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At Pax East 2026, game developer C#4R4CT3R had a demo on display for their upcoming Visual Novel Rain98. The game is described as a lo-fi psycho-thriller romance adventure where the player must keep a girl with mysterious powers happy. While demoing a game like this on a show floor may be odd, as the genre thrives on taking its time to immerse the player, I personally love Visual Novels and was instantly intrigued by the art and premise of Rain98 enough to try it. So let’s look at the demo piece by piece and decide for ourselves if this game is worth playing when it releases.
An Intriguing Premise
While the demo began with text stating that it wasn’t the intro of the game, it does appear to at least be quite close, as it begins with the player waking up in the past. To be more specific, the year 1998. Without any identification or money (as it vanished due to the time travel), the protagonist has no choice other than to stay with a girl named Reina, who they woke up in the apartment of.
At first, Reina comes across as just a rude and nonchalant person, but as the player talks to her, it becomes clear that something more is going on here, all leading up to the reveal that Reina has the power to destroy the world. Currently, her powers are weakened, though, so in order to do so, she’ll need to collect 100 happiness stamps.
To get these stamps, Reina will need to develop special memories by spending time with the protagonist, who is more than happy to help her destroy the world, as they are sick and tired of what modern society has become.
This is an incredibly intriguing premise for a Visual Novel and is sure to put a new spin on the typical day-to-day life scenes one typically sees from romances like this.
In order for Reina and the protagonist to be kept warm, fed, and, most importantly of all, happy, the player will need to work in the apartment and make some money. Without a full-time job, they won’t be making much, but the measly amount you’ll get each day should at least be enough to do laundry.
While the exact purpose of money and how important saving up a lot of it wasn’t clear from the demo, the way players would be making it was. Rain98 features several minigames that the player can participate in to earn a measly few yen for the day.
While there were multiple choices for which minigame to try, I only had time to try one during the demo. This minigame consisted of placing gacha capsules, placing items inside of them, then placing the filled capsules into another box.
It’s a simple and repetitive minigame, but it also only lasts for about two minutes. The added pressure of knowing that the amount of money you make is determined by how many capsules you can fill in that short amount of time also helps motivate the player to complete it fast.
Those who enjoy Reina and spending time with her may also be pleased that one of the last actions the player takes in the demo is helping her put on a new pair of socks. This is a multi-step process that takes quite a bit of time, and I can’t help but commend the developers for knowing exactly what type of player is going to appreciate that type of gameplay.
Beautiful Visuals
Visually, this is a very good-looking game. The art for both Reina and the environments is great. Despite everything from Reina herself to the objects around her room having a color scheme that consists of various shades of blue and black, nothing blends together, and it’s all pleasing to the eyes.
The amount of visual variety on display when speaking to Reina in her apartment is amazing. Instead of Reina having a single set of sprites that appears over the backdrop, the game has multiple different backgrounds and visuals.
This may not sound like a lot, but it’s a very impressive amount of art on display that makes every conversation that much more engaging. Just getting to see what new expressions on Reina’s face or angles of the apartment make the player curious to see where each conversation is leading.
While the visuals of the game are fantastic, there are a few issues that I hope are fixed before release. Chief among these issues is how occasionally Reina’s text boxes would appear against the backdrop of her apartment’s window. This would lead to the white text of the text boxes being displayed over the white background of the city, which (while not completely unreadable) was still difficult to read.
Impeccable Sound Design and Tone
The sound design in Rain98 is one of its best and most important aspects. The smooth jazz music playing in the background, which balances being relaxing and mysterious, sets the tone perfectly.
Accompanying that smooth jazz soundtrack is the constant sound of rain, always playing ambiently in the background. The game wisely doesn’t just play a single rain sound continuously either. According to the developers, they have prepared 30 different rain sounds that will play throughout the game.
The tone of this game is a perfect mix of relaxing and chilling. While the player will be enjoying their time with Reina and be able to just sit back and listen to the music and rain, they will never be able to escape the feeling that something very wrong is going on. Whether it be behind the door Reina tells you not to open or underneath the raincoat of someone you pass on the street, you will always feel like something is watching you.
Overall, Rain98’s demo was one of the highlights of my PAX East 2026 experience. The music and visuals of the game greatly elevate what could have easily been repetitive conversations in this same apartment. If the premise of the game continues to be as interesting as it was in this short demo, then this game has the potential to be one of the best Visual Novels of 2026, and I would highly recommend those interested wishlist it on Steam.
