Oh Goodness, Please Look At Rain World

Cara caught Rain World on her journalism parasol back before she became gaming's foremost Adventure Journalist, and she declared herself "deeply in love with" its physics-based art style. Now, all these months later, with the game newly on Kickstarter, I believe that Rain World's little love bug slugcat ghost creature has bitten me as well. Clearly, Cara and I will have to fight tooth and nail for its affections. I've got deceptively strong nails, but Cara's teeth may well prove their kryptonite. Perhaps if I use my nails as a sort of projectile... hmmm. Alas, I might be doomed. But no matter what, at least my darling Rain World will go on, wriggling and worming stealthily as it does. Check out a gorgeously moody video below.

Doesn't that look delightful? I think so. Of course, there's a risk that it could turn out to be a rather standard platformer dressed up in snazzy physics-based duds, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. For now, here's what the game's developers claim you're funding:

"Rain World is set in an abandoned industrial environment scourged by a shattered eco-system. Bone-crushing intense rain pounds the surface regularly, making life as we know it almost impossible. The creatures in this world hibernate most of the time, but in the few brief dry periods they go out searching for food. You are a lonely nomadic slugcat, both predator and prey in this land. You must hunt enough food to survive another cycle of hibernation. Other - bigger - creatures have the same plan."

"Inspired by the aesthetics and simplicity of 16-bit classics, the gameplay consists of platforming and fast paced sneaking; both sneaking on your prey and sneaking in order to avoid larger creatures. A large focus of the development has been on enemy AI: they are cunning, vicious and they are always hunting you."

Apparently Rain World will be quite challenging, with threats stemming not only from other creatures and rain, but also from your own limited stock of resources. Slug(cat) life, yo. It ain't easy. Four-player co-op will surely help, though, as will resisting the urge to stare at mesmerizing backgrounds and suckle detail from them like a starving babe. There's also a gif of slimy little slugcat pups over on the Kickstarter, and they're just not even playing fair anymore, you guys. They're not even playing fair.

Rain World is currently seeking $25,000 on Kickstarter, which is a fairly modest sum in the grand scheme of crowdfunding, but a decent-ish number for an itsy bitsy passion project. It looks and sounds rather wonderful, though, and its unassuming looks hide grand ambitions. Are you gonna throw these mewling slugcats a bone? Like a weird, gelatinous one? Because I seriously don't know what they use over there.