Dark and Sad Netorare Hentai Game Review: Karma Rain

Written by Rastafoo69, edited by Manfred Manson and Otaku Apologist

Karma Rain, a netorare hentai game developed by Tail Aki. Released November 15, 2018. Download on DLSite for $5.00. For Windows PC. No voice acting. Censored genitals.

This is the story of a retired swordsman named Rain, and his adoptive daughter Aisha. Though their life has been peaceful, they will not remain that way forever. Karma means that good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people; and sadly for Rain, he hasn’t been a very good person.

NOTE! This has no English translation at the time of writing. Use MTool to auto-translate.

STORY

This review is spoiler-heavy, but only because the game is so short. In particular, the game is around an hour long but can be longer if you’re a slow reader.

The general synopsis is that Aisha loves Rain, but he sees her mostly as a daughter rather than a woman. Taking advantage of this, Rain’s old friend Zack comes to live with them. And seeing a virgin babe like Aisha ripe for the taking, Zack can’t resist his urges as a man.

In a traditional netorare game, Zach would be portrayed as the villain for stealing away the beautiful girl. But in reality, he’s more chaotic-neutral. Zach and Rain used to be wandering swordsmen, hunting monsters. One breed of monster was contagious; anyone who came into close contact with it had to be killed. And in a sad twist of fate, Rain killed Aisha’s parents.

Zach warned from the beginning “Trying to raise her as some kind of twisted atonement won’t work”. Moreover, though it’s never directly stated, it’s clearly selfish and sociopathic of Rain to raise Aisha. He will have all of her love and attention while lying about her parents. Although Aisha is never able to confirm all the details, drama ensues later.

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The irony here is that when Rain discovers his girl is fucking Zach, he assumes that Aisha is being raped! He’s shocked to learn that it’s actually fully consensual! They’re making love! And then, Zach calls you out for watching them have sex! And he effectively tells Rain “You lost her because of your choices and your dishonesty, no one else”. The irony is that Rain was pretending he was protecting Aisha when in reality he was only trying to protect himself!

When you take a step back and look at the situation as a whole, nobody is a good person in this scenario. Aisha betrayed her caretaker out of selfish hormonal stupidity. Zach took advantage of her emotional state and naivety. And Rain lies to everyone about everything.

Now, most gamers are only going to see the sad ending and not really digest the meaning, so the developer created a happy ending to satiate them. Simply replay the game and find the mystery item to unlock the happy ending where Rain is honest with Aisha and they live happily ever after. I do not consider this to be the canon ending.

This is melancholy netorare, it’s about a man losing his woman, because of his inability to examine himself critically. It’s fucking wonderful.

GAMEPLAY

Karma Rain was created in RPG Maker VX Ace. The game is a linear kinetic novel with minimal free-roam mechanics. In particular, you can have conversations with Aisha to learn more about your memories together as a couple. These are not vital to the story, but do add to the gut punch of the twist that Rain killed her parents.

GRAPHICS

The artwork in this game is simply phenomenal. Rain is drawn to be world-weary, which is more of a facade to masquerade his hypocritical relationship with Aisha. Zach is drawn to be a vagabond scumbag, which is a red herring from the fact that he’s the only fully honest person in the game. Aisha is drawn to be gorgeous but immature, which is reflected by her womanly body, but youthful face. Clearly, the developer put a lot of thought into the character designs.

The world design, however, is nonexistent. I have no concept of where this game takes place. It’s on Rain’s farm, but how far away is that from the city? And why do they live right next to a giant forest? And how did Zach get here if there weren’t major roads and carriages in the middle of nowhere? While I understand isolating the cast of characters for plot reasons, it actually makes the plot less believable thanks to the limited game world.

Lastly, as you can tell from the CG images, the artwork is simply fantastic. Character expressions are vivid, clothing is consistent between scenes, and small details like ears and hands are drawn beautifully. You almost get the impression this artist is a bit of a perfectionist. The style is simplistic, but this makes the art much more consistent, limiting the number of headaches.

VOICE ACTING AND SOUND EFFECTS (SFX)

Karma Rain features no voice acting.

The sound effects are used mostly for sex scenes and opening wooden doorways. In spite of the fact that much of the game takes place with Rain wandering the forest looking for mushrooms, there aren’t any sound effects specific to that environment. Overall, the sound design was an untapped part of this title’s potential.

MUSIC

There are 31 tracks in total, and all are built to perfectly embody the melancholic narrative. One of my favorite tracks is called “Vague Anxiety” which relies on an unresolved melody on the piano that creates a steady rhythm matched with incomplete accouterment, leaving the listener with an unsettled feeling. It really embodies the themes of this game, making it a highlight in every playthrough.

HENTAI

There are 12 scenes in total. As Aisha is the only female character, she is the subject of every scene. Her thighs are gorgeous, her tits are plump, and her blushing face makes every scene a hot experience.

The major downside is the melancholic plot working against the sexy moments. Aisha goes through so much emotional instability and is taken advantage of by both of the men in her life, it’s hard to feel good jerking off to her.

Of course, I did anyway, but the point still stands. The tension, lies, and sociopathy present in the narrative make it harder to let loose. The sex is more a product of the plot, rather than some side activity to jerk off at. It’s very different from typical hentai games, and I admire the developer for being so brave here.

CONCLUDING WORDS

Karma Rain is one of the best-written indie hentai games I have reviewed. It stands alongside Devil Particle as one of the most engaging and dark games of the netorare genre in the 2010s. The art is beautiful, the narrative is tragic, and the music is unforgettable. I strongly recommend this title as both a work of art and raw fap fuel. Download Karma Rain.