I've beaten this game three times in the past two months and I'm still in absolute awe that it exists. Every single aspect of it is beautiful, unique, and nigh-perfect in its own way, and it comes together to be even greater than the sum of its parts. It's everything you could ever want from the medium. Every interaction with its world is as harrowing as it is fascinating; every screen and region is breathtaking in its beauty and grandness. It's unfriendly and humbling on every level, but also compelling in a way that little else is. It's fun, it's challenging, it's deeply immersive, it's endlessly replayable, it has an enormous skill ceiling, and it's hilarious to play with friends. Its story is deeply entwined with your gameplay experience and as such is cathartic and meaningful in a way that only games can be; it's complex and nuanced in the emotions it conveys, and as other reviewers have pointed out, it's an almost spiritual experience. It pushes the medium forward with its incredible AI and animation but also questions some of its most fundamental conventions - tight and responsive controls are forgone for floppy and physics-based movement, and its unfairness is a vital part of its themes.

I have a couple of nitpicks - the overabundance of carnivores (mainly in the mid-game) can push the believability of the ecosystem, and juking predators through pipe transitions can trivialize encounters in an overly gamey way - but Rain World is still about as perfect as games come, in addition to being a wholly unique and greatly affecting artistic experience. I don't think I'll ever be able to fully describe how good this game is, no matter how hard I try - you just have to play it. I mean, fuck, am I just supposed to play other games after this? Could you imagine playing Rain World and then picking up some tepid survival game with encumberment and temperature mechanics? I'll be counting the days until Downpour comes out.