New Shibuya-based developer and publisher C#4R4CT3R has unveiled its debut title, Rain98, a lo-fi psycho-thriller romance adventure drenched in retro style and uneasy charm. The game is set to release for PC via Steam this fall, with console versions also in the works.
Set against the backdrop of late-90s Tokyo, Rain98 follows a quietly surreal story shared between the player and a strange girl named Reina Amehara—voiced by Rio Tsuchiya. What starts in a dimly lit apartment slowly turns into something darker, with Reina’s temper, secrets, and the world around you threatening to spiral into the unknown.
Aesthetic Meets Anxiety
Rain98 wears its vibes on its sleeve—neon-drenched Shibuya streets, the hum of arcades, and the ever-present rainfall deliver a moody and nostalgic setting. Between playing mini-games and spending your savings to keep Reina happy (which seems more like a necessity than a choice), players will piece together a story that shifts between comfort and creeping dread.
Underneath its pixel aesthetic and lo-fi soundtrack lies a mind-bending narrative that questions memory, perception, and reality. Reina’s mysterious demeanor, paired with the player’s ritualistic mission to “save the world,” raises just as many questions as it answers.
Key Features
- Tokyo at the Turn of the Millennium – Answer payphones, wander the rainy neon streets, and soak in the last moments of the analog era.
- Psychological Spiral – Explore the blurred lines between reality and delusion as Reina’s presence becomes both familiar and haunting.
- Interactive Solitude – Tinker through a variety of nostalgic minigames while living side by side with someone who might be your salvation… or your doom.
- Lo-Fi Audio Escape – The game’s soundtrack delivers a cozy-yet-eerie energy, blending ambient sounds with chill beats.
Rain98 will support 16 languages at launch, including English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (both Traditional and Simplified), and several European and Southeast Asian languages.
