[Mac user? Try freeware tool RPG Hub]
Please be aware that this game alludes to issues of sexual abuse some people may find upsetting. See comment for details.
In Sanada Makoto's free indie horror adventure Forest of Drizzling Rain, translated by Tosiaki, university student Shiori Kanzaki finds herself alone on her birthday after the tragic death of her parents, who cut off ties to the rest of their family long ago. While cleaning out her family home and handling the orders for the funeral, she's shocked to come across a photograph of a man who can only be her grandfather, and as the months pass and the loneliness doesn't go away, she finally decides to try to visit the village written on the back of the photo. As it happens, the village has some strange local legends, and to say some people are a little off is putting it mildly. But Shiori can't shake a feeling that she's been there before, and despite the odd behaviour of troublemaker teenager Sakuma and the odder behaviour of the surly museum manager, Suga, who communicates only in written notes and carries a fake sword, Shiori is determined to find out why her family fled this place and cut all contact years ago. Use the [arrow] keys to move, hold [shift] to run, the [spacebar] to interact, and hit [ESC] to open the menu and save your game at any time. While many items will be used automatically when needed, you may need to open your inventory and manually use some of them for them to be activated. There are five different endings, all of which depend on your actions towards the end of the game, but make sure you save often and in different slots!
Forest of Drizzling Rain is a relatively straight-forward adventure, emphasizing story and exploration. Despite the rigid dialogue that comes across as a result of a translation that might be a little too literal, it's a surprisingly engrossing little adventure, largely because it manages to balance its pacing and buildup. Shiori is a sympathetic character, her loneliness well illustrated in a scene at the beginning of the game where she can't bring herself to put away all the stale remains of the birthday dinner her parents had laid out for her before they died. The whole horror itself is handled a bit less subtly, with foreshadowing so heavy all the characters should be walking bent at the waist, but even if you think you know what to expect, the way time is spent developing the characters and their circumstances makes it feel much more cohesive than if you were simply shunted from scare to scare.
That said, the gameplay might be a little too straight-forward for most. Apart from an annoying chase sequence or two, most of Forest of Drizzling Rain feels like it revolves too much around finding keys and simply collecting items, not involving enough actual puzzle solving. The game can drag a bit from time to time, and some puzzles or the means to get the "true" ending just aren't that intuitive, or are presented in an awkward way. Despite this, however, if you're looking for a cinematic adventure that deals with horror less through jump scares and more through subtle and disturbing content, Forest of Drizzling Rain is a good choice. The main cast is likable even if they embody some familiar tropes, and there are some genuinely tense scenes and fantastic use of sound. It's a game that could use a bit of polish in several areas, especially in its translation, but still offers enough mystery and creepiness to keep you playing through to the end. It's on the short side compared to some other freeware horror adventures, likely clocking in between an hour or two for most players, making it the perfect size for an unsettling evening's play. If you like stories of childhood friendship, revenge, and justice, Forest of Drizzling Rain is well worth checking out.
Thanks to Catzcradle for sending this one in!
Windows:
Get the free full version
Mac OS X:
Not available.
Try Boot Camp or Parallels or CrossOver Games.
Regarding the warning of the content in the game, here is a general spoiler:
There is heavy implication of abuse, repeated rape, and murder.
If you want something more specific, here is a more detailed analysis of the content that spoils the origin of the spirit in the game, but provides details of the content mentioned in the above spoiler.
The "evil" spirit chasing Shiori throughout the game is the maddened spirit of a woman who was wrongfully imprisoned many years ago. She was repeatedly abused and raped by her jailors, and when she gave birth (having been pregnant when she was imprisoned), the baby was killed. It's implied while she was locked down there she was repeatedly impregnated through rape until she died. The books you discover late in the game implies she may not have been the only woman this happened to.
All of this is heavily implied and not described in detail, and yes, if you get the true ending, you have a chance to set things right.
To get the "true" ending:
When playing as Shuga after Shiori is abducted, go back down from the huge stone to the collapsed bridge area. Head to the left and examine the area alongside the cliff, and you should get a message about it being dangerous to cross, but given the option to do so. Proceed through that area, go down the ladder, and take the nightstone on the table inside the cave.
Towards the end of the game when you find the room filled with books and notes, choose not to call for help. Instead, repeatedly examine the book on the table (after having read everything else) until it gives you the option to open it despite being "stuck shut". You'll get a key you can use to go back out to the place where you crossed the river with the ladder, and that key can be used to open the door that was locked.
Proceed through the room you unlocked and into the door on the far left. Read everything in the room, including the notes about the purification of the missing bone fragment, and the bit about placing the casket on a pedestal. Go back into the room you unlocked and examine the bucket/pool of water in the middle. Shiori should prompt you to purify the "milky fragment" you received earlier while playing as Shiori by washing it in the pure water.
Take the fragment through the door to the north and use it on the casket. Examine the casket afterwards and decide to take it with you. Go back to the room before the area with all the books and examine the stone pedestal. Choose to place the casket there. Watch the cutscene that unfolds. As long as you have it, you'll automatically use the nightstone when prompted, and get the best ending.
The download link at the top just links to capella's promise
I lost interest when confronted with this (which I assume are supposed to be 'broken' numbers which would be fine if they were Arabic and ones I'd been looking at all my life so I could easily fill in the blanks instead of kanji) and did not get the actual number to fill in from the translator's walkthrough.
Sorry you ran into problems! To solve the puzzle, all you need to do is
stack each set of coloured lines atop each other. The list of numbers below tells you what each number looks like, which should allow you to deduce the numbers when each colour is layered fairly easily. Blue, for example, is two distinctive lines, which when layered form the shape of 9. Thus, the code is Blue 9, Green 6, and Red 5, entered into the doorway in the order of colours displayed on it.
Thanks, that makes sense and the green number was clear but I didn't realize from that alone the proper approach since it's relatively the same shape both ways unlike the others.
I downloaded this game after reading the review. I love these types of horror games- similar to The Witch's House and Mermaid Swamp. I enjoy the style, and I am continually impressed by how a combination of sound use and story can build enough suspense to make a pixelated creature make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Forest of Drizzling Rain does not disappoint in this regard. Heartwarming and disturbing at the right times, FoDR is a plot-driven suspense about a young woman who lost her parents in an accident and decides to reach out to her estranged extended family, particularly her grandfather. After taking a train, she arrives in the remote village in the forest to try to find her grandfather, and the story unfolds as she learns more about her parents, her ancestors, and most importantly, herself.
Along with the creepy atmosphere and the suspense of finding out the truth, piece by piece, FoDR is a compelling story of discovery and worth giving a chance.
I enjoyed the experience of being swept up into the story.
I'll be honest- I got a bit overwhelmed in the beginning by so much backstory at once, but once I got off of the train, the pacing picked up and pulled me in more and more. As much care and effort that was put into FoDR, I wish it would have gone even further with more places to explore, more puzzles, and more twists and turns.
There are a few tough spots of gameplay that consists of frenzied searching around, not knowing what to do or where to go. Save often and enjoy exploring- there is a little bit of trial and error to it that may frustrate some players but add to the sense of fear. For experienced players, you may notice items that you clearly will be interacting with later but have to wait until the right event to trigger them, which could be balanced with more difficult individual puzzles.
It would make my day if the creators decided to make a second game with more puzzles, more story, and more of the excellent soundscape. However, overall, FoDR is a great start and a download that I truly enjoyed.
Thank you to the creators, translators, and JIG for recommending this one.
Looking forward to more from Makoto! Keep me posted Dora/JIG!
This game seriously messed me up.
Well I guess before I say that, let's talk about the good things. The art (not the sprite art) is absolutely charming. The main character Shiori is just adorable. Not only her, but the amount of expressions the artist drew for all the characters shows that lots of love went into this game, and it gets you attached quick.
The story is also great. The set-up, while pretty standard, is effective and straightforward--though I think just a bit more time could have been spent establishing Shiori before she goes to the village. The relationships between the characters are fun, but not all are well-established. Other characters are not developed to their full potential.
But, onto the meat of the game! For real, this game fucked me up hard. The moment Shiori steps foot in the forest I'd steeled myself, but I didn't steel myself that hard 'cause... it's just an RPG Maker game, what's the worst that could happen? But apparently I spoke too soon.
The very moment you step inside that first cave, slowly start to explore, encounter strange... creatures, and finally... enter the leftmost jail cell. I was absolutely not prepared. Basically the main enemy was a woman in Ancient Japan or whatever who committed a crime and suffered punishment--life imprisonment. But she was so beautiful that literally everyone wanted a piece of dat ass (I jest, but only as defense mechanism). So she'd be raped every night, reluctantly enjoy it, and get pregnant. Every time she gave birth, she was forced to kill the fetus. And all those children never given a chance at life (there are a lot.) loiter around with their cursed forms.
But really, nothing I can say will actually convey the horror that is this game. The chase scenes are meh, the forest is meh, but that first cave. That... first... cave. Damn. I don't know for other people, but it really did a number on me. Great game. Would definitely recommend.
Update