The Souls like of the ecosystem simulations…

Rain World doesn’t care for you, the world doesn’t care if you are there or not, it just exists, persists and lives on, like it has before you, and how it will after you are long gone. You aren’t a great hero to save the land, or the main character everyone looks up too, you are just a tiny part in this world, a cogwheel in the circle of life, an animal trying to survive and make sense of its existence and purpose or, most often, food for other animals, which are stronger than you.
Are you pray or the hunter? Ultimately, you can be both, but be aware, there is always a bigger fish, and it isn’t you little Slugcat.

Story
Even if I wanted too, I couldn’t tell you, this world makes sense in some way, and there is an interesting and complex story, but finding out about it is a big part of the game, you have to like indirect, confusing, puzzle like story telling to enjoy the way Rain Worlds shares it secrets and what is even going on.

Gameplay
Rain World is probably the most complex and detailed ecosystem simulation ever made. Every animal/insect/plant in this world has its own AI to a ridiculous level, with movement patters, different behaviors depending on the environment, other animals, fights, hunting strategies etc. Friendly/hostile interactions with every other creature, infighting…
It is like you would imagine a real ecosystem to work.
And on top, your own characters, the Slugcat has its own very complex, and physic based movement system.

And you are in the midst of all of this, as the little, very tasty Slugcat that you are, in a world where mostly everything wants to make you its next meal.
You explore this world either on your own, or with a small guide that shows you the way in a very vague manner, but beside that, you are on your own, you hunt, eat, and evolve, but this system isn’t permanent. You need to eat, or you will starve, and based on countless other action, you can get points in different traits. And if you die, which you will a lot, you go down by one evolution. The game wants you to find out, there is no explanation to it. Certain areas are gated off by, well, literal gates that require you to achieve a certain evolution level to pass.
As safe points, you need to find hibernation spots, and when you die, you go from there. But these serve several purposes, most of all, the world runs on a rain cycle. Each time it rains, you need to hibernate or you will die, so it is a constant balancing act of exploring, trying to get somewhere, hunting, not becoming food and keeping on eye on the rain timer, and you will die at times without being able to save yourself. Rain World isn’t fair, sometimes things happen and there is nothing you can do about it...

Graphic and Audio
I really love the 2D pixel art style of the game, the world looks amazing and the devs really captured the post-apocalyptic vibe they went for. Everything is in ruins, and overgrown and in some state of decay.
I also can’t say anything bad about the audio side of the game, the world and living beings in it sounds nice, the soundtrack is pumping when it wants you to be on your toes or sometimes is just chill and relaxing.

Tech
I had no issues so far in my entire playtime, no stutters no crashes or anything.

Pros & Cons /tl;dr
+amazing world and world building
+an ecosystem simulation you can not find anywhere else
+unique enemy behaviors and movement system
+great post-apocalyptic vibe and atmosphere
+Unique characters progression system

-The game is unfair sometimes, which is by design, but needs to be mentioned
-You need frustration resistance
-Story is a puzzle (no minus for me, but I can see it being an issue for some)
-lack of direction / getting lost
-Absolutely no explanations for anything

Final Thoughts
Rain World makes it really hard to recommend or not recommend it. The game is absolutely unique in so many aspects and its whole own experience.
If you look for somethings different, and are willing to put the time in and bite through the frustration and at times unfair design you will encounter, then Rain World is truly a unique adventure, you will either look fondly upon or curse every bite of it, there really is no in between I feel.

SLUG CAT.

After trying out the game for a little while and clocking in around 500 hours across multiple devices I can happily say that this game is worth the money. the pros to the games are immense especially sense more content and mods can be added through workshop allowing for the impossible to be possible. For example there is straight up online multiplayer now through mods which is actually insane. the amount of friends and memories I have made off of this game will be unforgettable and if you love a hard game that very well challenges you brain and perseverance than I highly recommend this game.