Line #85 VideoGame/KathyRain


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kathy_rain.png]]
2
3	''Kathy Rain'' is a point-and-click AdventureGame developed by Clifftop Games and published by Creator/RawFury in 2016.
4
5	The year is 1995. On a dull September day, journalist student Kathy Rain learns about the recent death of her grandfather, Joseph, and she decides to take a long-overdue trip back to her hometown, Conwell Springs, to be at his funeral. Catching up with her grandmother, she learns that Joseph Rain had been the victim of a mysterious event years before, leaving him a mere vegetable in a way that science was unable to puzzle out. Surprised and curious, Kathy decides to get to the bottom of what happened all those years ago. With nothing but her determination, her motorcycle, her smokes, and her long lost dad's lighter, she explores the town in search of anything that could explain Joseph's condition.
6
7	However, not everything is as it seems in this small town, and what starts off as a look into the past soon evolves into a very current and very real danger. As more questions appear around every corner and things take a turn for the weird, Kathy Rain soon finds herself swamped in a mystery. What is the story behind the artist who committed suicide? What was Joseph Rain doing the day he was confined to his wheelchair? Why is everyone in this town so goddamn insane? And will her college roommate stop invading her personal space?
8
9	Made in a pixel art styling, the game itself is rather reminiscent of old Creator/LucasArts games with a large investigative bent to it. Much of the game is about asking around about various topics Kathy writes in her notebook and gathering information. That being said, every once in a while you open up a new area to explore and sleuth about, and there are plenty of puzzles to test your thinking skills.
10
11	A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx-70CUQIlQ director's cut]] version was released on October 26, 2021, featuring touched-up graphics, extended story, including an expanded ending, and new areas with new puzzles.
12
13	!!Due to the game having a mystery plot, expect marked and unmarked spoilers!
14	----
15	!!The game provides examples of :
16
17	* FiveFiveFive: All phone numbers start with 555.
18	* AbortionFalloutDrama: Kathy had a teen pregnancy terminated, possibly because she saw her own parents as a bad example. She does however still have nightmares from it. Depending on dialog choices, Kathy can either express remorse, claim [[IDidWhatIHadToDo she did what she had to do]], or assert that she did nothing wrong.
19	* AbusiveParents: Sharon Evans wasn't exactly fit to raise Kathy, and it's confirmed that she was at the very least emotionally abusive to Kathy.
20	* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Father Isaac.]]
21	* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: Played with. The Black Hats ''are'' criminals, but most of them are pretty easy-going and helpful. '''Most'''.
22	* AndYourRewardIsClothes: In the ''Director's Cut'' version it is possible to unlock new, though purely cosmetic designs for Kathy's chopper, if you manage to happen upon the right secret interactions. The various options also changes the design of her helmet.
23	* BavarianFireDrill: Kathy is able to press information from the operator at the air-force base by playing the sexist card.
24	* BerserkButton: Grandma Rain loses her typical politeness when the Black Hats come up, blaming them for how her son ended up.
25	* BigBad: ''Possibly'' [[spoiler: the Crimson One. He helps Kathy several times but he seems to be using her for his own means and lies about having control over Eileen's soul.]]
26	* BlackAndWhiteInsanity: When Kathy speaks to Big Beau about her family, he blames Joseph of this, telling her that her grandfather had an extremely narrow definition of "good" and "evil", and that he believes this was the reason why her father, Brian, ended up falling out with him.
27	* BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord: Kathy has this conservation when confronting [[spoiler:Father Isaac]] with the Red Scythe plant, which has psychedelic properties.
28	-->'''Kathy:''' You know something about this plant, right?\
29	'''[[spoiler:Father Isaac]]:''' Oh, yes, a link to the divine. They help by preparing the body for unity with God.\
30	'''Kathy:''' So, you've drugged people with it?\
31	'''[[spoiler:Father Isaac]]:''' Such a crude choice of words. It has been ''one'' component of my sacred work, yes.
32	* BrokenBase: InUniverse. Dave mentions that one of the reasons why he and Clyde have somewhat of a beef with each other is because the latter said that ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' is better than ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''.
33	* BottleEpisode: Day 2 is spent within Kathy's dorm.
34	* ButThouMust: When Lenny [[NervousWreck nervously asks]] Kathy if she'd like to go eat [[{{Malaproper}} foot]] with him, the player has a variety of choices:
35	-->No.\
36	God, no!\
37	Absolutely not.\
38	[[DeadpanSnarker Actually, I'd rather eat a foot.]]
39	* CaughtWithYourPantsDown: {{Downplayed\|Trope}}. As she [[spoiler:makes her escape from the Sheriff's Station lock-up]], Kathy walks past Sheriff Boyks' office and overhears him in the middle of what is heavily implied to be a bit of IntimateTelecommunications. She quickly decides not to listen in on him and just keep on walking.
40	* ChekhovsBoomerang: Dave's disk for hacking passwords comes in handy a second time. The same goes for Kathy's stun gun.
41	* ChronicallyKilledActor: Goober claims to be one InUniverse.
42	* CluelessDeputy: Downplayed with Lenny. He proves to be really quite helpful at several points in the game, unlike the overtly hostile and dismissive Sheriff Boyks, but he is also a bit awkward, timid, and unlucky.
43	* CobwebOfDisuse: When Kathy finds Joseph's old typewriter in the attic, it is covered in cobwebs.
44	* ConcealingCanvas: There is a safe behind the painting in Isaac's room at the church.
45	* ConvenientlyTimedDistraction: You'd think Kathy wouldn't be allowed in the cellblock at the sheriff's office, and you'd also think you need to get back there anyway. You'd probably also think you need to find a way to distract the officer at the desk so you can get back there undetected. Well, you don't. Whenever you go to open the doors the sheriff will very conveniently call to Lenny at that exact moment, letting you slip inside undetected.
46	* CoolBike: Kathy's maroon chopper, which she has nicknamed "The Kathymobile". The Black Hat's boss, Big Beau, comments with some genuine admiration on some of the modifications she has done to it.
47	* CrazyHomelessPeople: Downplayed with Goober. He tells you a lot of tall tales, occasionally makes inappropriate remarks, and sometimes rambles about weird stuff and conspiracy theories, but for the most part he is pretty lucid and has quite a bit of insight into the past of Conwell Springs.
48	* CreatorsCultureCarryover: In the Black Hats MC, there is a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_sign Running Man]] exit sign which are usually seen in Europe or Asia instead of the American '''EXIT''' sign most commonly seen in the United States (which is required by law due to federal building codes). This is a small oversight given the creators of the game are based in rural Sweden.
49	* CreepyChild: Several times does Kathy encounter an eerie little boy with black hair. [[spoiler:He turns out to be the boy she never had due to her abortion.]]
50	* CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption: Kathy has to use her stun gun on Goober to distract a nurse. She feels pretty bad about it afterwards. He himself doesn't mind though as it improved the scene he was acting out.
51	* CrypticConversation: Frequently among people involved with the mysterious lights in the forest. Unlike most examples, the speaker often ''wants'' to make more sense than they can.
52	-->'''Kathy:''' Why are you constantly speaking in riddles?!\
53	[[spoiler:'''Jimmy]]:''' Why do you assume I have a choice?
54	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Numerous characters in Conwell Springs are dealing with all sorts of issues by the time Kathy returns.
55	** Kathy's father walked out on her, her mother fed her lies about her grandparents and was generally a strain on her, [[spoiler: she had an abortion in her teens]], and finally committed her mother to an institution for her own sanity.
56	** Mary-Elizabeth Rain watched as her husband lost his closest friend, her troubled son abandoned his family, her granddaughter was taken by her unstable mother, and then her husband entered a [[EmptyShell vegetative state]] for seemingly no reason.
57	** Sue Myers lost her daughter to suicide. Mr. Myers couldn't deal with his despair and eventually ended up in jail, leaving her to take care of their mentally-ill son alone.
58	** Said mentally-ill son, Nathan, was manipulated by Lily into holding her underwater, not understanding what would happen.
59	* DeadpanSnarker: Kathy's one, befitting her role as an amateur detective.
60	* DelinquentHair: Kathy has it.
61	* DisappearedDad: Kathy's father bailed on his family when Kathy was young. Grandma Rain is disappointed, but unsurprised, having seen no trace of him herself. [[spoiler:It is indicated throughout the game that her father is actually very remorseful about how things turned out, but he just doesn't have the courage to apologize to Kathy.]]
62	* DissonantSerenity: [[spoiler:Father Isaac always speaks in a calm, almost soothing tone of voice, even when he has been exposed.]]
63	* DownTheRabbitHole: [[spoiler:Happens to Kathy on day five as she enters the abyss to face the Mending. The trope name is even the name of the achievement for reaching day five.]]
64	* TheDragon: [[spoiler:Isaac Price, although he believes the Crimson One has abandoned him and is largely acting on his own.]]
65	* EarlyBirdCameo: Numerous faces like Charles Wade, his bodyguard, and Beau the Biker show up at Joseph's funeral long before Kathy shares a conversation with them.
66	* EmbarrassingMiddleName: Kathy finds out her roommate, Eileen's middle name is "Mildred" and tries to taunt her over it next time they meet. Eileen immediately returns fire with her knowledge of Kathy's own silly-sounding middle name [[note]] Agatha [[/note]].
67	* EmptyShell: Kathy's grandfather became a vegetable after the incident in '81.
68	* EvilCounterpart: Kathy's mirror persona in the otherworld.
69	* HairpinLockpick: Kathy uses a bent paperclip to open her jail cell.
70	* HaveYouToldAnyoneElse: In a ''Director's Cut'' exclusive scene, upon discovering that [[spoiler:Nathan killed Lilly]], Kathy is confronted by [[spoiler:Sue]], who holds her at gunpoint and demands to know who else knows about what she has just found out. Kathy's more flippant answer to the question is something to behold:
71	-->'''Kathy:''' Oh, gee. Well, there is my neighbor, the mailman, the donut girl on the corner... Hm... I'm missing someone... Oh, yeah: ''The cops.''
72	* HopelessSuitor: Lenny tries to ask Kathy out early in the game. [[ButThouMust No option to accept is given]]. [[spoiler: In fact giving the harshest possible response is good for an achievement.]] Kathy later agrees to a date with him but the story ends without any follow up at all.
73	* ICannotSelfTerminate: [[spoiler: Lily had her brother Nathan drown her instead of some other means of suicide.]]
74	* ImmuneToMindControl: Implied with Nathan who doesn't seem to be affected by the mysterious lights in the forest.
75	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It is ultimately unclear to what extent the more supernatural elements are real or are merely the result of [[spoiler:the hallucinogenic effects of the red scythe flower. For one, the climax where Kathy enters the abyss starts in a field full of the flowers, and she has to take a deep whiff from them for the escalator down to appear; when the sequence concludes, she is shown waking up at the edge of the sinkhole, as if she had been in a trance. Additionally, while the lights were caught on camera, other characters offer plenty of mundane explanations for them if Kathy shows them the photo. That said, there are other occasions that happen in contexts that seem outside of the effective range of the flowers, or even before Kathy had been exposed to them, and people like Jimmy seem to know far more than they should if they were merely hallucinating.]]
76	* TheMaze: The forest north of Conwell is this. [[spoiler:Without a thermometer that is]].
77	* {{Mundanger}}: While the main threat is [[spoiler:a supernatural one]], there are plenty of very mundane fears -- your grandfather turning catatonic, your already emotionally abusive mother going so crazy that you've got to commit her to an asylum to have a halfway normal life, [[spoiler: your more-or-less best friend getting abducted by a religious fanatic...]]
78	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:Kathy says this after killing the representation of her mother in the Otherworld.]]
79	* NecessarilyEvil: [[spoiler:Father Isaac assumes himself to be this. When Kathy shows him he is wrong, he is DrivenToSuicide.]]
80	* NerdGlasses: Clyde wears glasses thick as ashtrays.
81	* NeverSuicide: [[spoiler: Played with. Nathan only killed Lily because she manipulated him into it. He clearly feels horrible about it and wouldn't have done it if he knew what she was asking.]]
82	* NotAfraidOfYouAnymore: Kathy's epiphany in the otherworld.
83	* TheOphelia: [[spoiler: Lily, drowning imagery and all.]]
84	* OrphanedPunchline: When Kathy [[CommonalityConnection befriends Sue via smoking]], there is a cut to the next scene where Kathy delivers a punchline to some joke and both start laughing.
85	-->'''Kathy:''' ...And then he realized, it wasn't his bong!
86	* ParentsAsPeople: Beau, the head of Brian's old biker gang, makes this argument: he claims that Joseph Rain was a good man and deserved respect, but he saw the world in black and white terms and despised anyone that didn't fall under his world-view. His son and Kathy's father, Brian, may have been a deadbeat and a horrible father but he likely ended up this way due to Joseph's poor parenting... [[UnreliableNarrator according to one of Brian's best friends, who runs a biker gang]]. Given how much everyone considers Brian to be a sack of shit, and how high the regard is for Joseph, it's more likely that Beau's just making excuses for his old friend.
87	* PoliceAreUseless:
88	** Sheriff Boyks claims to be too busy to deal with Kathy, as he assigns his Deputy to get a present for his mom. He impedes Kathy's investigation at numerous points, and the local biker gang dismisses him as a nuisance, saying he is nothing compared to the former Sheriff, Truman. [[spoiler: He's much more helpful after Isaac Price's kidnapping scheme has been revealed.]]
89	** Ex-Sheriff Truman never solves any of the crimes connected to the main plot and Beau claims that he was mostly a tool for the real law in town, Joseph Rain. That said, he also adds that Truman "ran a tight ship" that Boyks can't compare too.
90	* PopculturalOsmosisFailure: When Dave mentions [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration TNG]] over the phone, Kathy doesn't know what he is talking about.
91	* RetiredBadass: Joseph Rain stepped down from his position as a US Air Force pilot to tend to his family and the old family farm. Joseph was evidently quite the war hero, being highly decorated and highly respected for his service in World War II, remaining a revered figure in the Air Force even into the 1990s. It's quite telling that the only person Kathy meets that ''doesn't'' know him is mentally-challenged Nathan as well as Clyde and Dave who have no business with either the town or the military.
92	* SequelHook: [[spoiler:The game ends with Kathy noticing that she and Eileen make a good team, and she jokingly tells her to try not to be kidnapped next time. Eileen expresses incredulity about Kathy saying "next time". And then in TheStinger, there is a short scene of the Crimson One watching them menacingly from a distance. Then again there's also the subtitle "A Detective is Born".]]
93	* SingleTear: [[spoiler:When exploring her grandfather's old storage unit, Kathy finds a custody appeal filed against her mother. The realization that her grandfather was looking out for her until the very end, makes Kathy overcome with emotion and fell a tear, though she quickly regains composure.]]
94	* SinisterMinister: [[spoiler:Father Isaac regularly drugs and kidnaps people around town and seemingly sacrifices their souls to an old god... all in the name of "saving" them. The concept of asking permission from his followers or the fact the procedure leaves the victims ''catatonic'' doesn't seem to faze him.]]
95	* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''VideoGame/TheBlackwellSeries'' and Creator/LucasArts point-and-clicks.
96	* ShoutOut: A few obvious ones.
97	** Kathy rides a [[VideoGame/FullThrottle Corley Motors]] Motorcycle
98	** The general plot and settings have allusions (including a Sheriff named Truman) to ''Series/TwinPeaks'' and the final stretch of the game draws heavily from some of the weirder aspects of the show. In addition, quite a bit of the soundtrack is overtly inspired by some of the more of Angelo Badalamenti's more synth-driven pieces from the ''Twin Peaks'' soundtrack.
99	*** There is also Kathy's comment upon studying a stuffed owl:
100	---->"Contrary to popular belief, I don't believe the owls are more than they seem."
101	** Speaking of Twin Peaks, a good chunk of the plot deals with [[VideoGame/DeadlyPremonition a bright red plant with mind-altering properties]], [[spoiler:which is directly tied to the influence of a supernatural interloper]].
102	** "Kathy" is the first name of the female lead in ''Film/SinginInTheRain''.
103	** The game's entire plot centers around a small town being impacted by [[spoiler: a circular EldritchAbomination]] that has controlled the area for longer than anyone could possibly recall. [[spoiler: Jimmy Cochran]] is outright stated to have become obsessed with [[{{Manga/Uzumaki}} removing all circular shapes from his body.]]
104	* StuffedIntoALocker: Kathy eventually has do this to [[spoiler:Lenny]] with [[spoiler:an evidence locker]] to get him out of the way in order to [[spoiler:make her escape from the Sheriff Station's lock-up]]. When Kathy apologizes to [[spoiler:Lenny]] afterwards, he quips that the experience gave him high school flashbacks.
105	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: The sweet and optimistic Eileen is the girly girl to Kathy's rough-edged and snarky tomboy.
106	* TownWithADarkSecret: Conwell Springs is full of complex issues plaguing almost everyone Kathy encounters, but the people are generally pleasant. Then Eileen does the research and discovers that the number of missing person cases is ''way'' higher than the crime rate and that there are proportionally many mentally ill people living in the county. [[spoiler: Old God-worshipping priests who regularly sacrifices souls will do that.]]
107	* TrippyFinaleSyndrome: The finale is playing out in a surreal otherworld.
108	* TwoHalvesMakeAPlot: You have to merge two halves of Nathan's drawing.
109	* VerbThis: Line when Kathy uses her taser on [[spoiler:Isaac]]: "Eat this!"
110	* VideogameCrueltyPotential: Getting several of the achievements requires acts of petty cruelty, or at least ''suggesting'' Kathy engage in acts of petty cruelty, even though she won't actually do it. [[spoiler: Like saying she should burn some bibles or her roommate's teddy bear, or tasing a character when it's not required to solve a puzzle. And yes, there is a time where tasing someone is required to solve a puzzle and it's not fending off an attacker.]]
111	* WhamLine: Big enough that it changes the game from a normal mystery to something more supernatural.
112	-->[[spoiler: [[MadnessMantra I SEE YOU KATHY RAIN I SEE YOU KATHY RAIN I SEE YOU KATHY RAIN]]]]
113	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In the original version of the game, Nathan and Sue vanish from the story after Kathy solves the mystery of Lily's death. Considering that Sue likely returned home to a painting of [[spoiler:her son drowning her daughter]], it's in Kathy's best interest to keep her distance. A variation of ButThouMust occurs here: you are unable to destroy the underlying painting for their sake. This eventually gets addressed in the ''Director's Cut'' edition of the game: [[spoiler:After solving the mystery of Lily's death, Sue confronts Kathy at gunpoint, admitting that she knew all along that Nathan had a hand in her sister's demise, but also that Nathan was more than likely manipulated by Lilly into doing the deed and didn't understand the implications of what he was doing. Sue is mostly concerned that Kathy keeps quiet about what she has discovered, because she fears that it getting out mean Nathan will get locked away in an institution, and she cannot bear to lose the only child she has left, and [[HeKnowsTooMuch she is willing to kill Kathy]] if she cannot convince her that she won't tell anyone. Following this, there is an extended scene where Kathy asks Nathan about what happened, and it becomes clear, that no, the poor guy really doesn't understand anything about what has been happening; neither the supernatural events or his suicidal sister pressuring him into killing her]].
114	* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: [[spoiler:When meeting her grandpa's ghost in the otherworldly place, Kathy is reluctant to say goodbye to him, telling him that she is not ready to lose him again after having just found him and that she isn't not sure what she will do without him. In response, Joseph offers her some warm encouragement.]]
115	-->[[spoiler:'''Joseph:''' You don't need me, Kathy. You never did. You're stronger than you'll ever know. [[SoProudOfYou I'm so proud of the woman you've become.]]]]
116	* YouHaveToBelieveMe: When caught by the police breaking into [[spoiler: Isaac's office]], Kathy can attempt to prove that [[spoiler: he kidnapped Eileen]], only to quickly get sent to the slammer. [[SubvertedTrope Alternatively...]]
117	-->'''Kathy:''' [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck it]], [[GenreSavvy just take me to jail.]]

Context VideoGame / KathyRain