Kathy Rain vs Night in the Woods
Kathy Rain is a horror puzzle game from Clifftop Games (2016) while Night in the Woods is a horror platformer game from Infinite Fall (2017).
What each one is
Steam files Kathy Rain under Horror and Puzzle. In contrast, it files Night in the Woods under Horror and Platformer.
Set in the '90s, Kathy Rain tells the story of a strong-willed journalism major who has to come to terms with her troubled past as she investigates the mysterious death of her recently deceased grandfather.
NIGHT IN THE WOODS is an adventure game focused on exploration, story, and character, featuring dozens of characters to meet and lots to do across a lush, vibrant world.
At a glance
| Kathy Rain | Night in the Woods | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.4/10 | 8.2/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (92%, 4,003) | Overwhelmingly Positive (95%, 20,228) |
| Critic aggregate | 77/100 | 88/100 |
| Price | $9.99 | $19.99 |
| Install size | 1 GB | 8 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | verified |
| Released | 2016 | 2017 |
| Developer | Clifftop Games | Infinite Fall |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Kathy Rain vs Night in the Woods, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Kathy RainHorror puzzle gameNight in the WoodsHorror platformer gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Kathy RainPoint & Click, Adventure, Pixel GraphicsNight in the WoodsStory Rich, Adventure, AtmosphericThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Kathy RainScore 7.4 · 92% on Steam · 77 criticNight in the Woods ✓Score 8.2 · 95% on Steam · 88 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Kathy Rain4,003 reviews · 1 GBNight in the Woods20,228 reviews · 3 add-ons · 8 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Kathy Rain ✓$9.99Night in the Woods$19.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Kathy RainPlayableNight in the Woods ✓VerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Night in the Woods takes 2 of the marked rounds to 1. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueKathy Rain and Night in the Woods on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Night in the Woods (GamingPickz Score 8.2)
- The cheaper right now: Kathy Rain ($9.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Night in the Woods (verified)
- Lighter on storage: Kathy Rain (1 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Night in the Woods (20,228 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
AdventureMysterySingleplayerStory RichPsychological HorrorHand-drawnAtmosphericChoices Matter
Where they differ
Point & ClickPixel GraphicsFemale ProtagonistDetectiveIndiePuzzle
StylizedDark HumorNarrative2DCatsVisual Novel
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Kathy Rain is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Night in the Woods is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Kathy Rain | Night in the Woods | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | Intel HD 4000 |
| Minimum CPU | — | Intel i5 Quad-Core |
| Minimum RAM | — | 4 GB |
| Install size | 1 GB | 8 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Kathy Rain · Night in the Woods.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Kathy Rain and 1 for Night in the Woods. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Kathy Rain and Night in the Woods in scope?
Kathy Rain has drawn 4,003 Steam reviews and installs in 1 GB. Night in the Woods has drawn 20,228 Steam reviews, ships 3 add-ons and installs in 8 GB.
Is Kathy Rain or Night in the Woods better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Night in the Woods rates higher (8.2 to 7.4). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Kathy Rain or Night in the Woods?
Kathy Rain is cheaper right now at $9.99, against $19.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.