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AG Community Playthrough #41: Kathy Rain
Finished Day 4!
Really hooked on the story, hope it doesn’t stumble too much on the ending. And really like Kathy and her grandma. But goddamnit breaking into the Myers Cabin and destroying Lily’s painting, that felt even worse than the flower! Being a typical inconsiderate adventuregame protagonist just doesn’t feel right in this game.
Ah man, me too! Just the thought of that mother coming home to find the only painting she has left from her dead daughter gone and replaced by one depicting the daughter’s murder by her son… *shiver*
I must admit that the poems/tombs puzzle to be able to determine the numbers of the safe, I solved it by pure luck, I did not know exactly what I had to do, and I think there is nothing worse when you can not solve a puzzle but not because you aren’t thinking “enough” but because you do not know exactly how it works, in any case I solved it as I said by pure luck (I didn’t use any help/hint/walkthrough).
Even though I’ve played the game before I still couldn’t quite make sense of the second part of the riddle at first. The reference to “three dawns” seemed to me to be three births which would be witnessed during the lifetime of the fourth person, rather than just the birthdays in the adjoining squares.
Otherwise though I like the puzzle - keeps the old crack the safe situation interesting!
After that I was lost in the forest trying to find the correct directions, but I kept walking in circles, so I started reading the fragments of the bible to see if there was any indication about the directions where I had to go, but I did not find anything . Almost by chance I decided to start visiting the old locations looking for something that would help me (and in this sense, I think it is a good idea that the game makes me unable to travel to certain locations, indicating that I no longer need to go back to certain places) anyway finally I was able to pick up the thermometer and everything worked out.
There was a clue to this on the audio tape in the lock up storage unit where ol’ Grandpa Rain notes that the phenomenon he was investigating (the lights) affected the temperature. I’m not sure you can take the thermometer before you’ve heard the tape but I may be wrong! 
3.5 time winner of the “Really Annoying Caption Contest Saboteur” Award!
There was a clue to this on the audio tape in the lock up storage unit where ol’ Grandpa Rain notes that the phenomenon he was investigating (the lights) affected the temperature. I’m not sure you can take the thermometer before you’ve heard the tape but I may be wrong!
No, you couldn’t. I went back there several times and tried everything before I remembered the tape.
“Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.” -Bill Watterson
diego, we seemed to have lost you after Day 1! So I hope you don’t mind, as all the other participants seem to have completed Day 4 (hope I haven’t left anyone out) & are anxious to get to the end, that I now give the go-ahead to play Day 5!
It’s quite short from what I can remember but no time limit - just finish the game! 
Really hooked on the story, hope it doesn’t stumble too much on the ending. And really like Kathy and her grandma. But goddamnit breaking into the Myers Cabin and destroying Lily’s painting, that felt even worse than the flower! Being a typical inconsiderate adventuregame protagonist just doesn’t feel right in this game.
Ah man, me too! Just the thought of that mother coming home to find the only painting she has left from her dead daughter gone and replaced by one depicting the daughter’s murder by her son… *shiver*
I second everything Intense Degree said and this doubly so. The paint solvent’s description mentions that it is flammable and, given the chapter interlude, I was certain Kathy is supposed to burn the painting after revealing the disturbing scene. For the sake of Mama Myers at least. Using the lighter on the painting produced nothing, though… 
Even though I’ve played the game before I still couldn’t quite make sense of the second part of the riddle at first. The reference to “three dawns” seemed to me to be three births which would be witnessed during the lifetime of the fourth person, rather than just the birthdays in the adjoining squares.
I had bigger troubles with the first part of the puzzle. I was certain that the holy symbol mentioned had to be the three circles forming a tilted equilateral triangle and not the cross. After trying to fit in the triangle in several different ways, it finally dawned on me.
diego, we seemed to have lost you after Day 1!
What else is new? 
So I hope you don’t mind, as all the other participants seem to have completed Day 4 (hope I haven’t left anyone out) & are anxious to get to the end, that I now give the go-ahead to play Day 5!
It’s quite short from what I can remember but no time limit - just finish the game!
Thanks for the early all-clear, chrissie. Can’t wait to sink my teeth in Day 5.
Finished Day 5. It really was quite short.
I didn’t particularly care for the way the game ended. I really wish I had the opportunity to make one last pass through the town. I felt a need to talk to Lily’s mom and explain what really happened to Lily. (There is a phenomenon in the United States that goes by the macabre title “Suicide by Police.” If a person wants to commit suicide, but is unable to do it him/herself, he/she will will fire a gun in the direction of police officers knowing full well that the police will fire back and kill you.) That’s what really happened between Lily and Nathan. The mother needs to know that. I would certainly want to visit Jimmy and Kathy’s mom to see whether the events that transpired on the other side had any effect on their mental states. I’d like to make Beau another drink and tell him that your dad wasn’t really the good friend that Beau remembers him to be. I’d like to retrieve Grandpa’s uniform from the storage locker and put it where it belongs, in the attic with the rest of his memorabilia. I’d like to see if Goober is going to be OK. And finally, I would like to let Lenny take me on a date after the lousy way I treated him during most of the game.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
I am done too. The final chapter solidified the main themes of the game: memory, family, forgiveness, and regret about the past. Not topics frequently explored in games. Good on Joel for tackling these in such a delightful way.
“Wait, there’ll be a next time?”
I dearly hope KR2 becomes a thing, especially if it manages to cover similar topics with the same gravity. Maybe next time we will explore Eileen’s family past?
Two minor things we learned on Day 5: Kathy’s full name (Katherine? so serious! ) and a confirmation about the identity of the boy in the cemetery. On that last note, I liked the way the abortion question was handled in the game. When confronted by Kathy’s unborn child, I gave the answer that felt truest to me (roughly: “I am sad but it was necessary”) and that seemed to have hit the nail on the head. I will go back now and replay that part of the game to see what the other possible answers bring.
I am loving reading what everyone thinks about the game so I am curious about people will think about the finale. I might chime in with some more impressions once I have some time to think. And, of course, it’d be great if Joel makes another appearance.
Wow! That was a really good final chapter and ending. It has given me a lot to think about.
Just a note: Make sure you watch the credits through to the very end.
“Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.” -Bill Watterson
I finished the 5th day finally!
Finished Day 5. It really was quite short.
I didn’t particularly care for the way the game ended. I really wish I had the opportunity to make one last pass through the town. I felt a need to talk to Lily’s mom and explain what really happened to Lily. (There is a phenomenon in the United States that goes by the macabre title “Suicide by Police.” If a person wants to commit suicide, but is unable to do it him/herself, he/she will will fire a gun in the direction of police officers knowing full well that the police will fire back and kill you.) That’s what really happened between Lily and Nathan. The mother needs to know that. I would certainly want to visit Jimmy and Kathy’s mom to see whether the events that transpired on the other side had any effect on their mental states. I’d like to make Beau another drink and tell him that your dad wasn’t really the good friend that Beau remembers him to be. I’d like to retrieve Grandpa’s uniform from the storage locker and put it where it belongs, in the attic with the rest of his memorabilia. I’d like to see if Goober is going to be OK. And finally, I would like to let Lenny take me on a date after the lousy way I treated him during most of the game.
I would also have wanted to visit the town once more, perhaps to talk to some characters with whom I thought I needed to do it one more time, especially with Lily’s mother, perhaps to tell her that her daughter is in peace or something, But not to tell her that Nathan was involved in Lily’s suicide, I do not think the mother needs to know that. Also if I remember well Nathan made us promise that we would not say anything of what he told us.
I also agree that I would like to have been able to visit Kathy’s mother, to see how her condition is.
About Lenny I was very hard on him almost whenever I could, without any reason, but now that I think it a little better and now that it’s all over hmmm yes I could allow him to take me out to a date.
I liked the way the abortion question was handled in the game. When confronted by Kathy’s unborn child, I gave the answer that felt truest to me (roughly: “I am sad but it was necessary”) and that seemed to have hit the nail on the head. I will go back now and replay that part of the game to see what the other possible answers bring.
I chose the answer that said something like: I’m a “little sad, I wish things had been different”.
Just a note: Make sure you watch the credits through to the very end.
Oh the Red Man again.
” I remember. Somebody died. It was me.”
~
I would also have wanted to visit the town once more, perhaps to talk to some characters with whom I thought I needed to do it one more time, especially with Lily’s mother, perhaps to tell her that her daughter is in peace or something, But not to tell her that Nathan was involved in Lily’s suicide, I do not think the mother needs to know that. Also if I remember well Nathan made us promise that we would not say anything of what he told us.
Promising something to Nathan is one thing. But silence won’t explain anything when she sees the painting. I think she would understand how Nathan, given his mental condition, could have been persuaded by Lily to help her commit suicide. Silence will only convince her that Nathan murdered his sister.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
I would also have wanted to visit the town once more, perhaps to talk to some characters with whom I thought I needed to do it one more time, especially with Lily’s mother, perhaps to tell her that her daughter is in peace or something, But not to tell her that Nathan was involved in Lily’s suicide, I do not think the mother needs to know that. Also if I remember well Nathan made us promise that we would not say anything of what he told us.
Promising something to Nathan is one thing. But silence won’t explain anything when she sees the painting. I think she would understand how Nathan, given his mental condition, could have been persuaded by Lily to help her commit suicide. Silence will only convince her that Nathan murdered his sister.
So if it were for you, you would go ahead break the promise you made to Nathan and hurt the mother by telling her that her son was involved in her daughter’s suicide?, and in fact that he was the one who held her neck underwater?, You would say that if you could? And you think that just by telling her that Lily manipulated her brother then she would calmly accept it? “Oh ... then it’s okay”... She would be shattered!!! Personally I would not say any of that, except as I said “she is at peace” or something like that, the painting can be explained in many ways, we could even (if it were possible) to make it disappear.
A little lie to the mother instead of breaking a promise we have with Nathan and hurting the mother deeply.
” I remember. Somebody died. It was me.”
~
I liked the way the abortion question was handled in the game. When confronted by Kathy’s unborn child, I gave the answer that felt truest to me (roughly: “I am sad but it was necessary”) and that seemed to have hit the nail on the head. I will go back now and replay that part of the game to see what the other possible answers bring.
I chose the answer that said something like: I’m a “little sad, I wish things had been different”.
I went back and all the answers lead to the same outcome (all of them that is, except “I don’t know” which forces you to choose again).
I would also have wanted to visit the town once more, perhaps to talk to some characters with whom I thought I needed to do it one more time, especially with Lily’s mother, perhaps to tell her that her daughter is in peace or something, But not to tell her that Nathan was involved in Lily’s suicide, I do not think the mother needs to know that. Also if I remember well Nathan made us promise that we would not say anything of what he told us.
Promising something to Nathan is one thing. But silence won’t explain anything when she sees the painting. I think she would understand how Nathan, given his mental condition, could have been persuaded by Lily to help her commit suicide. Silence will only convince her that Nathan murdered his sister.
I got the impression that Nathan is smart enough to know what the painting depicts and was going to do his best to get rid of it after taking Kathy wherever she needed to go. I would have liked to dispose of the picture in character but then maybe Kathy would not have had enough leverage over Nathan.
There is also the question of how much Nathan and Lily’s mother would believe a strange, albeit very disturbing, painting that suddenly appeared in her house. I don’t think she can tell if it was painted by her daughter so she might discount it as a prank in extremely bad taste. And, even if she can tell her daughter’s painting style, what does the painting prove? Only that Lily had very morbid imagination before she killed herself (leaving a genuine verified suicide note, to boot).
I know Joel said he won’t discuss the plot but I hope he meant the deeper meaning of, say, Day 5. Maybe he’d be willing to enlighten us about this minor plot point?
Ah man, me too! Just the thought of that mother coming home to find the only painting she has left from her dead daughter gone and replaced by one depicting the daughter’s murder by her son… *shiver*
Oh I know, that was awful. I SO wanted the option to be able to get rid of the painting after that. Or cover it in ink. Or anything really but leaving it like that.
I’ve finished day 5 too!
Firstly, I think all the feeling above about wanting to go back and tie up loose ends around town and with characters etc. is a huge testament to how good this game is in the writing/story department. We want to go back and make sure things are OK because we care about the characters. Kudos to the writing and the VA.
Regarding the ending generally…
I get that the themes of the game are about forgiveness, past hurt and decisions etc. but I’m not sure why (in the game world) this series of events happens to Kathy? I see the result, forgiveness and some sort of closure with parents and children, but I’m not sure why that comes to pass?
At the end Eileen says to Kathy something like “did any of that really happen” and Kathy isn’t sure. We might suggest from that that most of this (Day 5) happened in Kathy’s head with the help of some mind altering red flowers and a family of mad/deluded clergymen. That allowed Kathy to deal with some inner demons by forcing her to confront some issues she had been ignoring for too long.
But if so then what about the red man? We, as the player, see him in the cemetery after Kathy and Eileen have gone, so either we too are deluded or he is real. But if he is real then why has all this happened to Kathy? OK, so maybe the Crimson One is after souls for some sort of “old god” but why then were all the people and places in day 5 so specific to Kathy and what about Joseph’s investigations and Cocky’s experience?
Lots of questions that I don’t know the answer to, but I’d love to hear what the rest of you think about that?!
3.5 time winner of the “Really Annoying Caption Contest Saboteur” Award!
Finished Day 5. It really was quite short.
I didn’t particularly care for the way the game ended. I really wish I had the opportunity to make one last pass through the town. I felt a need to talk to Lily’s mom and explain what really happened to Lily. (There is a phenomenon in the United States that goes by the macabre title “Suicide by Police.” If a person wants to commit suicide, but is unable to do it him/herself, he/she will will fire a gun in the direction of police officers knowing full well that the police will fire back and kill you.) That’s what really happened between Lily and Nathan. The mother needs to know that. I would certainly want to visit Jimmy and Kathy’s mom to see whether the events that transpired on the other side had any effect on their mental states. I’d like to make Beau another drink and tell him that your dad wasn’t really the good friend that Beau remembers him to be. I’d like to retrieve Grandpa’s uniform from the storage locker and put it where it belongs, in the attic with the rest of his memorabilia. I’d like to see if Goober is going to be OK. And finally, I would like to let Lenny take me on a date after the lousy way I treated him during most of the game.
Thanks for playing! I agree, the lack of closure regarding Lily, Nathan and Sue is something I truly regret, and was a result of a few chaotic last months of development where we had to wrap things up quickly, and ended up in a place where we had to make do with what we had in terms of assets and voice recordings. If we ever do a special edition of KR in the future, this will be the first thing I’ll try to correct in detail.
The fate of Jimmy and Mom was intentionally left open ended, and will likely be adressed in some form in KR2.
But goddamnit breaking into the Myers Cabin and destroying Lily’s painting, that felt even worse than the flower! Being a typical inconsiderate adventuregame protagonist just doesn’t feel right in this game.
Ah man, me too! Just the thought of that mother coming home to find the only painting she has left from her dead daughter gone and replaced by one depicting the daughter’s murder by her son… *shiver*
I second everything Intense Degree said and this doubly so. The paint solvent’s description mentions that it is flammable and, given the chapter interlude, I was certain Kathy is supposed to burn the painting after revealing the disturbing scene. For the sake of Mama Myers at least. Using the lighter on the painting produced nothing, though…
Yeah, that particular moment could’ve been handled better. We’re planning a language update in a few months, and I’m considering patching something in to adress this. Either Kathy would dispose of the painting automatically, or I’d give the player the option to leave it or destroy it. It wouldn’t require any new assets, and would hopefully lessen the frustration that some have felt there.
I’ve got lots of thoughts but just a few for now
I get that the themes of the game are about forgiveness, past hurt and decisions etc. but I’m not sure why (in the game world) this series of events happens to Kathy?............
..........why then were all the people and places in day 5 so specific to Kathy and what about Joseph’s investigations and Cocky’s experience?
In my mind the story is also about hatred (including of self), guilt & inner conflict hence an individual having to face their shadow-self who will make or break them. My thought is that Kathy is just one person that the game focuses on who you see actually surviving the ‘mending’ process, with the many missing persons & those gone insane failing?. So naturally all the people & places in Day 5 would be specific to the person undergoing these ‘tests’. My thought is that both Jimmy Cochran & Joseph Rain are amongst those that failed to resolve their inner turmoil. In Joseph’s case failing to gain custody of Kathy leaving her in the care of her disturbed mother (due to the use of the red scythe flower & influence of his son Brian?) & failing to help Jimmy by confronting ‘the lights’ – did that lead him down into the sinkhole?
One of the things that’s bothered me is the invitation (heard on the answer=phone tape) from Charles inviting Joseph to visit Erica’s newborn son who “thankfully looks nothing like his father”. Charles claimed that he & Joseph grew apart because of the vile behaviour of Kathy’s parents - is there a possibility that Brian is the father of Erica’s son? & that’s the real reason? (& so more guilt for Joseph?)
Back later with some ideas about the Red Man!
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