Rakuen

A hospitalized Boy comes to terms with his own story by traveling with his Mom to a beautiful fantasy world; ultimately helping his fellow patients find closure by walking a mile in their shoes.

Rakuen is a story rich, emotional and puzzle game developed and published by Laura Shigihara.
Released on May 10th 2017 is available on Windows, MacOS and Linux in 13 languages: English, Italian, Spanish - Spain, Korean, Simplified Chinese, German, Hungarian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Ukrainian, Russian, French and Japanese.

It has received 5,795 reviews of which 5,583 were positive and 212 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.3 out of 10. 😍

The game is currently priced at 7.39€ on Steam and has a 50% discount.

The Steam community has classified Rakuen into these genres:

Story Rich Emotional Puzzle Cute JRPG Pixel Graphics RPG Adventure Anime Fantasy Funny Family Friendly Colorful RPGMaker Psychological Horror Singleplayer Indie Point & Click 2D Horror

Media & Screenshots

Get an in-depth look at Rakuen through various videos and screenshots.

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Requirements

These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.

Windows

OS *: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10
Processor: Intel Pentium III 800 MHz
Memory: 512 MB RAM
Graphics: 1024x768 High Color +
DirectX: Version 9.0
Storage: 250 MB available space

MacOS

OS: OS X 10.6.8
Memory: 1 GB RAM
Graphics: Radeon HD 2400
Storage: 250 MB available space

Linux

OS: Ubuntu 12.04 or compatible
Memory: 1 GB RAM
Graphics: Radeon HD 2400
Storage: 250 MB available space

Reviews

Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.

Nov. 2024

Let me just get out of the way: I did not play this game. I don't USUALLY like puzzle games, story games, single player games. But that's not the reason I'm here. I watched a playthrough of this on youtube, just thinking it might be some generic puzzle game. I read the description with interest, still thinking it will be corny. I was going to watch for maybe 20 minutes and then leave once I got bored. I ended up watching the whole 10 hours, at the end, a grown ass man sobbing over his keyboard. My mom was battling cancer for nearly 5 years. She was a single mother. She was my favorite person ever. The strongest person I've ever known, throughout fiction and reality. We had to move a lot as a result of her worsening condition; so as a result I never had friends, never really did much other than sit in front of a TV. I was home schooled as well but just because of how bad her health was, she was unable to take care of me or my brother. We were the youngest of our siblings, so by proxy, we were the most neglected. I had already been depressed by this point. I don't really remember this day, or month, or year... but one day, she had to move to the hospital. So me and my brother went to live with one of her friends from church, she was a bit odd but I won't really talk about that. Her condition was worsening. Dad never seemed to visit, even during the end. What a deadbeat he was. The last conversation I had with her was through skype on an iPad. She was my best friend. My whole world. Even today, I can't think of anyone I've known who I enjoyed being around more than her. One night, staying at a different family friend's place because the other one was so weird and never let us visit her, about 2 in the morning, I was woken up- she had passed away. We rushed to the hospital immediately, I was pretty deadpan and nonchalant about it at the time. Everyone else was mourning. That was the first and only time I've ever seen my grandpa cry. Everyone was sobbing and I just sat there, corner of the lounge, just shell-shocked. I was there, but not really thinking. After a while, I wanted to go to her room to see her. I just remember walking up to the door to it, and someone stopped me from going in. I don't remember if it was a nurse, a family friend, a family member; I wanted in and they wouldn't let me. They would not let up; so I just kind of sat there, defeated. I knew what death was by this point, but I still never really fully grasped it. Even to this day, I am still in denial, still dream about her. She was my best friend. The kindest person I've known. My whole world. Even today, I can't think of anyone I've known who I enjoyed being around more than her. So what, what does any of this have to do with the game I just watched a play through of, the one I expected to be a disappointing nothing burger? I remember thinking during the months after, "I just wish it some how could have been me." That's what I would think for the past 9 or so years; and to be quite honest I still want it a little bit now. But this game has given me perspective, insight to what may have been if I got my wish; so I'm not sure I even want it anymore. Considering how much she meant to me, how important she was to me, how she would talk to me whenever I wanted. She loved me. It's pretty obvious, like yeah, of course she did. I just never really thought that maybe, she thought of me the same way I felt towards her. if I had gotten cancer, if I had gone through that same journey, the same things she had to go through, she wouldn't even had a goodbye. She would have been heartbroken. So, this game may have just changed my mind. I always thought I would never feel better; 9 years of therapy, psychiatrists, prescriptions, awful feelings; this may have just been the first step I've made since it happened. I apologize for the info dump, not even talking much about the game or side characters throughout it, and generally just a long review. This is just how I've related this story to my life, and how it prompted introspection that may have just changed my life. Thank you, Laura Shigihara.

Sept. 2024

A truly beautiful point and click narrative puzzle adventure. You play a young boy who is a patient in hospital. In order to make a wish for yourself, you're tasked with helping other people in the hospital, and you do this by visiting a magical world from your favourite book called Rakuen. The game is fairly short, but it is has gorgeous pixel art, lovely music, great characters that you really connect with, and a touching, whimsical (but deep) story. I loved this game so much ♥

March 2024

Purchased: 2 years ago Played: Recently If anyone wants a roller-coaster of emotions in a game, then, this is what you need. Pros:- 1. The storyline: I really loved how it connects one person's story to another. 2. The scenes: All the people live or rest in peace. 3. Korshal sheep (can I've a plush doll, at least?) 4. The OST: I cried so hard as it resonated with my whole life too. 5. The ending: I cried again, goddamnit. Cons:- 1. Settings: I really wanted to change the screen resolution size and the volume, but there's no option to do so. 2. Controller support: It doesn't support any. 3. Ogee the Cat: I had to redo everything from the start (like, man oh man). 9/10

March 2024

A game about love, loss, and closure. You play as a boy hospitalized with a chronic illness. You go around and meet the other inpatients (many of whom seem off-putting or weird at first), learn their stories and their regrets, and help them find closure. You soon discover that the hospital is connected to a fantastical storybook world, and actions you take to help the strange creatures of the fantasy world also impact their real-world counterparts in the hospital. Thematically, it feels a lot like a much lower-budget version of Spiritfarer, if you're familiar with that. And indeed Rakuen is very low-budget, literally a self-published RPG Maker game by a solo developer (Laura Shigihara). Low-budget doesn't mean bad, though. Admittedly, the flaws are apparent. The resolution is locked to 640×480. The controls are terrible (controllers are barely supported—no d-pad support, only analog stick, the default button assignments make no sense, and reconfiguring the button assignments is possible only via the very cumbersome built-in RPG Maker settings UI, reachable by pressing the F1 key). And gameplay is quite primitive: just walk around and try to talk to every sprite you see. Many of the items you need to progress (keys, notes, etc.) are found by searching bookshelves and so on, so there's a lot of rather dull talk-to-every-object-on-the-screen gameplay. But despite these limitations, I would still rate this game pretty highly (personally I preferred it over Spiritfarer, for example). The art and music and writing are all great, good enough to compensate for the gameplay limitations. And the game feels even more intimate and cozy than other games in this genre. The hospital setting grounds the game and makes it feel more real and relatable, the portal-to-a-parallel-world concept is handled in a satisfying way, and the contrast between the drab hospital and the colorful spirit world reinforces the game's themes. Definitely a tearjerker, as all the other reviews say, so prepare yourself emotionally. But lots of humor and moments of joy, too.

Feb. 2024

Rakuen's emotional, raw, and heartbreaking, yet captivating and warm. The characters were well written, and I got totally immersed in their stories. The character development in the game was excellent! I loved the inclusion of humour, which served as a comical relief during the unrelenting sadness of Rakuen. The music was phenomenal, it really blended well with the atmosphere of the game or scene. The puzzles were somewhat challenging and fun, too, which I honestly did not expect. I thought the game would be a linear one like 'To The Moon'. A special shoutout to the boy's mother. The relationship was very well portrayed, and it warmed my heart 🥰 I can write a huge paragraph about the mother alone, but I'd rather leave it to you to find out! She was just perfect for my liking. I'd strongly recommend buying this game 🫶

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Data sources

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Last Updates

Steam data	18 November 2024 12:03
SteamSpy data	17 December 2024 20:27
Steam price	23 December 2024 20:42
Steam reviews	22 December 2024 15:55

-50% 14.79€ 7.39€

9.3

5,583

212

Online players

Developer

Laura Shigihara

Publisher

Laura Shigihara

Release 10 May 2017

Platforms