Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Reviews
"Kodaka's new inconsistently cool detective adventure."
Review in Finnish | Read full review
In conclusion, Spike Chunsoft delivers another excellent murder mystery that adds a good layer of renewal. If you like Danganronpa, AI The Somnium Files or Zero Espace, Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE is right up your alley. It's a game full of twists and turns, aimed at a mature audience with a taste for wacky adventures. It's an easy recommendation to make, and brings yet more variety to the Nintendo Switch's library of exclusive games.
Review in French | Read full review
Kanai Ward attracts both the adventure's protagonist and the player to a long and rainy night, where we go through challenging situations to help the most vulnerable achieve justice. We just need to have some tolerance for anime tropes.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is a thrilling new IP from the creators of Danganronpa, boasting a captivating narrative and a vibrant cast of characters. However, its gameplay, particularly the slow-paced Mystery Labyrinth and the overdone fan-service elements, can sometimes disrupt the overall flow and immersion of the game.
All in all I had a good time with Master Detective Archives: Rain Code. The game really has a focus on death, which is pretty much what you should expect from this team, but it went a little hard for my personal tastes. Those who loved Danganrompa and the other works of this team will be right at home here, and there is nothing wrong with that since they are the target audience. If you love mystery games that have a wild twist to them, you would probably want to check this one out as well. I feel like it is well worth the $59.99 for those into this, and the DLC cases will likely add icing to this already wonderful cake.
Produced by the makers of the Danganronpa series Mastery Detective Archives: Rain Code has managed to be a pretty good adventure game, if we can ignore some technical problems and moments that undermine the gameplay.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code offers a fun murder mystery that acts as a true spiritual successor to the Danganronpa series and even builds upon many of the core systems that made that series of games resonate so well with so many around the world. It features a greatly written story filled with quirky and interesting characters, and is almost fully voiced, helping the story be more engaging and cinematic. While I did find it to be a little easy overall, with some sections that should have had serious consequences for failing being too forgiving and some characters that failed to live up to their potential, it’s still a game I would recommend to anyone that’s interested in murder mystery games or the previous works of Kazutaka Kodaka. The game’s narrative definitely lives up calibre of story I knew the team invloved in the development was capable of telling.
While I enjoyed the questioning and puzzle solving of who, what, why, and how? I did not fully get the bizarre death matches and surreal mundane mystery labyrinths. I guess you could argue it was a battle of the subconscious as to find a definitive solution in order to find the truth.
Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE is a title "haunted" by a considerable legacy even before it was shaped in the development team head. Personally, I felt the final product was far less competent than said legacy but I can partly comprehend the creative challenges Spike Chunsoft underwent and if a new game showed up, I'd still have faith in this team that loves pink blood.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
At its heart, Master Detective Archives is a story-based game, especially as it acts as a visual novel for portions of its runtime. If you can be patient and enjoy the slower sections alongside the fast-paced ones, then you’ll find a lot to love in this game. It’s a shame Master Detectives Archives doesn’t quite nail the gameplay/story balance. Still, the process of actually solving the crimes and conquering the Mystery Labryinths manages to carry the parts that drag and make for a satisfying experience, as the layers of secrets of Kanai Ward are slowly peeled away.
Rain Code unsurprisingly excels where Danganronpa always has: it’s a masterclass of storytelling and building anticipation. I laughed, cried and felt betrayed, both in my role as Yuma Kokohead and as a fan of Danganronpa. The story of Rain Code is the video game equivalent of an earworm. It will always be on the periphery of your thoughts, reminding you that the quest for truth is often convoluted and ugly. And that’s all the more reason that it should prevail.
Master Detectives Archives: RAINCODE proves to be a good game for fans of the detective-themed visual novel genre and an excellent entry point for those interested in the genre, being probably the most dynamic, modern and accessible visual novel on the market. Its flaws unfortunately are physiological of a completely new project with a new and totally unexplored game system.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE isn’t shy about tearjerker moments, too. A wide array of different emotions is felt throughout the story. From laughter, sorrow, and everything in between, the story was well done. The cast of characters becomes ever more lovable as the game progresses, and It's great to see how Yuma steadily progresses into a seasoned detective. In addition, this game is chock-full of references to other gaming franchises, including Dragon Quest. A lot of parallels were certainly made to a certain famous PlayStation 2 JRPG, but I will let you figure those out, as it was fun to point out.
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code improves after a slow start with some truly fascinating mysteries in later chapters. However, a central pairing that never quite works and long mystery labyrinths that are almost entirely uninteresting stop it from being all it can be. Fans of the Danganronpa series will still want to check it out, but most others should find another mystery to dig into.
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code offers truly compelling mysteries in a unique cyberpunk-noir setting. The open world concept falls somewhat flat, but the crimes and puzzles themselves definitely deliver!
If Kanai Ward's aesthetics, character design, art and environment are convincing, from a performance standpoint some frame rate breaks are detected, especially on the walk through the city. Some loadings are also time-consuming and there are passages where some approximations to objects or characters reveal fewer textures. Still and for the type of proposal that it proposes to build, in the universe of mystery and crime games, this title manages to entertain and provide a consistent challenge, with a pleasant variety of mechanics and segments of hints and clues, even if these mostly prove to be of great simplicity. However, it lacks the desirable balance between the slower moments of investigation with the fast pace of the mysterious labyrinth, to the point of providing a better rhythmic and more captivating experience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
A unique story in a fun setting and with a really addictive gameplay loop, Master Detective Archives: Rain Code feels really original while retaining a familiar formula.
Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE is an incredible detective-mystery game that blends elements and the appeal of Danganronpa with refreshingly new ideas. Investigation and Mystery Labyrinth sequences always hold surprising twists and turns, and the game is bolstered by a diverse cast of bizarre and endearing characters. This title is a must buy for fans of mystery games and the Danganronpa franchise.
The influence of Danganronpa can be felt in every corner of Rain Code - and that's not a bad thing! Nevertheless, one could have wished for a bit more innovation besides the visually crazy "Mysterious Labyrinth" in 3D. For a new IP, the game borrows a bit too much from the spiritual ancestor, but the story and gameplay are absolutely convincing. Danganronpa fans and otakus will have a blast!
Review in German | Read full review
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code delivers an excellently paced detective mystery through its clever writing and memorable cast of characters. It’s not afraid to go to some dark places and have fun at the same time within its narrative, but the balance of these themes is crafted in a way that keeps you hooked. The puzzles are all clever, and the gameloop never comes off as repetitive or straightforward. It’s an excellent experience that rivals all other releases in this genre.