RAIN WORLD: YOU ARE NOT THE HERO, YOU ARE LUNCH
8.0 of 10 bananas. Videocult's 2017 survival platformer: a small slugcat tries to survive a ruined world full of predators with their own minds. Its living ecosystem is unlike anything else; it is punishing, cryptic, and the controls fight you at first.
By the Alpha. Steam listing. Updated Nov 3 2026.
Honest note: This is not a fresh hands-on playtest. I built this verdict from launch reviews, critic consensus, update history, and what is known about the game today. If I put real hours in on stream, I will update the score and say so.
Platforms: PC on Steam (Windows), plus PS4 and Nintendo Switch (developed by Videocult, published by Adult Swim Games and later Akupara Games, released March 28 2017). The button is the Steam page, 24.99 dollars at my Nov 3 2026 check. I did not verify a fair US Amazon listing for a console copy, so Steam is the only button.
Get Rain World on SteamSit with me a moment. In most games the jungle waits for you. In Rain World the jungle is busy with its own business, and you are just another small animal trying not to be eaten before the rain comes.
What It Wants To Be
Rain World is a 2D survival platformer. You play a slugcat separated from its family in a vast, ruined industrial world. You hunt for food, hide in shelters before deadly rains, and avoid lizards, vultures, and stranger things that hunt, fight each other, and remember you. The Downpour expansion added more slugcats and stories.
What Works
Nothing else feels this alive. The creatures run on real AI, so every chase plays out differently. The pixel art and animation are gorgeous, and the world is huge and mysterious. It launched with a mixed 66 on Metacritic on Steam, but the community grew huge, and Steam players now rate it very highly after years of updates and Downpour.
What Breaks
Listen well. It is hard and does not explain itself. Dying can send you back far, the controls feel slippery until they click, and the map is cryptic. Many critics in 2017 called it unfair, and that is why the launch score is low. Some players will quit in the first hours.
Who Should Play
Play it if you love hard, mysterious games like Hollow Knight and want something truly different. Skip it if you want clear goals and fair checkpoints.
STRENGTHS
- A living ecosystem like no other
- Beautiful art and animation
- Huge mysterious world
- Downpour adds a lot
HONEST COSTS
- Punishing and cryptic
- Slippery controls at first
- Mixed launch reviews
Store note: the troop still needs an Amazon referral for this one. I did not verify a fair US Amazon console listing for Rain World. Steam is the only button until a fair listing is real. This is not an affiliate link.