1998 Shibuya: the city in Rain98
The adventure segments send you into a period Shibuya in 1998 — rainy streets, retro objects and everyday places, explored with Reina rather than cleared like a map.
Rain98 is set in 1998 Tokyo, and its adventure segments take you out of the apartment and into a wet, blue-lit Shibuya. The store page describes it as exploring the Shibuya of the past, "steeped in the unique retro atmosphere of the turn of the millennium" — and it is one of the two or three things every demo review mentions first.
What the city is for
| Element | Role |
|---|---|
| Shibuya, 1998 | The outdoor half of the game, walked with Reina |
| Retro objects | Period detail that doubles as interaction points — the streets are full of things you can look at |
| Neon and rain | The visual grammar: blue light, wet asphalt, reflections everywhere |
| Everyday places | Shops, streets and the walk home rather than set-piece action |
Rain98 does not put combat or traversal challenges in the city. The adventure segments are about being somewhere with someone: walking roads in the rain, looking at what a 1998 street contained, and letting the atmosphere do the work.
The 1998 detail
The demo leans hard on the period, and it is worth playing deliberately for that reason. Players of the demo consistently point to the same objects and places doing the nostalgic lifting: CRT televisions, cassette players, arcades, convenience stores and telephone booths, alongside the flat itself with its old appliances and clutter. The visual language is low-fi on purpose — soft, blue, slightly blurred, closer to a worn tape than a modern render.
For anyone who grew up around that period, the effect is the point. Rain98's store bullets put it first: nostalgia from 1990s Tokyo streets and retro items, wrapped in a comfortable Lo-Fi atmosphere with something unsettling sitting under it.
Walking with Reina
The city sequences are the game's cooperative half in the literal sense — you are always somewhere with her, and the studio presents the two of you leaving the apartment together as a regular part of the day. The store page describes it as leaving the flat and heading out into the rainy metropolis, and the fourth official feature bullet is simply about walking through 1998 with her.
That framing matters for how you play: treat the outings as time with a character rather than a map to clear, and keep an eye on interactive objects along the way. Sticker opportunities and small story beats sit in the streets as much as in the flat.
What is not in the city yet
The demo's build covers the opening of the story through the first half of Chapter 2, so its Shibuya is a slice of the full map rather than the whole thing. The director's message about the full release mentions a wider array of experiences designed to evoke daily life in late-90s Tokyo — more interactive material, not more combat. If a place feels closed off in the demo, that is the build boundary rather than something you missed.
FAQ
Where is Rain98 set?
In Tokyo in 1998, with its outdoor sections set in a period Shibuya.
Can you explore freely in the demo?
The adventure segments let you walk and interact around the demo's slice of the city, always as part of the day you are spending with Reina.
Is there combat in Rain98?
No. It is listed as an adventure, casual, indie and simulation title, and its city sections are about exploration and interaction.
Is the Shibuya in Rain98 a real map of 1998?
The game presents a period recreation of the area's atmosphere and details rather than a documented street-by-street survey; official material describes the retro atmosphere of the turn of the millennium.
