#25 | Rakuen
I love Rakuen
. I love it so much I crawled out of my shell to write a new post (though I’m terrible at writing about stuff I love). It’s beautiful and cute and bittersweet. It’s heartwarming yet heart-wrenching. Rakuen destroyed me, but it’s totally worth the emotional ride.
When I saw that Steam had a To The Moon + Rakuen bundle, I knew I had to get it. I already own To The Moon (another great game full of feels, but I’m sure many of you already know that), so 55% off Rakuen was a steal, and I decided to indulge myself since I didn’t get anything in the summer sale. I don’t regret it one bit, in fact I think it’s well worth the full price. Installed and started playing immediately, and I’m so glad I did.
Rakuen is the favourite book of Boy, who is hospitalised. His Mom visits him and reads the book to him every night, and one day, she reveals that the fantasy world in Rakuen is real. The both of them thus embark on an adventure to explore this world in search for the Guardian of the Forest. On their journey, they learn about the stories of each of the patients on the same hospital floor, and help them through what they are facing.
I love that that Rakuen made me feel for all of the major characters. Despite spending so much time in the fantasy world, the stories are still very much real, and deal with topics like love and loss. These are stories that you can imagine happening in life, which makes the emotions hit harder, especially if they are relatable.
Also, music has a substantial role in the game, and the soundtrack is amazing. I’m actually listening to it right now. Build a Little World With Me and Jump are both songs that I’ll probably be listening to obsessively for the next few days.
Your post makes me so happy! My other half got me Rakuen at the end of the summer sale and I’ve been really excited about it even though I didn’t have time to play it yet, it should happen soon! It looks so adorable <3
It is super cute!! There are cats that meow when you talk to them, and I’m pretty sure I made them meow like at least 20 times (and also tried to get a reaction from my cat, but she ignored the meows) :D
What a lovely post! It’s formatted in a really appealing way.
I didn’t read much of it, though, because I’m interested in Rakuen and I don’t like to know too much about games before I pick them up. Suffice it to say, though, that your glowing opening words certainly make me much more excited to get it.
Thanks! I think the first two lines are the best part of the post anyway :P
You should crawl out of your shell and post more often :P Your post is really good, and made the game sound really interesting. To the Moon was one of those games that surprised me by just how good it was, and it’s good to hear that they managed to make another great game.
You are not terrible at writing about stuff you love. Quite the opposite, imo. At least, the way you passionately wrote about this game made me wishlist it, so thanks for that. I’m a sucker for games with sad stories and great soundtracks. :)
Yes I agree with Last.M! I’ve given it a wishlist too, thank you for the recommendation. I’d missed this and enjoyed To The Moon a lot so it’s welcome news to find another game like it. I’ll be sure to check it out :)
you’ve made me change my mind… thank you LMXN! (hahaha used capital letters, watch ya gonne do?)
Nice songs :3
You have ruined me for I now need this game :| Have to force myself to not get it now - need to cut down my backlog not build it xD
Glad you enjoyed the game so much!!
Nope, after talking to a friend and being peer-pressured, I got it :,) me luck on this journey
I hope you like it! (:
Played 2 hours so far and I love it~