Gameplay-wise, Rain Code could almost be called a spiritual successor to Danganronpa. In each chapter, Yuma stumbles across a murder mystery, and there is an investigation stage followed by a portion where Yuma and friends puzzle out the truth of the matter from A to B. In Danganronpa, this consisted of a group of teenagers arguing with each other in a circle with the occasional minigame thrown in. In Rain Code, things are turned up to eleven as Yuma and his plucky ghost sidekick have to physically overcome a magical labyrinth to solve each mystery.

Instead of simply arguing things out, Yuma and co. must run through corridors and navigate crazy set pieces to solve the mystery. Mine cart rides, crumbling floors, falling bombs, and more…  But these set pieces are just backdrops for multiple-choice questions and quick time events. It’s certainly a step up in terms of spectacle, but it is, in essence, the same gameplay from Danganronpa: there is some dialogue, then a minigame, then more dialogue, then a different minigame.

Once I noticed this, the mystery labyrinths lost a lot of their luster and the various minigames began to feel like wasted time. You know, I don’t need colorful distractions and constant input to enjoy a mystery story; that’s why I’m playing a visual novel. There are some good ideas within, though; there are some points where the physical space of the labyrinth is used to good effect, such as when several winding paths of a labyrinth are revealed to be parts of the same path, which in turn reveals a clue to Yuma that helps him understand how a murder was committed. There are also some very cool uses of the mystery labyrinth in the final chapter, but I wish there were more examples in the earlier chapters too.

I want to like her, because I certainly like her design and concept. The fact that she is so…. much… is clearly part of the joke, one that I can appreciate. But she too often interrupts dialogue scenes with unnecessary commentary and unfunny quips. Worse, her attitude is horrendous toward any female character who dares to talk to her ‘master’ Yuma. She calls them “sluts” and “skanks”, and makes comments about their bodies using astounding levels of sexism. The game expects me to find this humorous. I do not. It’s frustrating because if you take away these stale tropes, she’s otherwise a compelling supporting character capable of genuine emotion.

There are a host of other Master Detectives for Yuma to meet, but they are introduced at a reasonable pace so you don’t get exposition overload. Yuma meets 5 of them in the first chapter, and then another batch of characters in the following chapters, and the game has a good method of making sure that only a few of them feature in any given chapter so that you can get to know each one properly.

Each Master Detective has what’s called a Forensic Forte, which is a unique supernatural ability that is designed to help them solve mysteries. Yuma is able to use these Fortes during the investigation segments, which keeps each chapter from seeming too similar to each other. Not to mention, it’s fun to learn more about each of the kooky cast as each chapter goes by.