Multi Rain World

[Smacktard]

I just started playing this game, and I just... don't get it. I'm stuck at one part near the beginning -- I'm not sure where to go, and having to scavenge food after every cycle/death is tedious, as is traversal, so I don't want to venture far away from where I'm at, in case I'm heading in the wrong direction. I'd appreciate having a better idea of where I should go next.

I'm at the point where I'm close to quitting. I've played games I've almost quit before -- Metroid Prime, Dark Souls, Sekiro -- only to push myself to continue playing them. Eventually became my favorite games, so I'm wondering if the same could happen with this game. A lot of people really love it, but I just can't wrap my head around... mainly the navigation and the karma system, I guess.

Has anyone played this game? Any advice that would help me to enjoy it more?

 

[Smacktard]

Okay, I've started to get the hang of it, but there's a few questionable design choices that make it "good" but prevent it from being "great".

The karma system in the game is really annoying. To progress in the story, your karma needs to be at a certain level, and for some story beats, it has to be at the max level. Your karma starts at a maximum of 5, and this maximum increases by 2 every time you meet one of five important characters in the game, for a maximum of 10. Every time you die, your current karma drops one level. In order to increase your current karma one level, you need to hunt and forage in order to find enough food to survive the day, and rest. This can make it extremely annoying when you're trying to progress but you're in a particularly difficult or unfair area, or an area with little food resources. I just resorted to save summing any time I made some significant progress toward a goal. The alternative would be to grind anywhere from 2 to 9 days of feeding/resting, which isn't fun -- it's just obnoxious. The karma system really detracts from the game a lot.

I also eventually resorted to using an online map. The "buddy" that is supposed to tell you where to go isn't always correct, clear, or even fucking PRESENT. The in-game map system is annoying too (the game doesn't pause, which means predators can still hunt you) and it's very unclear. Also, it's not fun navigating a huge distance, saving in a dangerous/unfamiliar area, and then realizing you have to do a ton of backtracking to get back on the right path. Online map solves this issue.

Many deaths are unfair -- especially in the west entrance to the Sky Islands where vultures can just swoop down and fuck your shit up completely. This on its own is not so bad -- it really emphasizes your helplessness -- but paired with the karma system where you're effectively double-punished for dying so much, it's very frustrating.

All in all I get why some people absolutely adore this game. For me, I'm close enough to platinuming the main game that I'll probably keep going and finish it off. The DLC sounds like a nightmare to 100% though.

 

[TD]

So I'm really happy I read this.

This game was on my radar because of art style, what I saw in the trailer, and being part of PS Plus.

However, after reading this - it sounds... frustrating. Definitely not going to give this a go any time soon.

 

[Smacktard]

So I'm really happy I read this.

This game was on my radar because of art style, what I saw in the trailer, and being part of PS Plus.

However, after reading this - it sounds... frustrating. Definitely not going to give this a go any time soon.

It definitely IS frustrating. It's simulating an animal in nature that's close to the bottom of the food chain -- or maybe more accurately, proto-humans and humans when they FIRST started using tools and didn't have robust societies and defense mechanisms against nature built up. You often die from random chance, many mechanics aren't explained well to you, you often reach dead-ends where you ought to be able to progress, and you often don't know where to go. Yes, it is a frustrating game, and these are the major drawbacks.

That said, it CAN be an enjoyable playthrough. If you use an offline map and plan your route before you take it, the game is much better. Also the DLC has "remix" functions that allow you a LOT of leeway with how you customize the game. You can make it a lot less random and more forgiving. For a much more enjoyable playthrough, I'd recommend turning off karma gates so that random deaths are less aggravating and time-consuming.

 

[TD]

I'm definitely not in the mindset for a game that frustrating. I'm also generally not a fan of games you cannot play through blind. With the offline map being such a necessity, I'll keep this one on the backlog for a while.

 

[Smacktard]

I'm definitely not in the mindset for a game that frustrating. I'm also generally not a fan of games you cannot play through blind. With the offline map being such a necessity, I'll keep this one on the backlog for a while.

Fair enough, I can't blame you! It's definitely not for everyone.