A boss rush where one hit ends the run
Raindancer puts you in the role of Bramble, brought back from death by The Rain itself and sent to take down the leaders of three rival tribes and purify their corruption against nature. The whole game is built around five battles, each a distinct encounter with its own step up in difficulty. Death is immediate and absolute: one hit and the fight is over, so every attempt is about reading an attack, reacting fast, and starting again. Combat is fast-paced but simple to learn, which means the skill ceiling comes from your timing and positioning rather than from memorising long combo strings.
Playing together on one screen
The game has local co-op for two players, sharing the same screen through the run. Because every hit is lethal, co-op here means coordinating who takes a position, watching each other's backs through the fight, and taking the same punishment together when a pattern goes wrong. The fights are shared, so clearing one is a joint effort. Remote Play Together is available, which lets someone join you over a connection if you want to play with a friend who is not in the room.
Controls worth knowing before you start
Raindancer runs on mouse and keyboard or gamepad. On a gamepad the layout works like a twin-stick shooter: the left stick moves Bramble and the right stick aims. That separation of movement and aim is worth getting comfortable with before the harder encounters, since reaction time is what the game leans on hardest. As you take down enemies you can equip Blessings dropped by them, and these change how Bramble plays, so your build shifts depending on which ones you pick up along the way.
A hand-painted dark fantasy
The world is hand-painted throughout, illustrated by Vincent Van Hoof, and it is full of monstrous inhabitants that fit the dark fantasy tone. Julian Crowhurst's dynamic soundtrack and soundscapes sit underneath the action, responding to what is happening in play. The combination is a moody, bleak landscape to fight through between the fights themselves, and it gives the repeated attempts a distinct atmosphere rather than just a training arena feel.