I might somewhat not liken Grasp Detective Archives: Rain Code to the video games its artistic group is greatest identified for, however I can’t assist it when Spike Chunsoft and Too Kyo Video games’ newest homicide thriller certain 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 model of Rui Komatsuzaki, all to the backdrop of Masafumi Takada’s techno jazz rating. Almost each mechanic has a close to 1:1 equal to Danganronpa, to the purpose the place I play by way of and marvel if everybody concerned would somewhat be making one other a kind of titles however can’t due to Danganronpa V3’s damning meta-commentary about working a sequence into the bottom till it’s past recognition.
Regardless of the motivation, Rain Code nonetheless has lots of Danganronpa’s pink blood working by way of its veins, and whereas it takes a while to begin residing as much as its predecessor, it had me wrapped round its finger by its remaining 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 all over the world. He’s an amnesiac who’s made a take care of a loss of life god named Shinigami who takes the type of a purple puffball ghost with a love of carnage and loss of life, all whereas basking in it with lighthearted whimsy. Very similar to Kodaka’s earlier work, the sport makes use of the 2 characters’ contrasting views of the world to consistently oscillate between dire stakes and absurdist humor however makes use of its supernatural framing to crank the group’s regular antics as much as an inevitable over-the-top conclusion. A lot of Rain Code looks like Kodaka’s writing model at his most unhinged, not certain 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 delay by Rain Code’s supernatural parts 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 akin 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 by way of to reply a multiple-choice query or an enemy that Yuma should battle with a truth-bearing blade to actually reduce by way of their arguments as they seem in textual content on the display.
Danganronpa represented these similar ideas by way of mini-games that have been extra symbolic, comparable 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 all the things 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 approach that justified each second of deduction and reasoning in a tangible approach, somewhat than a conceptual one.
It wasn’t till later chapters the place Rain Code began to essentially 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. Not like Danganronpa, this methodology and end result aren’t compelled on Yuma, he simply regularly falls on it as he’s placed on his again foot. At its core, Rain Code is concerning 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 unsuitable. In exposing it, individuals can construct from the reality somewhat than tear themselves down additional.
This is the reason Rain Code consistently invitations comparisons to Kodaka’s most prolific work. If it weren’t for all of the clear mechanical and inventive 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 greatest 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 tip.
All of the framing apart, Rain Code does really feel tough across the edges from a technical standpoint. Moderately than utilizing the 2D sprite-based visible novel model of Danganronpa, just about all the things in Rain Code is rendered in 3D, and this sport chugs one thing fierce on Change. Whether or not it’s in the course of the exploration segments by way of Kanai Ward or the action-oriented setpieces inside the Thriller Labyrinth, the sport typically feels prefer it’s struggling to carry itself collectively. Whereas third-person, 3D setup provides 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 comfortable 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 factor at their core. Even after I would really feel skeptical a couple of reveal, Rain Code would rapidly level to a clue I’d lengthy forgotten that tied issues collectively. Some options might need felt farfetched, however inside 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 methods to make these sorts of video games, and as a long-time fan of the themes Kodaka tends to put in writing round, I used to be fairly moved by the tip despite the fact that it practically misplaced me at first. Should you’ve by no means been a fan of Kodaka’s mixture of camp, heavyhanded themes, and theatrics, Rain Code will doubtless not seize you. However regardless of it feeling like Danganronpa’s distant cousin, it makes it clear this group doesn’t should lean on Monokuma’s loss of life sport as a crutch and might construct one thing new upon its bones as a substitute. Hopefully, this implies Kodaka can proceed to let outdated issues die on their very own phrases and make new issues as a substitute.
