Gameplay

If Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4 is your first time you play the series, you shouldn’t worry, as you aren’t actually three games behind. While the first two games still star the 1920′s versions of Gabe, Tycho, and friends, the third and fourth game tell their own story and the events of the third game will be summed up for you when you start the fourth.

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The story picks up from the end of Episode Three, as all of our characters (Gabe, Tycho, Moira, Jim, and Dr. Blood) wind up in the Underhell and separated from each other. They must travel across the Underhell, the Overhell, and the Underunderhell to try and find their counterparts, escape and bring about a new world. Our protagonists are still the same characters we fell in love with in Episode 3 with the exception of Jim, who has a new body, as well as a voice. We may have seen deeper stories from the Final Fantasy franchise, but that is balanced by the amount of humor we find Darkness 4. It’s typical Penny Arcade and is even funnier than the last episode.

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In terms of gameplay Penny Arcade 4 plays similar to the popular RPGs of the 16-bit era, with advanced focus on character customization and options. You can choose from a wide variety of characters to bring to your party in Rain-Slick 4, each coming with special unique abilities. Each monster falls into 1 of 4 types, strength, magic, speed, and defense, with a pretty even spread between them all by the end. Each type has a set of three weapon sets available, and each individual monster has mastery with specifics, for example a monster with sword mastery gets a speed bonus to their first turn when equipped with a sword. Moreover each monster gets paired with an individual trainer and gains access to the active and passive abilities from them. This can lead to some interesting combinations. Combat is quite rewarding as you can see when you’ll be able to act in battle via a bar at the top of the screen while you also have the ability to interrupt enemy attacks and push them back.

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When it comes to difficulty, there’s are several options to cover all tastes. Easy, Normal, Hard, and Insane. All are pretty self-explanatory, but keep in mind that Normal may be slightly harder than what one may consider Normal, if your battle methods aren’t well tuned. Insane Mode is not for the light-hearted, but if you love to punish yourself or have slightly masochistic tendencies toward such, then this game is for you.

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Rain-Slick 4 is also the longest game in the series lasting for about twelve hours. There are a number of small towns, secret dungeons, and battles to look for as you move from one main area to another, that will keep you entertained for quite a while.

Conclusion

Rain-Slick 4 feels like a fine place to be the series’ finale, as we feel that this fourth installment s the best game in the Penny Arcade universe. Those who have enjoyed Zeboyd’s previous efforts will not be disappointed here and will find a game that offers great appeal to RPGamers of all generations. What is more amazing is that all of this costs a mere 5 Euros making it a steal at this price point. On the Rain-Slicked Precipice of Darkness 4 manages to be a trip down memory lane, a hilarious collection of Penny Arcade humor, and a worthy RPG all at once. You can buy Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4 from here.

Gameconnect Rating: 9.0

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