The current Rain98 Demo is a self-contained preview route from the opening through the first half of Chapter 2. Install and launch Rain98 Demo, AppID 3738760; base-game AppID 3498720 is still Coming Soon. The route normally takes more than three hours according to the developer, but reading speed, optional observations, and repeated activities can make a session longer.
This walkthrough stays spoiler-light. It identifies the kind of scene you should complete and the state you should preserve, without revealing the Demo’s late story turn or pretending that one dialogue choice is the only correct answer.
Route map before you begin
Before starting, read Steam’s mature-content description. The story includes suicide and self-harm imagery, psychological distress, violence, drug use, alcohol, tobacco, religious ritual, and indirect sexual material. These are part of the opening tone, not optional late-game surprises.
Clear the opening without losing context
Choose a text speed that leaves time to read the whole line and the expression around it. Keep subtitles on if you want names and period references preserved in writing. Rain and music matter to the mood, but dialogue should remain intelligible; lower effects or music rather than guessing at a missed line.
The opening moves from directed novel scenes into room interaction. When control changes, stop advancing dialogue and scan the current view. Read the most recent request, then inspect the marker or object that matches it. Randomly exhausting every hotspot makes it harder to tell which observation advanced the scene.
Rain98’s protagonist and Reina do not begin with a normal shared history. Let the game establish why the apartment, the year 1998, and the Angel Passport matter. A strange statement is not always a puzzle prompt. Continue the conversation until the game clearly returns an interaction marker or choice.
Complete apartment tasks as full scenes
Daily-life interactions can include cleaning, laundry, card play, object inspection, and helping Reina with something in the room. Public preview builds exposed different selections, so follow the objective displayed in your installed Demo instead of expecting a convention-demo order.
For an object task, identify four states: the item before interaction, the target location, the action that commits the move, and the result that confirms completion. Finish one object cycle before touching several others. If a dragged object springs back, release it, check whether another step is active, and approach the highlighted target again.
Do not confuse an ordinary apartment observation with an Angel Passport reward. The Passport advances when the game presents a sticker after a meaningful shared event. Inspecting a PHS, virtual pet, television, magazine, or other period object can add context without granting a collectible.
Earn money only for the next useful decision
The Demo connects home piecework to living expenses, purchases, and time spent with Reina. When work becomes available, read its own instruction screen and complete one accurate cycle. The capsule activity uses object assembly and submission; bead work uses a shown pattern. Their result logic is not interchangeable.
Record the money shown before and after the task. Public event impressions do not establish a permanent payout, timer, or optimal farming route for the October Demo. Your current result screen is the reliable number for the build you are playing.
Before spending, identify the scene’s immediate need. Reserve enough for that need, then consider optional food, objects, or outings. If you spend too freely, return to an available piecework choice rather than assuming the story is blocked. The money guide explains this loop without inventing prices.
Navigate outings and activity changes
Shibuya segments change the presentation from the apartment. Use the arrival point and one visible landmark to orient yourself, then move toward the destination named by the scene. Rain98 presents specific areas and activities; it is not documented as a seamless open-world Tokyo where every blocked street hides a route.
An outing may lead into another interaction style, including rhythm play or an object-based minigame. Spend the first attempt learning what the visual cue expects. A low score is recoverable; guessing a control map from a different rhythm game is not. If prompts alternate between devices, disconnect the unused controller or remapper and relaunch with one input baseline.
Money, activities, and stickers can occur in one narrative chain, but they remain separate results. Piecework can pay cash, cash can enable an outing, and a completed shared moment can produce a Passport sticker. Never assume one automatically guarantees the next.
Recognize the Chapter 2 stopping point
The developer describes the public Demo as the beginning of the story through the first half of Chapter 2. A future Demo update is planned to add the chapter’s second half, but that material is not part of the currently announced launch build until an official update says it has shipped.
Near the boundary, continue through the available scene rather than searching menus for a hidden chapter. An unresolved emotional or story beat is consistent with a preview ending. Do not download an unofficial patch, substitute files from an event build, or edit a save to force a continuation.
The developer has said players should be able to continue from their reached point when the Demo itself expands. That is not a promise that AppID 3738760 saves will transfer to base AppID 3498720. Keep the products and their future save behavior separate.
Recover from a blocked route
No hotspot responds
Re-read the latest line, return to the current camera position, and look for the object named by the request. Finish any open dialogue first.
A task will not register
Complete one item from source to destination. Release any held object, verify its state, and use the in-game retry before restarting the chapter.
You cannot afford the visible goal
Check for an available apartment piecework choice. Compare the displayed balance and result rather than following an old preview's payout.
Input prompts keep switching
Close external remappers, disconnect duplicate devices, choose one input method, and relaunch the official Demo through Steam.
The story stops in Chapter 2
That is the current public boundary. Confirm future additions through the official Updates page instead of treating the stop as missing files.
Exit through the game menu after a scene transition, then wait for Steam Cloud synchronization before opening the Demo on another PC. For a first playthrough, preserve the story’s pace: solve the active task, fund the next visible choice, and let the Demo reveal its own stopping point.