KATHY RAIN 2: SOOTHSAYER

Swedish Clifftop Games' Kathy Rain was a pretty interesting adventure game, released in 2016, at a time when adventure games had fallen into a relative doldrums (again): Daedalic had started to limit its productions, indie developers developing a new adventure were few and far between (compared to what's been going on for the last five years), while Thermopylae was held - almost alone - by Wadjet Eye Games, with its adventures based on the AGS graphics engine.

Meanwhile, Clifftop Games didn't sit idle: they delivered the remarkable Whispers of A Machine, in collaboration with Faravid Interactive, and, somewhat unexpectedly, five years after the original release, the Director's Cut version of Kathy Rain appeared, which, among other improvements, ported the game to the Unity graphics engine.

In a way, this revamp was the springboard for the development of a sequel called Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer, an adventure we practically expected to see materialize sooner, as it's been more or less nine years since the eponymous journalist/detective's first appearance. Better late than never, as the wise people say, with Kathy Rain 2 now a fact!

Before we go any further, we should note that keeping track of what's going on benefits greatly if you have experience of the original game. Although there is a short recap at the start of Soothsayer, highlighting the major events, it would be best to have it "fresh" in your mind so that you can enjoy it to the fullest. Therefore, we would suggest that you do not begin your engagement with the Kathy Rain saga with Soothsayer, but rather complete the Director's Cut version first and then move on to this title.

Kathy Rain 2 is set in 1998, three years after the sad story of Conwell Springs. Our beloved blue-haired Kathy Rain is facing serious financial difficulties as the detective agency she has opened in the town of Kassidy is not doing well, with debts up to her neck and threatened with eviction. In the same page with her finances, her personal life is also on the downward spiral: she is estranged from almost all of her friends, even with her best friend Eileen, and she can't even remember the last time she visited her mother at the institution. Nevertheless, her haughty style and her rigid ego won't let her face the truth.

But the news that an otherwise quiet Kassidy has a serial killer on the loose, nicknamed Soothsayer by the press, catches Kathy's attention, especially since there's a particularly hefty reward for anyone who brings the killer to justice.

This is essentially her last lifeline to avoid the gutter, and the fact that the (so far five) murders are ritualistic and seem to have some vague connection to the horrific Conwell Springs case doesn't seem to bother her. Kathy is determined to go all the way, whatever the price. And this time, the price will be a heavy one...

The plot of Kathy Rain 2 is quite interesting, both in terms of the subject matter it deals with and the way it unfolds to the player. Certainly, it's not something completely original, after all, we've seen many stories with ritualistic murders by imaginative serial killers. However, it's beautiful the way Clifftop Games manages to tie seemingly unrelated characters and events into a single, cohesive plot.

The adventure, depending on the player's level of experience of course, lasts around seven to eight hours and is divided into six days/chapters, each with a clear objective that is usually "highlighted" by Kathy herself, as a sign of help. However, the design is not linear, at least in most cases, as the game gives us the opportunity early on to visit many different places (via the Katmobile motorcycle, of course) in which we can take action.

This is perfectly normal, given the detective nature of the game, as Kathy Rain 2 relies heavily on research and cross-referencing the evidence we collect in order to unlock the next step. Consequently, our familiar notebook from the first game returns with a vengeance and is the be-all and end-all of our investigation, both to organize what we have accomplished up to that point and what remains to be done, and to use it as a tool to "interrogate" our respective interlocutors, who are by no means few in number, nor even ordinary. At this point, credit must be given to the game's writers, who have managed to find the balance between the substance and plausibility of the dialogues, without babbling and without overdoing the jokes or profanity. It's as much as it needs to be, which is admittedly much harder than it sounds.

In addition, there are some time-limited puzzles (thankfully, nothing remarkable and there is no consequence for failing) and of course traditional inventory-based puzzles, which could be quite difficult if it weren't for the valuable hot-spot indicator. Without it, with the often large number of hotspots that each screen contains, it would be easy to miss an item, which could keep us stuck in the same spot for hours. However, the situation doesn't devolve into non-logical situations (even if we try some "irrational" action, Kathy will eloquently comment "let's keep it sensible this time"). Although the game, like the original, ultimately moves within the spectrum of the paranormal - reminiscent at points of another Gabriel Knight - the logic behind most of the puzzles remains consistent. 

However, perhaps surprisingly, Kathy Rain 2 has a handful of puzzles that have a relatively high difficulty level, and this is because there is no solution on a "plate" of multiple choice situations, but rather the player is required to type the solution - parser style. For example, the "nerd" test given by Randy, with the answers scattered throughout the adventure, or the (in my opinion) hardest puzzle in the game involving hacking a computer. In the absence of any built-in hint/walkthrough system (other than the hints given by Kathy herself, which usually remind us what to do), it's entirely possible to be stuck in the same spot for hours if we don't have a clear mind and patience. We'd say that there the game is strongly reminiscent of the adventures of the '90s, a feature that is also enhanced by its pixelated technical section.

A technical aspect based on pixel art in a particularly remarkable realization, especially in the animation part that shows a lot of careful work by the artists of Clifftop Games. It may not be the most impressive example we've seen (Loco Motive still holds the reins), but Kathy Rain 2 still stands comfortably in the top five of recent years. In terms of the audio, the voice-over is of excellent quality, as has become customary in recent years, as is the soundtrack, which deservedly accompanies the action without being annoying or unnecessarily distracting.

In short, Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer is another excellent adventure in the rich... "quiver" of 2025, which proves to be a golden year for the genre. For adventure fans, there's not even a question of whether it's worth spending time with.

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