Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan is a good entry into the RPG and 2.5D platforming genres that will give newer and younger players a taste of what similar games of this genre should look like. Its charm, simplicity, and accessibility can become overshadowed by the amount of conversation, but those who love reading will have a good time with this game. It's beautifully charming, and it was clearly made with love. Just be sure to temper your expectations.
I’ve done my best to avoid being political in my reviews, but writing this particular review has proven to be challenging. As someone who has dabbled (and subsequently published) media research, I’ve spent several years of my life defending the notion that video games do significantly change our behavior. In more advanced terms: the “hypodermic needle theory” is bunk. I’ve spent my fair share of playing gory games, as well as seemingly benign games (Doki Doki Literature Club and Undertale come to mind), and I’d like to think I turned out all right. Maybe I’m a little bit too caffeinated. Maybe not.
When I was given Rainbow Billy: Curse of the Leviathan to review, I was perplexed by its wholesomeness. Indeed, it presents itself as a wholesome action-platformer and turn-based RPG reminiscent of Paper Mario, but it does so with the hypodermic needle theory in mind: Let’s play a game so wholesome and charming and encourage players to do right by Rainbow Billy in hopes that our offline world becomes just as wholesome as Rainbow Billy’s world.
Indeed, the game is charming and colorful. Right from the jump you’re thrown into an incredibly colorful near-open world blending elements from Paper Mario and Cuphead. But as the events unfold, you learn that the world of Rainbow Billy lacks color, and your job is to bring that color back by sailing the seas on your Friend Ship. The use of monochromatic environments and enemies is really smart in the sense that the seemingly open island world is not as gigantic as it looks. Your path is clearly defined by how far a new monochrome area is from the island you just made colorful. Attempting to stray from that path won’t prove fruitful, at least to start. I first thought that this restricted and linear gameplay was created out of not trusting a player to go in the right direction, but I realized that this game is not really made for me. It’s clearly made for a younger audience of new players unfamiliar with traditional open-world design.
The gameplay is divided into two equal parts: Half of the game involves broadly accessible 2.5D puzzle platforming, and the other half involves turn-based combat. Every new island Billy visits introduces a simple concept and utilizes it just enough to teach the player what to expect while not treading into an annoying/repetitive territory. Although the levels themselves are linear, there are a select few of secrets dispersed in the world. I did not feel like I was rewarded with something “powerful” by treading off the beaten path, but I did feel that my time was rewarded just enough.
If you enjoyed the pacifist route of Undertale (or Deltarune, I guess), then you’ll definitely enjoy the combat portions of Rainbow Billy…except there’s no combat. None. Every battle involves Billy striking off a friendly conversation with a monochromatic enemy who is struggling with accepting themselves. After selecting a phrase, you take part in one of several minigames. Then, you read the conversation between Billy and the enemy. This rinses and repeats until you help the enemy overcome their inner saboteur and return them to their colorful selves.
While I think that the game means well with the combat conversation, there is just so much of it. Unlike Undertale, which relied on inconsistent and unpredictable text conversation to tell a chaotic yet mysterious story, Rainbow Billy‘s combat conversation becomes a slog as you play. You start the battle by talking, you play a round of pong, you talk some more, and then you play slots, talk some more, the battle ends, and then you talk even more. I don’t want to assume that people don’t read, especially younger players, but I fear that large portions of text with an almost entirely similar conversation pattern will turn audiences away from reading through the bits. It does feel repetitive really quickly, unfortunately.
To Rainbow Billy‘s credit, there is no “grinding for experience” or leveling up. Just about every time you engage in combat, you’re against a different character. I did not feel like I _had_ to go out of my way to grind because…there was nothing to grind. After you helped out your enemy, they would become your friend and join you on your Friend Ship! Interacting with them afterward and giving them treats you found around the world increased the breadth of your conversation combat abilities, but even then you didn’t _need_ to, as the game’s difficulty is forgiving enough for the player to play the _bare minimum_ and still be able to complete the story without fear.
When I played Rainbow Billy on stream, my viewers were surprised with how simple yet charming it looked. One went so far as to say the world of Rainbow Billy was similar to a fever dream they had because of how psychedelic the characters looked and acted. While I can’t say that I’m familiar with colorful fever dreams, I can agree that the world is alive with happiness. But I’m left wondering what kind of player would love this the most.
When I reached out to the team, I was told that the target demographic is…everyone! But more specifically, it’s great for parents to play with their younger children (8+) to help teach them about inclusivity, acceptance, and empathy. For others, it is a great game for people looking for more depth and meaning in a video game. I mostly agree with these criteria, but two things bring me pause. First, as I mentioned before, there’s quite a bit of conversation. When I was playing in front of others, my viewers seemed to enjoy me reading the chatboxes at first. As I played, I became tired reading the conversation. As someone nearing his 30s, I find myself reading quite a lot outside of gaming, and seeing tons of text is a turn off. I can’t imagine a younger child being able to retain the amount of content in the game.
The second issue is one I was alluding to when I started this article. By recognizing that this game could change our behavior for the better, I must also reconcile that there just might be a possibility for games to change our behavior for the worse, too. Beyond my existential concerns, I will openly admit how glad I am for a game to embrace the concept of loving ourselves and those around us, even if they’re a little quirky. There isn’t enough wholesome moments in games today, even in those like Pokémon that include little glimpses of how charming our Pokémon become when we give them treats and love.
My only other concern about the game is its stability. There was an instance where I would complete a battle and the “You made a new friend!” window became permanently displayed and unable to be removed. Another time, I strayed too far off the beaten aquatic path and I was teleported back to where I came from, but I was entirely underwater, unable to return to the island and navigate around the world. All the graphical issues I came across would be resolved when I closed and then reopened the game, but it became annoying to encounter these bugs and have to retrace my steps.
Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan is a good entry into the RPG and 2.5D platforming genres that will give newer and younger players a taste of what similar games of this genre should look like. Its charm, simplicity, and accessibility can become overshadowed by the amount of conversation, but those who love reading will have a good time with this game. It’s beautifully charming, and it was clearly made with love. Just be sure to temper your expectations.
