Reviewing a game like Heavy Rain isn’t an easy task. Heavy Rain isn’t the type of game you see often these days. In fact, you might not see a game like it unless, Quantic Dream the company behind this game announces a sequel (which is highly unlikely in my opinion) or a game that follows the same design structure of Heavy Rain. Before I go on with my review, let me ask you some questions: Have you ever played Indigo Prophecy (or Fahrenheit)? If yes, did you enjoy it? Do you want to play a game with good story and great atmosphere, but with absolutely minimal gameplay elements? Depending on your answers, Heavy Rain might be the perfect game for you or it might be the exact opposite.
 
 

Going deeply in the story of the game will absolutely ruin the experience for who is willing to play the game, so I will just cover the basics here. The game revolves around four normal people and the mysterious killer (the origami killer). There are four different playable characters in the game so you will see the game’s story from their different perspectives. For some reason, those characters stories are interconnected for a certain purpose.
 

The game starts very slowly, and in my opinion, it’s a good choice that the developers made the first hours of the game like this. This isn’t a shooter or an action game, Heavy Rain is all about the characters, the setting and the atmosphere. So it’s very important to build up the characters personalities and the atmosphere from the outset. Heavy Rain’s story is emotional and unique, but truth to be told, the game’s story isn’t perfect nor it’s flawlessly executed. What does make the story stand out is how unique and different it is from other stories in the videogames medium. The story isn’t about saving the world or something like that, it’s about the emotions, the characters and it’s also about themes such as love and sacrifice.
 

Heavy Rain plays similar to Quantic Dream’s previous game Indigo Prophecy (or Fahrenheit). Though, the game uses a different and unique control scheme. You have to hold the trigger button to move forward and the left analog stick to move the character left or right. The right analog stick is used to interact with the environment. Yeah, you will get confused from the controls at first, but with time, you will get used to it. Quick time events do play a big role in the game. Is that a bad thing? Not really. The developers of the game did a great job in making quick time events fun by implementing the Sixaxis successfully. They also added some depth to the formula, by forcing you to press/charge a combination of buttons simultaneously.
 
 

The developers at Quantic Dream had tried their best to give the players a cinematic feel, but at the price of not giving the players the best possible camera angle. It’s an issue, but it doesn’t ruin the experience by any means. The visuals looks great, but not perfect. The characters faces are finely detailed, but clothes, hands and especially some objects in the environment aren’t as detailed as you would hope. Though, the game has stunning rain effect and exceptional art direction.
 

Voice acting is great, but sometimes it doesn’t reach the highest standards. Also, there is some Lip syncing issues. The game has great soundtrack as it really enhances the emotional experience you get from the story and it perfectly fits what happens on the screen. Although the game encourages the player to replay the final chapters of the game so to see how the story conclude at the end, there is no reason to return back to the game after you see the different endings of the game.
 

It’s obvious that the developers at Quantic Dream wanted from the beginning to create something closer to movies than to a videogame in Heavy Rain. Despite the lack of replay value and some presentation issues, Quantic Dream has created something refreshing and unique. Heavy Rain is certainly a great step forward in the medium of interactive storytelling.
 
 

Score: (8.5/10)