Don't remember exactly when I played this.

Heavy Rain

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After having recently beaten Detroit: Become Human and absolutely loving it, I decided to check out Quantic Dream's previous entry, Heavy Rain. This game was widely praised for its storytelling and unique gameplay when it came out, so I was curious to see if it still holds up today.

Story

You play as multiple characters throughout the game, but the story centres around Ethan Mars searching for his son, who has been abducted by the Origami Killer. It becomes a race against time to save him as you try to uncover the killer's identity. I find the plot engaging but there are some inconsistencies and questionable narrative decisions especially with the reveal at the end. Compared to Detroit: Become Human, which felt more polished and cohesive, Heavy Rain shows its age in its storytelling. That said, Heavy Rain still delivers emotional moments and tension which Quantic Dream is well known for.

Visuals

Heavy Rain looked impressive for its time, but it does show its age now. Character models and facial animations can feel stiff or odd at times. It does not take away from the gameplay experience and I personally have a soft spot for PS3 era graphics.

Audio

The soundtrack does a great job enhancing tense or emotional scenes. Voice acting performances were great but could feel awkward or unnatural at times. This is especially noticeable when triggering characters' inner thoughts which can sometimes break immersion.

Gameplay

Heavy Rain plays as an interactive drama where you switch between different characters' perspective. You interact by performing actions highlighted on screen and in some cases, performing a series of quick time events. Depending on your choices throughout the game, your playable character may die and your choices can affect the ending. Controls feel janky and do not hold up as much as I had hoped. Some interactions can feel more frustrating than immersive.

Difficulty

This isn't a particularly difficult game, but the challenge comes from making the right choices and reacting quickly during QTEs. Some prompts appear very quickly and when combined with awkward button placements, certain segments can feel frustrating.

Overall

Heavy Rain is still a playable game and worth experiencing despite its flaws. While it hasn't aged as well, I would still recommend it for its story and the impact it had on the narrative-driven genre.

My first David Cage game, Heavy Rain was gifted to me. The game is short, certainly, but also concise and that matters more. The story is exactly as long as it needs to be. With several main endings and twenty-two epilogues, there's a lot to revisit.

The voice acting isn't stellar and the controls are very dated, but we play for the story.