Rainbow Billy

Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan is a role-play adventure where you save the world from colourless darkness. Unusually, battles are won through listening and conversation rather than traditional attacks. It combines the excitement and strategy of Paper Mario with a clever focus on personality foibles, empathy and growth in a deeply insightful game that doesn't feel educational (but is).

CONTENT RATING

PLATFORMS

PlayStation 4

Nintendo Switch

PC

Xbox One

POSITIVE GAMEPLAY

Ambitious

Comprehension

Emotions

Empathy

Exploration

Good Timing

Identity

Parent-Child Co-Play

PLAY STYLE

Player vs Enemies

Team with Game Allies

Turn-Based Play

Play involves running and jumping around to explore the world, find treasure, hop from island to island in your boat and fish for eclectic items to help power up your friends. When you encounter one of the 60 colourless creatures, a battle ensues to help set them free from their blinkered view of themselves, other people and the world. You build a team of whimsical creatures by helping them come to terms with who they are and the personalities they have put on to cope with the world: anger, fear, pride, strength and even manliness.

Along with the listening and talking aspects of these encounters, you call on your team of friends to send over shapes that match what you know about this new creature's personality. This pattern matching is joined by simple Rock Band (rhythm), Arkanoid (bat and ball) and Asteroids (dodge the discs) challenges to get each set of shapes to hit their target.

It's child-friendly but has surprisingly deep writing. The conversations that ensue during each battle are crucial to how things play out but are also engaging (and painfully honest) therapy sessions. Although there is whimsy aplenty, it avoids feeling overly woke by not easily ducking emotions and not quickly moving beyond personality hang-ups.

As the developer puts it, "Rainbow Billy tells a universal coming-of-age story about dealing with changes in the world and accepting ourselves and the others around us. Sometimes it only takes a conversation, empathy, and a new point of view to make a world of a difference."

GAMEPLAY TRAILER

Good to know

Insights to ensure your child's gaming experience remains safe and enjoyable

Set time limits

Set screen time boundaries to get your child moving regularly and to give their eyes a break. Find options available through parental controls available on the console or in-game.

Manage online interactions

Multiplayer games can pose additional contact risks from both people the child knows and doesn't know, commonly in the form of bullying or hate. Talk about what positive behaviour looks like and review in-game settings and console parental controls to keep them safe.

Highlight safety features

For games where your child might interact with others online, make sure you review tools like report and block to help them stay safe.

Skill level age

Suggested by Family Gaming Database

8+

Younger players may need help with some of the platforming jumps, time-based puzzles and extensive reading, but will enjoy deciphering each character's hang-ups. It's a great way to teach healthy civic space and playground kindness.