One of 2023’s most criminally underrated games is getting a second chance. Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is Spike Chunsoft’s spiritual successor to its beloved murder mystery series Danganropa. It launched on Switch to decent reception last year, but several reviewers noted some technical trouble on Nintendo’s platform. But thankfully, it’s getting a port to more powerful hardware, and soon.
Spike Chunsoft has announced a definitive edition called Master Detective Archives: Rain Code+ will launch on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on July 18. The team will reveal more information about the updated package on May 9, but the promise of a more stable version of an otherwise great mystery game is already pretty exciting. The game ends by teasing a possible sequel, so hopefully, if this re-release does well, future games will be multiplatform from the outset.
Rain Code follows an amnesiac detective in training named Yuma, who is tethered to a ghost-like entity named Shinigami, who helps him solve mysteries through paranormal means. It borrows a lot from Danganronpa, with nearly each of the visual novel series’ deduction mechanics having a new, supernatural equivalent. So if you were a fan of those games, Rain Code has a lot to offer, and even has a few nods Danganronpa fans will clock.
Full transparency: It took a few chapters for Rain Code to click with me. I wasn’t immediately sold on the supernatural elements, and the way the game chugged on Switch made it hard to get into. As its cases became more complex and its greater mysteries became clear, however, I found that it really took off in the second half. Hopefully, running the game on a PS5, Xbox, or PC will make getting to those more compelling mysteries less of a slog.
For more on Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, check out Kotaku’s review.
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