Classic, tried-and-true adventure games are hard to come by nowadays, but if Clifftop Games, the team behind the excellent Whisper of a Machine, have anything to say about it, they are very much alive. And with Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer, 4 years after the original game’s Director’s Cut, it’s time to once more don the titular gumshoe’s leather jacket and ride into another supernatural mystery.
Now after the Soothsayer, a serial killer running loose in Kassidy, the fictitious urban dumb that she lives in, Kathy has to deal with the aftermath of the original game, which left her relationship with her best friend and former business partner strained, as well as figure out some way to make ends meet, with next month’s rent hanging low above her head.
This sequel starts when an old friend of hers, also an investigator, invites Ms Rain to partner up in looking for clues in regards to the man or woman terrorizing the town, the aforementioned Soothsayer. At first, Kathy’s not into the idea after waking up after crashing on her sofa thanks to another tequila bender. She initially turns her buddy down, but when the clues start pointing towards a disturbing trend and she remembers how much in debt she is, she unwittingly pounces at the opportunity at hand.
The game plays and looks pretty much as you’d remember if you’ve tackled the first one. It’s a very retro adventure game that has you picking up items, talking to people, and putting together the clues needed in order to move forward. It’s not nearly as difficult as old school Sierra titles like King’s Quest, but I wouldn’t call it a pushover either. Info is given as you explore and examine items, confront folks while talking to them and put 2 and 2 together in your noggin’.
In golden point ‘n clicking tradition, the whole thing can be controlled via a mouse, with the option of pressing the space key in order to highlight all possible interactions in a given screen. Kathy has plenty to say about everything, so even if something doesn’t seem obviously useful, it’s still worth pressing your mouse button over anyway since more likely than not, it’ll be an entertaining interaction.
As with the classics that’ve inspired it, Kathy Rain 2 is incredibly well written. The dialogue flows beautifully and that’s good, because there’s plenty of it all throughout. Whether it’s Kathy reminiscing or actually interacting with another character, it’s all very witty, smart, and even sometimes expletive-filled, making this not easily recommended for kids.
That extends to the themes at hand. Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer deals with very mature themes, and for as comical as some situations might be, there’s still some very adult storytelling going on, in stark contrast to the colorful, pixelated visuals on display. It’s also worth pointing out that the voice acting is superb. The red-headed P.I is brought to life by prominent adventure game actress Arielle Siegel, who was also in Whisper of a Machine and the recent (and ridiculously good) Old Skies, in absolutely incredible, ironic fashion, and is accompanied by an equally talented cast.
Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer keeps up with the traditional level of quality that its developer is known for, and helps keep the flame of classic adventure alive alongside WadjetEye Games and a handful of other similar-minded independent developers with a passion for the genre I so passionately adore. If you are interested in good stories, you should by all means pick this up.
