Plenty of debate has taken place over whether Heavy Rain is a “game” or not, and I’m here to say that the thought never crossed my mind during my experience playing it. The music, visuals, story and choices were all so immersive that I didn’t care about the debate. While there are no requirements of Counter Strike-level reaction times for the prompts, it certainly gave enough urgency for me to actually care about what was going on (plus some seriously messed up consequences for missing a button cue).
If you happened to miss this on the PS3, and you’re a fan of murder mysteries, this is one for you. When I played it, I had some friends over that were into it as well, and it was actually a lot of fun to play together as they told me what they thought I should do in each intense scenario. In fact, we set aside a weekly Heavy Rain night until we all finished it together. That was a solid way to do it, much like you’d have friends over for a weekly show when Netflix doesn’t provide the whole season for you.
For an intriguing story, amazing visuals even on the PS3, a masterful soundtrack by the late Normand Corbeil, and the ambition to create an interactive experience like this regardless of the debate, I salute Quantic Dream for this brilliant execution in storytelling.
Heavy Rain can be purchased for $29.99 on PSN, and as a bundle with Quantic Dream’s other fantastic production Beyond: Two Souls, the total comes to $39.99.
