In my opinion, the greatest point-and-click adventures focuses on at least one of two things, comedy or mystery. Kathy Rain is focused more on the mystery, which isn’t to say there isn’t any laugh, but it is more a sarcastic humor provided by the main character. The emotions, plot, and topics are for the most part play with a sincerity, though they don’t really explore the heavy stuff beyond the surface level, as the game is more about the investigation.
The game shines in a few areas for me the atmosphere/plot-genre combo, characters, and keeping the puzzles logical.

Not really a fan of the game’s pixelated style, sure the portraits when people spoke looked decent, but other than that the game didn’t look all that good to me. (You can easily see from the pictures if the style appeals to you.) But not the most important part of an game, and I still think it shines as one of the bright spots in its genre.
A lot of missable achievements, some of which requires you to do something completely asinine such as trying to use your taser on your grandma before talking to her the first time your character sees he in years and it is ridiculous, because Kathy isn’t a blank slate character. She doesn’t do that kind of comedy-adventure game chaos. She’ll just make a smartass comment. I do like achievements, even if I have soured a bit on them in certain games, but I do not like when they suggest you act out of character with random stuff. -.-

Kathy Rain is a relaxing game, where you go around trying to uncover a mystery which is decades old by this point, investigating old leads, chatting to people with first or second hand knowledge of various topics. And therefore, for the most part there isn’t any sense of urgency. Which is perfect for the genre. Point and click should be about discovery, unraveling secrets and solving mysteries, not about action pieces. I just really appreciate a game where the gameplay, story, and theme all work together. There’s only a tiny section of the game, where that isn’t true, and you feel like you are actually in an “every second count” situation, where getting the puzzle wrong the first time would break the immersion. But just once in an adventure game? I’ll bloody take it!

Kathy herself is such a delight. A reporter-to-be with an attitude, smokes, and rides a bike. And they even give her a good girl, religious, sidekick roommate. Sure, the characters has some details that make them unique, but there’s a reason we stick with archetypes in storytelling, especially when it is video games. It makes them easily recognizable and means we don’t have to spend too much time learning the details of everyone before we get to solving our problems. Though Kathy, it is okay to carry a lighter, if you think you need fire for potential flammable problems, don’t need to destroy your lounges by smoking. And definitely shouldn’t relate to the near shut-in, surrounded by ashtrays and cigarettes.

Aside from the achievements, the puzzles were all logical, and the one time it wasn’t at least Kathy made a comment to show what to do. Which is always a plus in these kinds of games.

[h1]An Excellent Addition to Your Point-and-Click Adventure Library, if You Enjoy a Less Comedic Tone[/h1] In my opinion, the greatest point-and-click adventures focuses on at least one of two things, comedy or mystery. Kathy Rain is focused more on the mystery, which isn’t to say there isn’t any laugh, but it is more a sarcastic humor provided by the main character. The emotions, plot, and topics are for the most part play with a sincerity, though they don’t really explore the heavy stuff beyond the surface level, as the game is more about the investigation. The game shines in a few areas for me the [u]atmosphere/plot-genre combo[/u], [u]characters[/u], and keeping the puzzles logical. [h2]The nitpicks[/h2] Not really a fan of the game’s pixelated style, sure the portraits when people spoke looked decent, but other than that the game didn’t look all that good to me. (You can easily see from the pictures if the style appeals to you.) But not the most important part of an game, and I still think it shines as one of the bright spots in its genre. A lot of missable achievements, some of which requires you to do something completely asinine [spoiler]such as trying to use your taser on your grandma before talking to her the first time your character sees he in years[/spoiler] and it is ridiculous, because Kathy isn’t a blank slate character. She doesn’t do that kind of comedy-adventure game chaos. She’ll just make a smartass comment. I do like achievements, even if I have soured a bit on them in certain games, but I do not like when they suggest you act out of character with random stuff. -.- [h2]Atmosphere /the right plot for the right genre[/h2] Kathy Rain is a relaxing game, where you go around trying to uncover a mystery which is decades old by this point, investigating old leads, chatting to people with first or second hand knowledge of various topics. And therefore, for the most part there isn’t any sense of urgency. Which is perfect for the genre. Point and click should be about discovery, unraveling secrets and solving mysteries, not about action pieces. I just really appreciate a game where the gameplay, story, and theme all work together. [spoiler]There’s only a tiny section of the game, where that isn’t true, and you feel like you are actually in an “every second count” situation, where getting the puzzle wrong the first time would break the immersion. But just once in an adventure game? I’ll bloody take it![/spoiler] [h2]Great Characters[/h2] Kathy herself is such a delight. A reporter-to-be with an attitude, smokes, and rides a bike. And they even give her a good girl, religious, sidekick roommate. Sure, the characters has some details that make them unique, but there’s a reason we stick with archetypes in storytelling, especially when it is video games. It makes them easily recognizable and means we don’t have to spend too much time learning the details of everyone before we get to solving our problems. Though Kathy, it is okay to carry a lighter, if you think you need fire for potential flammable problems, don’t need to destroy your lounges by smoking. [spoiler]And definitely shouldn’t relate to the near shut-in, surrounded by ashtrays and cigarettes.[/spoiler] [h2]Logical Puzzles[/h2] Aside from the achievements, the puzzles were all logical, and the one time it wasn’t at least Kathy made a comment to show what to do. Which is always a plus in these kinds of games.