We see them around us every day, from light white wisps, to oppressive dark thunderous entities. Clouds surround us at all times, they bring rain to quench our thirst and shade when the sun is blazing. What I don’t associate clouds with is mischief and trouble making. Rain on your Parade will change your perception towards the clouds forever.
Developed and published by Unbound Creations, this schadenfreude game will have you sniggering from beginning to end. A single-player adventure game that asks you to complete many objectives before you move on to the next level. Fifty stages of madness await you in this cheeky and comical title.
The naughty little cloud loves to rain on your parade.
There have been a string of games recently that ask you to be an obnoxious pest as its sole purpose. The Untitled Goose Game and Donut County are both prime examples, and I loved them for it. When I saw Rain on your Parade, I knew it would be right up my street. After all, who doesn’t want to be a rain cloud causing mischief?
The plot is surprisingly touching. It opens with a grandfather talking to his grandson. He is telling the tale of a naughty rain cloud and tells of all the fun it had. He paints a romantic picture of its antics, and its existence. But the story quickly fades into insignificance as you soon discover that the cardboard cloud is nothing more than an irritating a$*hole.
It isn’t just about annoying people.
The gameplay starts out in a simple way; soak X amount of people, or destroy a certain object. This escalates to more extreme objectives and multi-layered tasks. The levels then stray away from the task focussed approach and adds in an arcade style high score round. There are also moments where you must avoid detection and steer clear of certain characters. The variety kept the game fresh, and you didn’t know what to expect from one stage to the next.
There is something gloriously sinister about this game. You are floating around looking cute, but all you want to do is ruin people’s days. As the game progresses, the methods of destruction alter. No longer do you rely solely on H20. No, oil, fire, rockets, thunder, snow and more help you fulfil your evil plan.
Simply put, the shenanigans are marvellous, and will make you giggle! Silly dialogue, ironic statements, and making people run around screaming, it’s very immature, but it’s fantastic.
It’s not all rain and fun.
Rain on your Parade isn’t as straightforward as it appears. The latter levels take some planning to be successful. This doesn’t mean the early stages are a walk, or float in the park! You must manage your water supply, select the corrects substances to pour on your victims, and focus on how you achieve each goal. It can become hectic, but it’s mostly silly fun that won’t stretch you too far.
The floating protagonist may be naughty, but he isn’t evil. In this tale that role is reserved for Dr Dryspell! He is your arch nemesis and will do anything within his power to destroy you. Selected stages have you compete against him and his weapons of doom. You must dodge his arsenal of guns and go about your cruel tasks in order to progress. He’ll rue the day he met you, as you successfully thwart each of his plans.
Stylish and simple to look at.
When I saw the trailer I was struck by the vivid colours and the simple art style. Its look reminded me of Donut County, because of its unusual character, loud tones and clever stage setup. I loved the world that Unbound Creations has designed and adore the Paper Mario style used for the rain cloud. It’s a great example of an indie developer sticking to the basics, but still presenting a high-end product.
The audio also does well to keep you interested throughout. It’ll make you laugh as each person screams when soaked, or the explosions go boom as your plan works out. Its jovial nature works with the comical theme and gives the action a slapstick edge.
Both the image and the sound work wonders at enhancing the childish atmosphere that Rain on your Parade thrives off. Each element complements the other and helps to support the mischievous core concept.
A child could play it.
What made me smile most about this was my kids played it with ease. They enjoyed watching me play it and laughed a lot. But the moment they were handed the controls, they giggled non stop. It’s a pleasure to play as little skill is required and kids can play it without supervision! It’s a win, win for everyone involved.
It’s not the most complex game I’ve played, yet it has bags of replay value. With secret objectives to discover, a moderate to tough achievement list, and a NG+ mode, there’re loads of reasons to return to play. If you also consider it’s free if you subscribe to Gamepass for both PC and Xbox, or around £12 to buy, it’s great value for money.
Rain on your Parade won’t rain on your parade.
Playing Rain on your Parade will make you chuckle, smile, and be happy to be alive. It’s a casual game where naughtiness is rewarded and chaos the goal. Society wants you to be nice, so allow this to indulge your mischievous side. Don’t miss out, buy your copy here! I recommend you download it now, after all, what harm can a little rain cloud cause?
