The Rainsdowne Players: Opening Night

Being a performer in front of a live audience is not an easy job, especially if the said audience is not particularly impressed with your skills. Granted, people usually have the common sense not to physically assault the performers, regardless of how badly they are acting or singing. In the eventuality that would happen, it’s pretty useful to have good reflexes and avoid the objects coming toward you.

The Rainsdowne Players: Opening Night is a funny arcade game with rhythm elements, in which you have to jump from side to side in order to avoid the objects thrown by the audience. The story keeps getting more interesting as you keep going, and the challenge increases as well, since the public gets a lot edgier and demanding later on.

It all begins when a couple of people decide to open up a theater in a new neighborhood, except that the folks living there are not very much into the idea. Obviously, it doesn’t help that the performers are not particularly talented, so various objects start to make their way onto the stage. Your job is to avoid bottles, the occasional fish and a few other objects and continue putting on a show.

You can also collect inspiration cards from members of the public after a show, as well as talk to them if you want some feedback. Most are not able to make sense or help you with anything, but some can actually be of use and reward you with inspiration cards that help with future shows. There are other characters you can talk with as well, including a cat and a desk clerk.

The gameplay mechanics are quite smooth and enjoyable, although it can get repetitive after a while. It’s nice to see that the controls are snappy and responsive, which means that only you are to blame for any failure. Even the graphics are fairly nice, even if they are very simple and designed to look retro.

Even if The Rainsdowne Players: Opening Night is a tad too simple to be the kind of game that sticks in your memory for years to come, but it’s great fun for a few minutes at a time. There are plenty of good jokes in there to keep you amused.