Rain98 is a blue-hued, pre-Y2K, Serial Experiments Lain inspired visual novel about time travelling to the past to end the world
Rain98 is a visual novel demo set in Tokyo, 1998, featuring a distinctly blue aesthetic and narrative themes inspired by Serial Experiments Lain. The game follows a protagonist who identifies as the Angolmois, a reference to Nostradamus’s apocalyptic predictions, and involves time travel mechanics centered on ending the world.
The game incorporates stylized interactive sequences, including a scene where players light a cigarette. A notable mechanic involves entering the player’s name, which triggers specific outcomes—entering a name results in a particular game-over state that unlocks a Steam achievement, subverting typical visual novel conventions where such inputs typically facilitate self-insertion roleplay.
The game’s visual presentation emphasizes a pre-Y2K aesthetic consistent with 1990s cyberpunk and supernatural fiction trends. Rock Paper Shotgun’s coverage suggests the demo provides substantial narrative content and explores themes aligned with early internet-era anxieties and philosophical sci-fi storytelling.