Searching for “Heat” Amid the Cold Rain: “Rain98” Depicts Everyday Light Through Fin-de-Siècle Pessimism [Demo Play Report]

What if, at the end of that century, the Great King of Terror had descended and brought about the end of the
world—?

The game label “C#4R4CT3R” began distributing a demo version of the psychological suspense adventure game *Rain98*, set in Japan in 1998, on October 17, 2026.

This game tells the story of a man and a woman who both wish for the world’s destruction. It depicts the life the protagonist—who has time-traveled from 2026 due to certain circumstances—shares with the heroine, Reina Amahara (Voiced by Rio Tsuchiya).

Living together with a melancholic young beauty in a room where the sound of rain echoes—while this might sound wonderful on paper, their daily life was somehow gloomy, filled with misanthropy and resignation.

◆ “It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing.” That’s surely just how the world is.

Have you ever felt a certain sense of stagnation while living in this world? No matter what you look at on your smartphone, all that flows by is depressing news—war, economic downturns, rising prices, and the like. The days when the world was vibrant are long gone. There is no hope in the present, and the outlook for the future is virtually nonexistent.

What if someone who wanted to end such a world actually possessed the “power to end it”? “Rain98” is, in a sense, that story.

The protagonist is a 22-year-old living in the present day—the year 2026. Exhausted from work, he lies down as usual to check his smartphone, quietly sinking into a world he finds utterly devoid of value. The story begins when, for some reason, he finds himself time-traveling back to 1998.

He finds himself in a small room where a girl named Reina Amahara lives. Although she initially kicks him out, due to certain circumstances, he ends up living with her.

The reason was that she had become interested in one particular thing: the fact that “he had come from the future.” In July 1999, the world would be destroyed by the Great King of Terror who would appear at the end of the century—and Rena asks the protagonist, who has come from beyond that prophecy, “What kind of world is it there?”

“No matter how far you go, the world never changes, does it?”

As I mentioned earlier, this is how the future turned out. Whether it was 1998, trapped in the sense of stagnation at the end of the century, or 2026, trudging toward an uncertain future, things hadn’t changed much.

Then, she reveals a certain truth to the protagonist, who has come from that future. She claims that she herself is Angolmois, the Great King who will bring about the world’s destruction in 1999, and asks the protagonist to help her do so.

And so begins the strange life Reina Amahara and the protagonist share.

Reina explains that to destroy the world, she needs “heat” within herself. This “heat” is the fluctuation of the heart—something that accumulates through doing things with others.

This “heat” manifests as marks called “Angel Seals,” which are affixed to a sticker album known as the “Angel Passport.” Once 100 seals are collected, the heat will burst through Reina’s body and expand, ultimately destroying the world.

There are many ways to collect stickers: eating with Reina, riding a swing at a performance, playing “Spot the Difference” in a book together, or walking home under a shared umbrella after visiting the laundromat.Players will freely interact with Reina while collecting stickers.

…Now, some of you might be thinking, “Huh?”—as if to say, “She acts like there’s nothing but despair, but what she’s actually doing is just living a lovey-dovey life with her boyfriend.” Others might even be thinking, “You two should be the first to perish, before the world does.”

As for this part, well, that’s exactly what it was. It was a full-on, lovey-dovey life living together with a downer beauty.

Reina is just… so, so cute. She remains aloof toward the protagonist at all times, never letting her cool, low-key demeanor slip.

But you know, when I’d send her something or we’d hang out together, she’d give me something in return—a sticker.

In other words, even during seemingly mundane conversations, some kind of warmth was stirring inside her. Even while acting aloof, something was stirring in her heart. That fact alone makes her seem incredibly endearing.

However, once you’ve stuck all those stickers, what awaits at the end is… yes, after you’ve stuck 100 of them, the world comes to an end. The passion that overflowed from her destroys everything, and the world comes to an end.

The beauty of *Rain98* lies precisely in this structure. It begins with a desire for destruction, and through that heat, you come to know her. Yet what lies at the end of that accumulated heat is the very destruction you yourself had wished for.

Once you realize this distortion, you can’t help but wonder, “So what are these two thinking as they weave their days together?” and become utterly hooked on what happens next. It was striking how it created such emotional turmoil—the kind that keeps players hooked.

Aside from that structure, the overall atmosphere of the story is also somewhat somber. Whether set in the end of the century or the present day, the same sense of “there’s nothing we can do about it” pervades both eras. While this is strictly within the scope of the demo, the world is portrayed as an endless “enemy” to the two protagonists—a place depicted as nothing but cold.

Yet it is precisely because the world is so cold that the presence of passion stands out all the more. Throughout the demo, I got the impression that the game was attempting to define the contours of light by depicting darkness.

“It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing.”

This line is spoken by Reina during the scene where they share an umbrella, and personally, I couldn’t help but feel that this line captures the very essence of *Rain98*.The world, people, kindness—I can’t help but feel that everything in this world is like that. On the surface, the line might seem like a compromise, but I remember sensing something essential in it that really resonated with me.

It’s been explicitly stated that this game features multiple endings. Based on what I’ve experienced in the demo so far, it seems the focus will be on “what ultimately happens to the world”—but we’ll have to wait and see. I’ve already played for nearly three hours, and I simply can’t stop wondering what happens next.

◆ The attention to detail is off the charts. Countless illustrations and exceptional tactile feedback

So far, I’ve been talking about the greatness of *Rain98* purely from a narrative perspective. Beyond that, there are several other aspects that make this game extraordinary.

First, let’s talk about the game loop. In the demo, the system basically involves collecting Angel Seals by interacting with Reina; once you reach a certain number, you can read the next part of the story. How you collect the seals is up to you—you can read books together, or give her gifts. That aspect is entirely left to the player’s discretion.

Incidentally, even after you’ve collected a certain number of seals, you can choose whether or not to advance the story. This is reassuring for meticulous players who think, “I want to do everything I can right now before reading the next part of the story…!”

Sending gifts requires money, so you’ll need to take on “side jobs” to earn it. These side jobs are all mini-games; in the demo, we saw two types: the simple task of packing gachapon capsules and making iron-on beads.

In addition, depending on the gift you give, new mini-games may be unlocked. For example, if you give a deck of cards, you can play “Big Rich” with Reina.

Furthermore, certain gifts trigger various sub-events. If you give her clothes, you’ll experience a date event presented in a sound novel-style format. If you talk to the fortune-teller in town, she’ll predict what you should do next.

If the main story is the vertical axis, then the horizontal axis—comprising these mini-games and sub-events—is equally rich. This is another major appeal of the game.

Personally, I’d love for you to experience the game’s exceptional responsiveness—something you don’t often find in adventure games. Every action you take receives a detailed response, making it a pleasure to control the character.

There’s a lot you can do, but the path you take is carefully designed, so you never get lost wondering what to do next—which is wonderful. The presentation also fits perfectly with the game’s atmosphere, so there were never any moments where I thought, “This makes sense, but does it really fit the game’s world…?”

There’s an abundance of still images, backgrounds, and character portraits… or rather, the graphics are so meticulously crafted and voluminous that they’re almost intimidating, and it was impressive how the visuals changed in minute detail as the story progressed. Combined with the tactile feel I mentioned earlier, I feel this game is accessible even to users who typically find “adventure and visual novel games boring.”

"Rain98" is, quite simply, terrifyingly well-crafted. The polish of the text. The subtle tactile feedback when interacting with objects. The sheer number and quality of the illustrations. Even just from the portion I played in the demo, I could sense an almost obsessive dedication in every aspect.

What takes that quality to the next level is the voice of Reina, played by Ms. Tsuchiya.Due to the nature of the character, her voice generally lacks much inflection, but even so, you can sense subtle shifts in her emotions. During the demo, there’s a scene where about a month passes between June and July, and the brightness in her voice when addressing the protagonist was subtly different between June and July.

That alone—even though it wasn’t explicitly described in the text—made me feel that the distance between the two of them had narrowed just a little, and I couldn’t help but let out a quiet “Wow…”

This demo also introduces a new character voiced by Mamiko Noto. Although she doesn’t have that many lines, she leaves a powerful impression with her unfathomable “scary” presence. The thought that she’ll have even more lines in the full version sends shivers down my spine—a mix of anticipation and dread. Noto is scary, Noto.

◆ I especially want people who found the atmosphere of the game “off-putting” to give this a try

The “Rain98” demo takes about 3 hours to play. Looking back now, it seems like quite a long time, but it felt like a blink of an eye while I was playing. Rena, in particular, was just too cute for words…Even though she comes across as a bit of a downer, every time she does something with the protagonist, she gets emotionally invested and gives him a sticker. In other words, the fact that she gets so passionate about it—well, you know. She’s just so cute…

I raved about how interesting the story was at the beginning, but in the end, there’s probably no hook more important than “the heroine being charming.” Ms. Tsuchiya’s performance was also top-notch. I really love Reina Amahara.

Coincidentally, I was born in 1998, the year this story is set. Having grown up surrounded by news stories with a vaguely gloomy atmosphere from a young age, I spent my elementary and middle school years harboring the feeling that “the future is hopeless,” and that hasn’t really changed much even now. I can proudly say that I’ve lived my life alongside social anxiety.

That’s precisely why the work’s pessimistic atmosphere holds a certain allure for me, and I find myself growing even fonder of Rena as we spend time together searching for warmth in a world like this. I wonder how the story will end. I’m looking forward to the day the full version is released.

“Rain98” is a game I highly recommend to anyone who has ever felt a sense of coldness or unease toward the world. Even the demo, released today, October 17, 2026, offers over three hours of gameplay, so please be sure to give it a try.

“Rain98” is scheduled for release on PC (Steam) in 2026.