The soundtrack is, in my opinion, one of the finest from this decade. Quantic Dream’s gloomy brown world is atmospheric and grimly beautiful in places.
Heavy rain review Ps4#
This PC port is of the remastered Ps4 version, so it has aged a bit better than it might have, plus decent PC settings make it shine just that little bit brighter. Still, the game is looking lovely even after 9 years. The writing in Heavy Rain, and indeed the plot as a result of it, is a confused, unfocused mess of strands that are supposed to smartly connect, but instead, look more like a plate of spaghetti got tipped unceremoniously into the bin You’ve probably noticed a recurring theme here. His arc could have been something special if handled properly, but alas, the gaping holes in logic and the writing means we see a missed opportunity on a grand scale. A caring, seemingly selfless man always out to try and help those less fortunate.
Gumshoe Scott Shelby is the most endearing and well-written of the four. Never is that truer than when we go through the story of the fourth protagonist. Despite the issues with her presentation, she starts out quite interesting, but as is the case with all four characters, the unraveling plot scuppers all good intentions by the end. She’s treated as eye candy, made to endure the nastiest and ickiest situations of the four, and coming back to that sex scene, she loses any shred of agency or personality as a character the moment that it occurs (or doesn’t, you don’t actually have to go through with it mercifully unless you want to see every outcome). Madison Paige is our third character and if any character feels like they’re in a particularly skeezy Giallo, it’s Madison. Using it too much drastically effects Norman’s story outcome, but don’t let that stop you as the detective bits are probably the most enjoyable part of being Norman Jayden, who is otherwise the least interesting character of the four. He’s on the hunt for the Origami Killer, and has an addiction problem of sorts in his augmented reality visor that he uses for connecting evidence (it’s basically a nonsense thing, but gives us some cool visuals). Is it all a manifestation of Ethan’s guilt? Are the blackouts Ethan has clues to what’s going on? Sadly the revelations are not as satisfying as they could have been, but the build is good. There’s some nicely done ambiguity about why his son was chosen. The ‘dare’ to drive the wrong way in traffic is still intense, and every sacrifice he’s asked to make carries some weight. The character has been the subject of many a meme (Press X to Jason) and plenty of ridicule (the aforementioned hilarious sex scene and the daffy logic behind it, but he has a compelling story, and some of the game’s best set pieces.
Heavy rain review serial#
The game centers on four characters who are seemingly connected by their hunt for a notorious serial killer.įirstly, there’s Dad of the Year Ethan Mars, who having tragically lost one son already, finds his other son kidnapped by the Origami Killer, and now must face a series of Saw-esque challenges to rescue him. It’s almost got a Giallo quality to it, and with an entertaining branching story, where there are some meaningful consequences among the hilarious sex scenes and odd accents, Heavy Rain is still pretty good as a spectacle, eccentricities and all.įor those who didn’t get to sample the Euro cheese goodness first time around, a brief explanation. The answer is largely no, it cannot, but there’s still a hokey charm to Heavy Rain that ensures its increasingly dated core matters about as much as the plot to a cult cheapo 80’s horror would. The thing is, 9 years have passed, and storytelling and presentation in big-budget gaming are arguably in a much better state overall, so heading back to Heavy Rain now surely can’t paint it in that positive a light? It was enough to forgive some of the title’s more elaborate eccentricities (also known as ruddy great flaws in its storytelling). It had the atmosphere, it had a deliciously gloomy soundtrack, and it looked pretty damn good to boot. Heavy Rain, for me, was a standout title during the PS3’s resurgence. Quantic Dreams’ PlayStation adventures head to PC, starting with serial killer thriller Heavy Rain.