Rakuen, Laura Shigihara’s cute, sweet adventure game about a hospitalized boy, is in a playable beta state. Shigihara is running a closed beta to get information and feedback from players, and there are still a few spaces left for players who wish to get involved and play the game early.
Interested players should sign up by sending an email to rakuenbeta at gmail. There are only a few open spots, so players should hurry and get in contact.
With the beta release, Shigihara has also said that she will be pushing to get the game shipped. This will also mean more contests and videos on the game’s site, as well as more updates on music and story.
Rakuen stars a hospitalized boy, his mother reading stories to him about a magical world known as Morizora’s Forest. The boy wishes to set off on his own adventure in this magcal world, and along the way, gets to better know his fellow patients in the hospital. By helping them, the boy “deals with questions about empathy, hope, and what it means to leave behind a legacy by coming to terms with your own story.”
