You can now start the hunt for a dangerous killer as Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer is now on sale right here on Steam with a 10% discount for the next week! New to the series and want to start from the beginning? No prob, we got you: The Kathy Rain Saga bundle contains the Director’s
You can now start the hunt for a dangerous killer as Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer is now on sale right here on Steam with a 10% discount for the next week! New to the series and want to start from the beginning? No prob, we got you: The Kathy Rain Saga bundle contains the Director’s Cut of the first game and the new Soothsayer release at a big discount!
In this long-awaited sequel, we have taken an ambitious step from a small-town mystery to a dark urban thriller. This chapter of the Kathy Rain saga takes place in 1998 in the metropolitan city of Kassidy, at a time when it’s been brought to its knees through a string of murders by the notorious serial killer nicknamed the “Soothsayer”.
When a big cash reward is announced, struggling private eye Kathy Rain is quick to get on the case! Hop on Kathy’s trusty bike, the Katmobile, explore the city to gather clues, interrogate persons of interest, track down the killer and finally put an end to Kassidy’s horror!
Greetings, Detectives! We’ve got exciting news: Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer is launching on May 20th! 🎉 In less than a month, we’ll be diving into Kathy’s most challenging case yet. A murderer is on the loose, and it’s up to you to use your wits to solve the mystery. Ready to crack
Greetings, Detectives!
We’ve got exciting news: Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer is launching on May 20th! 🎉
In less than a month, we’ll be diving into Kathy’s most challenging case yet. A murderer is on the loose, and it’s up to you to use your wits to solve the mystery. Ready to crack the case? 🔎
While you can jump straight into Kathy Rain 2 without playing the first game (in fact, there is a summary of the first game right off the top of the second), we highly recommend checking out Kathy Rain: Director’s Cut to get the full experience!
This is just the beginning of an incredible adventure, and none of it would be possible without your amazing support. We can’t thank you enough for being with us on this journey!
Don’t forget to add Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer to your wishlist to stay in the loop and get all the updates when the game drops on May 20th!
Eight long years after launching our first game, the original Kathy Rain, we couldn’t be more excited to give you a first glimpse of Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer ! If you enjoyed Whispers of a Machine, we're confident you'll fall in love with our sassy detective! Check out the demo o
Eight long years after launching our first game, the original Kathy Rain, we couldn’t be more excited to give you a first glimpse of Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer! If you enjoyed Whispers of a Machine, we're confident you'll fall in love with our sassy detective!
If you enjoyed this brief foray into the world of Kathy Rain, don’t forget to wishlist the full game! We'd love to keep you up to date on the road to launch next year.
In this long-awaited sequel, we have taken an ambitious step from a small-town mystery to a dark urban thriller. This chapter of the Kathy Rain saga takes place in 1998 in the metropolitan city of Kassidy, at a time when it’s been brought to its knees through a string of murders by the notorious serial killer nicknamed the “Soothsayer”.
When a big cash reward is announced, struggling private eye Kathy Rain is quick to get on the case! Hop on Kathy’s trusty bike, the Katmobile, explore the city to gather clues, interrogate persons of interest, track down the killer and finally put an end to Kassidy’s horror...
Soothsayer is a direct sequel to the original game and we would encourage you all to experience the original story beforehand, but it is not mandatory, and if you are eager to see where this story leads you can jump right into the mystery with no bar to entry!
For those who played and enjoyed the original game or the Director’s Cut , count on seeing some familiar faces again in a bigger and better experience that draws from what made the first game truly special whilst still innovating in new and exciting ways!
More will be revealed over the next few months, so stay tuned right here on Steam!
Step into the shoes of Vera, a cybernetically enhanced detective, in a world on the edge. Experience the blend of Nordic noir and sci-fi at an unbeatable price... Act now before the truth slips away!
Step into the shoes of Vera, a cybernetically enhanced detective, in a world on the edge.
Experience the blend of Nordic noir and sci-fi at an unbeatable price...Act now before the truth slips away!
Dive into Mystery: Whispers of a Machine 80% Off! Uncover secrets and solve puzzles in Whispers of a Machine: 🕵️♀️ Investigate intriguing cases. 🤖 Utilize advanced technology. 🌟 Experience thrilling storytelling. Don't miss out on this discount! Offer ends March 21st.
Dive into Mystery: Whispers of a Machine 80% Off!
Uncover secrets and solve puzzles in Whispers of a Machine:
A warm (or chilly) greeting to you all, With Summer looming over us, avoiding pollen and staying inside has never been so tempting! 🐝 To (bee)less this occasion, you can grab Whispers of a Machine with -80% off from the 23rd of June to the 7th of July. Stay cool, /Raw Fury
A warm (or chilly) greeting to you all,
With Summer looming over us, avoiding pollen and staying inside has never been so tempting! 🐝
To (bee)less this occasion, you can grab Whispers of a Machine with -80% off from the 23rd of June to the 7th of July.
Last week one of the games in our Raw Fury family just won the A.MAZE 2022 Festival award for worldbuilding and immersive storytelling - that game is NORCO! We thought you'd want to know since NORCO and Whispers of a Machine have a lot in common - they both feature beautiful pixe
We thought you'd want to know since NORCO and Whispers of a Machine have a lot in common - they both feature beautiful pixel art guided by a point & click mystery that has a deep narrative you can sink into and one that sinks into you whilst staying with you for a long time.
Check out what people are saying about NORCO here 👇
How have you been, friend? If you can believe it, Whispers of a Machine turned three years old a few weeks back! Time flies, eh? In other news, Spring has truly sprung and we’re celebrating with the surprise sale! To honor the occasion, you can grab Whispers of a Machine with -80
How have you been, friend? If you can believe it, Whispers of a Machine turned three years old a few weeks back! Time flies, eh?
In other news, Spring has truly sprung and we’re celebrating with the surprise sale!
To honor the occasion, you can grab Whispers of a Machine with -80% off from the 4th of May to the 10th of May.
Be sure to check it out while the discount is still here!
It's great to see you, friend. Looking for an excuse to take a ride into Nordsund? Now’s your chance! To celebrate the Lunar New Year, Whispers of a Machine is -80% off ! The Lunar New Year Steam Sale lasts from the 27th of January to the 3rd of February, so if you’re yet to meet
It's great to see you, friend.
Looking for an excuse to take a ride into Nordsund? Now’s your chance! To celebrate the Lunar New Year, Whispers of a Machine is -80% off!
The Lunar New Year Steam Sale lasts from the 27th of January to the 3rd of February, so if you’re yet to meet Vera and unravel Whispers of a Machine's murderous tale, this is the perfect time to get stuck in.
It’s been 5 years since we released Kathy Rain, the first title from Clifftop Games, and launch day for the Kathy Rain: Director’s Cut is finally upon us! We couldn’t be more excited to share our third game with you all — the definite version of Kathy Rain. We believe that KR: DC
It’s been 5 years since we released Kathy Rain, the first title from Clifftop Games, and launch day for the Kathy Rain: Director’s Cut is finally upon us! We couldn’t be more excited to share our third game with you all — the definite version of Kathy Rain. We believe that KR: DC elevates Kathy’s journey to a whole new level, opening many doors for the future of Kathy Rain!
While you wait for the download to start, enjoy our launch trailer below, and as always — thank you for being here. We wouldn’t be able to do this if it wasn’t for all of you, and we sincerely hope that Kathy will bring you some joy in this spooky season!
Our publisher, Raw Fury, is having a huge sale right now just in time for the 2-year anniversary of Whispers! We're excited to be featured again along with the whole Fury-family. Grab Whispers of a Machine for 60% off until April 22nd. Check out the publisher page here:
Our publisher, Raw Fury, is having a huge sale right now just in time for the 2-year anniversary of Whispers! We're excited to be featured again along with the whole Fury-family. Grab Whispers of a Machine for 60% off until April 22nd.
We’re thrilled to announce the Director’s Cut of the award-winning adventure Kathy Rain — the new and definite way to experience the rise of an iconic detective. In the almost five years since Kathy Rain launched, we’ve been blown away by the reception of the game and the passion
We’re thrilled to announce the Director’s Cut of the award-winning adventure Kathy Rain — the new and definite way to experience the rise of an iconic detective.
In the almost five years since Kathy Rain launched, we’ve been blown away by the reception of the game and the passion of the community. Thanks to everyone that has played the game so far, given feedback and shared their experience!
All of this has led us to our mission to create a refined and expanded version of Kathy Rain, created from the ground up in a modern, up-to-date game engine.
We have taken everything we’ve learned during these years to give you the most complete realization of Kathy’s journey yet. Once again, a detective is born...
For both new and returning visitors to Conwell Springs, there’s lots to look forward to...
Extended storyline with a prolonged ending, hundreds of lines of additional dialogue, and multiple new areas to explore.
Several new major puzzle chains along with many small additions and tweaks of existing puzzles.
Enlarged game environments to fill up the entire screen without any black bars on the sides.
Countless visual improvements, such as more character animations, better lighting/shadows and extra weather effects.
Streamlined mouse controls with an intuitive single click interface.
Controller support done right. Lean back in your chair and take smooth direct control of Kathy, with no messy cursor getting in the way.
Expanded and remixed soundtrack by the original composer, Daniel Kobylarz.
Five brand new motorcycle designs to unlock and customize the Katmobile with.
We’ve still got more to show of Kathy Rain: Director’s Cut, so stay tuned. We’d appreciate you wishlisting the game to show both us and Steam that you’re looking forward to playing!
It's that oh so wonderful time of the year and Raw Fury is feeling particularly festive. For Rawcember 2020 we've got tons and tons of hotness for you including game announcements, game launches and deals on all your future favourite games! Keep your eyes on the Raw Fury social a
It's that oh so wonderful time of the year and Raw Fury is feeling particularly festive. For Rawcember 2020 we've got tons and tons of hotness for you including game announcements, game launches and deals on all your future favourite games! Keep your eyes on the Raw Fury social accounts for updates but here's a few things to kick it off!
We are incredibly humbled and so thankful for all the love Whispers of a Machine received in the AGS Awards this year. Whispers of a Machine was awarded: 🏆Best Writing 🏆Best Gameplay 🏆Best Puzzles 🏆Best Music 🏆Best Voice Work 🏆Best Programming 🏆Best Background Art 🏆Best G
We are incredibly humbled and so thankful for all the love Whispers of a Machine received in the AGS Awards this year.
Whispers of a Machine was awarded: 🏆Best Writing 🏆Best Gameplay 🏆Best Puzzles 🏆Best Music 🏆Best Voice Work 🏆Best Programming 🏆Best Background Art 🏆Best Game Created with AGS
WOW! We're beyond excited to hear that Whispers of a Machine took home some excellent awards from the Adventure Gamers' 2019 Aggie Awards! WINNER Best Story Best Traditional Adventure READER'S CHOICE Best Story Best Traditional Adventure Best Writing - Drama Best Gameplay Best Ac
WOW! We're beyond excited to hear that Whispers of a Machine took home some excellent awards from the Adventure Gamers' 2019 Aggie Awards!
WINNER
Best Story
Best Traditional Adventure
READER'S CHOICE
Best Story
Best Traditional Adventure
Best Writing - Drama
Best Gameplay
Best Acting
Best Sound Effects
Best Adventure of 2019
Thank you so much to the AG community and all the fans out there who helped make this happen, we are EVER so grateful.
Full list of winners here: https://adventuregamers.com/articles/view/39494
We're happy to announce that you can now play Whispers of a Machine with either Brazilian Portuguese or Italian subtitles enabled. With the incredible amount of love and praise that the game has been receiving, nothing makes us happier than being able to bring it to even more pla
We're happy to announce that you can now play Whispers of a Machine with either Brazilian Portuguese or Italian subtitles enabled. With the incredible amount of love and praise that the game has been receiving, nothing makes us happier than being able to bring it to even more players around the world.
Special thank-you to the passionate members of the community who helped with the localisation! This could not have happened without you. <3 Muito obrigado! Grazie mille!
Italian Translation: Fabrizio "Puxxup" Ferraro
Italian Proofreaders: Nicole De Bernardi Marco Garbuglia Piero Bernardi Greta Sara Cerruto Valeria Girardi
Brazilian Portuguese Translation: Pedro Lambiasi
Brazilian Portuguese Proofreading: Jone Santos Alysson Oliveira João Pedro "Importuno" Viera Farias Ferreira Jhonatan Carneiro Carl Lucas Yuri Oliveira Petnys
Detectives, We'd like to inform you that Whispers of a Machine now supports Steam Cloud save, meaning your saves will automatically sync across computers. Enjoy!
Detectives,
We'd like to inform you that Whispers of a Machine now supports Steam Cloud save, meaning your saves will automatically sync across computers.
We're excited to announce that Whispers of a Machine now has Steam Trading Cards! How can you earn these cards? Simple! Play Whispers of a Machine Collect cards automatically Buy, sell, or trade cards with friends Craft badges Level up your Steam profile Humble brag to everyone y
We're excited to announce that Whispers of a Machine now has Steam Trading Cards! How can you earn these cards? Simple!
Play Whispers of a Machine
Collect cards automatically
Buy, sell, or trade cards with friends
Craft badges
Level up your Steam profile
Humble brag to everyone you know
*Trading cards are rewarded retroactively to players that have completed the game
Whispers of a Machine chases big ideas, one of which is teased in an early-game conversation between a teacher and her young students. Artificial intelligence is strictly forbidden, she warns, and the police will come for anyone who tries to make something that can think for itse
Whispers of a Machine chases big ideas, one of which is teased in an early-game conversation between a teacher and her young students. Artificial intelligence is strictly forbidden, she warns, and the police will come for anyone who tries to make something that can think for itself. But what about my parents, one quick-thinking student asks. They made me, and I can think for myself. Are they going to jail?
It doesn't quite arrive at the philosophical weight it aspires to. Whispers of a Machine is a good adventure game, clever at times, but the heavy concepts it flirts with at the outset quickly give way to a conventional murder mystery in an unconventional setting: A vaguely post-apocalyptic world scarred by the long-ago, for-reasons-unknown collapse of the AI-driven computers and machines that humanity had grown to rely on.
As a result of that breakdown, the world is kind of shitty, although not necessarily any shittier than it's going to be in 20 years anyway. Work is communal, living quarters are cramped and spartan, and there's an air of oppression that hangs over everything. If nothing else, it's believable.
Vera Englund is one of this world’s most elite operatives, a special agent of the Central Bureau who's been sent to the remote town of Nordsund to investigate a grisly murder. But when she arrives, she discovers that one murder has become two, and then three—the situation is obviously more complicated than she expected.
Fortunately for all involved (except the bad guy), Englund comes equipped with a number of special abilities as a result of "taking the Blue," a slang term for being injected with a nebulous nanofluid that confers abilities like enhanced strength and a "forensic scanner" that can detect and analyze clues.
Later in the game she’ll also develop personalized abilities, which is where things start to get interesting. In the game's fiction, the Blue adapts to suit each user's needs. In practical terms, the choices you make in action and conversation will pull Vera's personality in one of three directions—empathetic, analytical, or assertive—which will in turn determine which enhancements she ends up with. You might be able to take on the appearance of someone else, or vanish from sight entirely; some agents can inflict short-term amnesia on NPCs, while others can bend them to their will with the mind-control whammy.
Building character
Upping the stakes even further, Whispers of a Machine does not allow manual saves.
The RPG-esque character development is the most interesting thing about Whispers of a Machine, and the irony is that unless you're really paying attention you're quite likely to miss it. There's no indication that you developed this ability instead of that one—the abilities simply unlock, and you get on with your day. It’s a stealthy system that belies the game’s complexity, but I like it because it confers a more distinct sense that Vera is you: Instead of metagaming or mix-maxing or savescumming or whatever it is you do to reach an optimal outcome (and yes, I do it too), you get what you get. You are who you are.
Upping the stakes even further, Whispers of a Machine does not allow manual saves, so unless you want to horse around with manually copying and overwriting your save files, you own every decision you make, good or bad. Do you regret being a jerk to the weird robotics guy? Wish you hadn't chopped that dude’s finger off? (Yup, that's on the menu.) Feel like you should've been a little more forceful with the local constabulary? Too bad—if you want to do it differently, replay the game.
The flipside of that coin is that while Whispers of a Machine is short enough that a replay isn't a great chore, there's really not enough to it to justify a full second run-through. The central story is interesting but the game world is small and feels empty—there are virtually no characters in the game except those you need to interact with, who only appear when you need to interact with them—and there are no side quests or collectibles or optional extras.
What you’re left with is different ways of solving the same, relatively few problems: Depending on your augmentations, you might camouflage yourself as an NPC to get past a guard, or engage an invisibility cloak instead. And hey, maybe that's exactly what you're looking for in multiple runthroughs—you do you! For me, though, it's a little too thin for a do-over.
One thing I really appreciated about Whispers of a Machine is its snappy pacing. It unfolds over four days, each a segment of the mystery that ends with a recap of the day's events. Those end-of-day reports to my superior gave me a real sense of progress because they broke the game down into discrete chunks: I did this and this, and tomorrow I need to do that and that.
An automatic notebook made tracking the course of the investigation reasonably simple, and when you enter a location with puzzles that need to be solved, you’re not able to leave until they’re done. My initial reaction to that was irritation (I'm stuck! Let me out!) but I quickly grew to like it. As someone who’s spent a lot of hours in other adventures running back and forth across 27 different rooms trying to figure out what the hell I’m supposed to do next, I have no doubt that being kept in place to solve a specific problem saved me a lot of frustration.
Small ideas
Which isn't to say that there are no instances of Adventure Game Bullshit—there are, and they're fortunately rare but still frustrating. (No spoilers, but you definitely want to pay attention to the Codex.) There's also one way over-the-top moment of deus ex machina nonsense courtesy of Vera's nigh-magical nanofluid: She suffers an injury that by all rights should leave her dead three times over, but instead she walks away with a bit of expositional hand-waving about the Blue working overtime to keep her alive. Yeah, but you're not even limping, Vera.
The incident is ridiculous enough that it really stands out in a story that's otherwise nicely focused and engaging.
My biggest complaint overall is that I wanted more coherency from Whispers of a Machine. The world, littered with robotic detritus and reliant on alternative energy sources, promises an unusual and interesting take on a civilization that didn't end so much as grind itself into a hole that humanity may still be digging. But it's all sizzle and no steak. Sometimes that can work—the outstanding Primordia leaps to mind as an example of a setting built entirely on questions that still manages to feel complete—but when major elements stand out as seriously odd, I feel like there should be at least some token nod toward justifying them.
Most of my complaints arise from what I see as unfulfilled potential.
Why, for instance, is Nordsund built atop a massive pedestal that elevates the whole damn town hundreds of feet into the air? The surface of the Earth beneath it is perfectly nice, the atmosphere is safe, there are no Morlocks running around; it just is, and that's not really satisfying.
Neither is the multipart ending. It's fun to be able to determine your own end-game fate, but the binary choice that wraps up Whispers of a Machine falls flat because you either do the obvious thing that you've been working toward throughout the game (and, presumably, your entire career as an Agent), or the completely out-of-character, out-of-nowhere opposite, with only the most threadbare rationalization for doing so. It feels forced and out of place—an RPG-style ending tacked on to a game that's not an RPG, for no clear reason.
Most of my complaints arise from what I see as unfulfilled potential. A little more depth and detail would go a long way toward making the world feel not just believable but real and lived-in. But taken for what it is—a brief, entertaining point-and-click investigative adventure—I liked Whispers of a Machine quite a lot. Even though it stumbles as a 'big idea' game, it comes off well as a self-contained detective story with a sci-fi twist.
Whispers of a Machine is a bit like a good Law & Order two-parter from season four: not too long (five or six hours) and not too deep, but comfortable, fun, and easy to digest. Keep your expectations squarely in the middle and you'll have a good time.
