Drizzly pixels: an ode to rain in video games
by Adam Bunker
Rain is pretty good, isn’t it.
It’s been quite sunny where I am as I write this. But even so, I know that – as the late Ned Stark would put it – winter is coming. Eventually. And that means something exciting: between now and then, my part of the world is going to get lots and lots of lovely rain.
And, yeah, rain’s great. It brings with it an inherent cosiness, and it kills off any of what my wife and I call ‘sun guilt' – that nagging feeling that you should probably be doing something outside when all you really want to do is sit under a blanket and watch Blade Runner.
But, it’s not just cinematic cyberpunk that nails that rainy mood kind of cosiness. Plenty of games over the years have also managed to tap into that rich vein of – let’s say – comforting melancholy. And it’s something to be celebrated.
What is it about rain, anyway?
Let’s take a step back. What is it about rain that lots of people, myself included, really love?
Well, forgetting games and movies and umbrellas and everything else for a minute – and forgetting the fact that I, as a pale British guy, am not really built for the summer – I think the main thing that wet weather has going for it is that it enhances any basic feeling of cosiness that you may already be fostering.
Cosiness is all about the indoors, so when you’re indoors trying to attain any level of it, it makes sense that what you don’t want is anything compelling you to go outside.
So in that sense, rain is cosiness’ natural bedfellow. In a basic, fundamental way, they work together to promote the feeling that snuggling up indoors under a blanket with a cup of tea is the correct course of action.
That sun guilt I talked about earlier? That’s not what you want to be feeling when your heart really wants nothing more than to sit still and be quiet. So, it stands to reason that in and of itself, rain is enjoyed chiefly as an excuse to chill out in whatever your safe space may be. And that feeling of safety and security brings comfort.
But then, that’s only one part of the story...
Harrison Ford in classic Cyber Punk Noir Blade Runner
What I think I’m saying is that we like rain because it makes us feel supported in our desire to get comfy – and lazy, I guess.
But rain’s use in popular media often serves a different, much more deliberate purpose. You don’t shoot a rainy scene in a film by accident; it’s a choice. And that choice, often, is to do with that old high school English Literature favourite: pathetic fallacy.
Now, the official, boring definition for pathetic fallacy is this:
“A literary term for the attribution of human emotion and conduct to things found in nature”.
But if you’re over the age of about 15 and have sat through any kind of lit lessons at school, you’ll probably know it more simply as:
“That thing when it rains in films or books because people are sad.”
By which I mean: when you see rain in movies, it’s often to set a tone. That tone can be one in which the world seems to be punishing or making life hard for our already-downtrodden protagonist – as in a lot of noir detective stuff – or maybe it rains to help convey sadness, because the characters are attending a funeral, or have just ended a relationship.
And that’s kind of true for games, but it’s kind of not as well. So, let’s talk about that.
Rain in games: A tonal choice
Rain helps provide the atmospheric opening moments of SNES classic The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past (Nintendo)
Over the past 30+ years, games have gone from Pong and PAC-MAN, to decidedly more cinematic experiences. So, it goes without saying that there are loads of examples where rain in games is used exactly as it is in movies.
In the opening chapter of the very, very good Metal Gear Solid 2, for example, the torrential rain feels purposefully oppressive, and that in turn gives you the sense that something seriously ominous is going on. It’s to the point where it makes you feel genuine relief by the time you finally make it inside the tanker. In the seventh mission of the also very, very good Shadow Tactics, the crushing rain helps sell the vibe of a village that’s been totally wiped out by evil oppressors.
In Arkham Knight, the never-ending storm imbues the overrun Gotham City with a feeling that matches its dark and dismal tone. And in Gone Home, the dismal weather outside, with its sporadic thunder and lightning, lends your exploration of the titular house an aptly spooky, isolated atmosphere.
And that’s all well and good. But I’m not sure that that’s the kind of rain in games that inspired me to start writing this.
Because, again, when I think of rain, I think less about feeling depressed, or oppressed, or scared. I think about being cosy.
So, when it comes to video games, what interests me more is this: I’ve realised that in open-world games with changeable weather systems, I always prefer it when it rains.
Like, if I’m just tooling around in GTA V to kill some time, or exploring in The Witcher 3 (“wind’s howling’), or swinging about aimlessly in Spider-Man, I much prefer to do that when the in-game weather is raining.
Wet-Web-Slinging heaven in 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac/Sony/Marvel/Disney)
And what’s more, I’ve realised that this kind of in-game, open-world rain often makes me slow down. And not just because rainy days in Stardew Valley mean you don’t have to water your crops. I mean, I genuinely slow down – in a much more meta sense.
In the past, I’ve found myself just slowly walking around a rainy New York city as Spider-Man. Or, standing, watching a rain-soaked village go about its business in Red Dead Redemption 2. Or I’ll perch on a building in Gotham City, just watching it be.
I think I even drove across the map in GTA V at the legal speed limit once, just because I liked the rainy atmosphere.
In other words: Rain can make me roleplay in a way I rarely do, and I think it’s because I just inherently enjoy being in that kind of atmosphere. I like to slow down, and chill out, and seek comfort in in-game rain, just as I do when it rains in real life.
After all, gaming is an indoor activity. And it’s because of that fact that I think rain, real or digital, can encourage you to settle in and relax into that experience much more than blazing sunshine ever can.
Wishlist The Biggleboss Incident on Steam ahead of its 2025 release (BUNKWORKS)
I guess what I’m getting at is this: when it rains in a video game, you get all the added atmospheric vibes that rain adds to movie scenes, but with added interactivity.
And that interactivity, for me at least, lets me vicariously experience the kind of comfy, cosy feeling that people love about rainy weather.
Whether it’s raining outside in real life or not.
Adam Bunker is an indie game developer whose YouTube channel, the Point & Click Devlog, chronicles his journey of working on The Biggleboss Incident – a classic, LucasArts-style point-and-click adventure game. More info below:
