conclusion was devastating to observe unfold.
Rain Code is constructed by a group that is aware of the right way to make these sorts of video games, and as a long-time fan of the themes Kodaka tends to write down round, I used to be fairly moved by the top regardless that it practically misplaced me to start with. When you’ve by no means been a fan of Kodaka’s mixture of camp, heavyhanded themes, and theatrics, Rain Code will seemingly not seize you. However regardless of it feeling like Danganronpa’s distant cousin, it makes it clear this group doesn’t must lean on Monokuma’s dying sport as a crutch and might construct one thing new upon its bones as an alternative. Hopefully, this implies Kodaka can proceed to let outdated issues die on their very own phrases and make new issues as an alternative.
