Video Game Review #533: Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain

PlayStation 3

Nostalgia Factor:

I want to say that I've always been a fan of Heavy Rain, but that's not technically true. I first played it back in 2010, when I downloaded a demo of it on my PS3. My initial reaction was: "this game is all quick time events? No thank you." I don't think I even finished the demo before I turned the game off and uninstalled it.

I came back to it in 2012 after a few friends insisted that it was a good game and that I'd like it. I bought a cheap copy of the game at a used game store and gave it a second chance. My friends were right: I loved it! I played through the entire game in a weekend. I played through it one more time in 2014, and I again found that I really liked it. That was the last time I picked up Heavy Rain.

It has been ten years and I've been getting the urge to play through it again so I can review it for this blog. So here we are. Does the game still hold up?

Sure does. Keep reading for my full analysis.

Story:

Heavy Rain follows the investigation of the Origami serial killer from the perspective of four different characters. First one is Ethan, the father of a boy who has been taken by the Origami Killer. He must undergo a series of Saw-like trials in order to get clues to the boy's location. Next character is Madison, a journalist who crosses paths with Ethan and gets pulled into the action. Next character is Scott, a private investigator who is going around interviewing the parents of previous Origami Killer victims. Last but not least is Jayden, an FBI agent who has been sent in to investigate the killings.

Throughout the course of the game, the paths of the character's occasionally intertwine, with Madison and Ethan spending the most time together. The final chapter brings everyone together in a big climax of the events. Well, I suppose that depends on the actions you took as you played the game. Different decisions impact the events of the game. Some characters can even be killed permanently.

The whole game has a brooding atmosphere to it, like Silence of the Lambs and Seven, among other serial killer movies and TV shows. If this sounds like your kind of thing, you will probably like this game. If you can get over the gameplay, that is.

Gameplay:

This is what will make or break the game for most people: the gameplay. Now, I know that is true with most games, but it really applies here. Some people just simply can't play this game, for a myriad of reasons. One of those reasons is tank controls. Now, I personally have never had a problem with tank controls, but a lot of people do. To move, you have to hold the R2 button and point your character in the direction you want them to move, and then press up. You can turn your body to move in that direction while holding up. You can also press down to walk backwards.

Besides the tank controls, another potential tripping point for players is the game's Quick Time Events. A button flashes up on the screen, and you have to hit the corresponding button correctly on the controller in the brief amount of time allotted. If you are too slow or hit the wrong button, you could potentially do something that makes you fail a mission. Action sequences often consist of rapid fire QTEs. This is a story based game, so if you miss a prompt it could have dire circumstances. In my playthrough for this review, it actually resulted in the death of one of my characters.

The last tripping point goes hand in hand with the QTEs - the motion controls. You sometimes have to jerk the controller in a particular direction during an action sequence. If you are too slow or jerk in the wrong direction, there are once again consequences. Sometimes you have to twist the controller, like you are holding a steering wheel. I miss these all the time, for seemingly no reason at all. I often got mad and would be like "I did it right! Why did it say I got it wrong?!"

When you aren't doing Quick Time Events, you mainly just walk around and interact with the environment. This is essentially a police procedural, so you will spend time collecting evidence and talking to people while trying to uncover the identity of the Origami Killer. You can press buttons to hear your characters thoughts as you are doing so. You also spend time doing mundane, everyday things like changing your clothes, dancing, brushing your teeth, pushing a kid on a swing, and changing a baby's diaper (really). Like I said, this game is not for everyone. Oh, you can even have sex at one point in the game if you really want to. 

If you can get past all this, and you like true crime/serial killer stories, you should enjoy this game. The story, while filled with plot holes, is enjoyable enough and keeps things moving at a brisk pace. The actions you take can effect the outcome of the game. I think there is something like 20 endings. That gives the game great replay value. I've played through this game three times now, and each time I've gone down a different path in some way or another.

Graphics:

I think this game looks fantastic, especially considering it is almost 15 years old now. The character models look very lifelike. The environments are are fantastic. Many of the game's settings look like real life locations. I like the dark, brooding atmosphere of the game. Sometimes the camera will split and show you multiple things happening onscreen at one time, or maybe the same scene from multiple different perspectives. Very Hitchcockian. I like it.

I've seen a lot of people online saying that this game has not aged well visually, and I couldn't possibly disagree more. I think an updated version of the game, while it would look good, would only be marginally better than what we see here. For a game that is two console generations in the past, I think that is very impressive.

Sound:

I feel like I'm doing nothing but oohing and aahing over this game, but it is not undeserved. The game sounds great! The music is atmospheric and very brooding. Sounds like something pulled straight from a true crime movie. The constant patter of the rain adds to the oppressive feeling that permeates the game.

The voice acting for the most part is pretty good. There are some exceptions where the delivery is unnatural or stilted. And of course, Ethan shouting "Jason!" has become an Internet meme. But overall, I enjoyed the voice acting and found it to be pretty believable.

Overall:

In case you could not tell, I enjoyed this game. It is right up my alley. Dark, gritty, cinematic. Feels like The Bone Collector or Seven at times. It has a compelling story that constantly moves forward and keeps you wanting to see what will happen next. I enjoy the different paths you can take, and all the different endings. It did not strike me till after the game ended, but this is the first time I played through this game as a dad. Fatherhood and the lengths that a parent will take to protect his child is a major theme in this game, and it resonated with me big time.

As I was first playing through this game, I kept thinking: man, this is perfect. I'm going to give this game an A+. Although I enjoyed the game from beginning to end, the score started to sink a little bit the more I played it. There are some flaws to be found here. There are also a few points where the wheels seem to get stuck in the mud. The Jayden sequences where you collect evidence and look at files were the lowlight of the game, in my opinion. I also became frustrated by the motion controls not properly registering at times. 

That said, I still like this game. I'm still going to give it a great score. But it is not a perfect game.

Should you play Heavy Rain? Hell yeah. If you haven't, what are you waiting for? If you tried it in the past, and were put off by the odd controls, I implore you to come back and give it another shot. Heck, I myself did not like this game the first time I played it. And now it is one of my favorite PS3 games.

THE GRADE:

A

For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click

>HERE<