Reviews:
Polygon: 9.5/10
“Rakuen gives full range to the power of its truth. It’s thoughtful, beautiful, sad and funny. It presents itself as a childlike narrative game, but it offers unsettling and affirming truths about the way we live. I feel privileged to have spent time with its characters, with their weaknesses and their strengths. This is an extraordinary game.”
Rock Paper Shotgun: RPS Recommended
“The result is something enchanting. I haven’t felt so swept away by a world in so long, and was utterly compelled to explore it as deeply as I could.”
IndieObscura – “Editor’s Choice”
“And after completing the game, I truly do feel it’s a creative masterpiece.”
GameStar: 87/100 (Gold-Award, Extraordinary Story Award)
Hey Poor Player: 5/5
The Zombie Chimp: 93%
Spawn Point (Australian Television Show): 4.5/5
CGMagazine: 9.5/10
Teamnerd: 10/10
RPGFan: 87%
Boston Bastard Brigade: 4.5/5
Geeklyng: 8.5/10
4players.de: 88/100
PC Indie Master Race: 9.5/10
Selected Articles and Interviews:
Rakuen is one of the best storytelling games of 2017
-SaveorQuit.com
Why I Just Let Go and Cried — Thoughts on Rakuen
-Roberto Villegas, Medium
Death is Not the End in Rakuen
-Jonathan Campoverde, GameChurch
Rakuen Review – Coping with Misfortune
-Imtiaz Ahmed, PowerBombAttack
High Scores: How Laura Shigihara Created “Rakuen” and its Soundtrack
-Casey Jarman, Bandcamp
Composer and director of Rakuen on crafting an evocative soundtrack
-Joel Couture, Gamasutra
‘Rakuen’ Has Heapings of Heart
-Aditya Prakash, The Emory Wheel
Indie Spotlight: Rakuen “Worldbuilding via musical design”
-Meghann O’Neill, PC PowerPlay
Rakuen: The Empathy Simulator (German)
-Florian Zandt, Superlevel.de
A Beautiful Story About a Sick Boy and his Mum
-William Kirk, GameCloud
Rakuen – Interview with Laura Shigihara (Italian/English)
-Nayru, TeamNerd
Podcasts/Video Interviews & Reviews:
(For links to Let’s Plays and other videos, see the “Video” section)
Sunder Video Interview
Rakuen, Potential Game of the Year (The Portly Gamer)
Game Church Podcast
GeeklyNg Podcast
RPG Grinders Podcast
Project Rakuen 
I don’t think a trailer has ever moved me and made me so excited for a game as this one has. Everything I’ve ever seen from you has always been a breathtaking and beautiful masterpiece. And I just know that this will be like everything else you’ve worked on. Amazing. Phenomenal. Magical. I cannot wait to see this project in full bloom!
This game is exceptional. Its a proof that games can be works of art like literature for example.