Video games in a nutshell

It’s hard to classify Heavy Rain‘s genre with other mainstream games.

I was only ever able to answer questions about the plot and the way it plays out with a non-committal “You press buttons as things happen and that can change the course of the game.”

Most often, I was met with blank stares and a snarky “Isn’t that how you play any game?” Well…yes, yes it is.

But Heavy Rain is different.

The only games I can think of similar to Heavy Rain are Indigo Prophecy (also designed by French design studio Quantic Dream) and the Shenmue series.

These types of games are unique in that a control exists for walking around the environment, but all the other controls are determined by pressing a prompted button to interact with an item or perform an action.

Rather than always having the circle button correspond to jumping, for example, circle could pop up in a brawl for a brief second to keep your character from being punched in the face. Or as you’re running down a muddy hill to keep you from slipping face first into the mud.

Controls are sometimes pressure-sensitive for scenes where delicate attention is necessary (like rubbing antiseptic on a wound). Many times, there aren’t immediate consequences for your actions if you fail minor tasks, but the game won’t tell you what actions are extremely important or insignificant.

My favorite were the actions that required concentration, lifting or pushing, as they’d require a Twister-esque combination of controller button presses–let up just one button before the duration is met and you fail the action and must start over.

When flames are building inside your upturned car, or you’re crawling around live transformers and electrical currents, the concept of failing immediately kicks your adrenaline into overdrive.

…Which brings me to my next point: I’ve never sweat as much while playing a game as I did with Heavy Rain.

The characters are just so diverse and fairly well developed that I found myself caring more than I expected. The game focuses on four main characters:

1. Scott Shelby–A slightly older (If I recall, around 50) private eye investigating the deaths of children murdered by the enigmatic Origami Killer. Gets himself into trouble all the time, but surprisingly compassionate and helpful.
2. Madison Paige–Enters the game a little later than the other characters. A 28-year-old journalist with insomnia problems and a knack for finding danger. Also very compassionate and a bit naive.
3. Norman Jayden–A younger FBI Investigator on the trail of the Origami Killer. Drug problems, a hot head and a drive for justice makes him a force to be reckoned with. Also makes him pretty self-destructive.
4. Ethan Mars–Extremely depressed father of 1 deceased and 1 kidnapped son. Blames himself for pretty much everything that happened to his kids, but is willing to do anything he must to save his living son, Shaun from the Origami Killer. Relatively fatalistic with a bleak outlook on the world, he figures he has nothing to lose which makes him capable of some ridiculous feats.

At any point while controlling the characters the player can press the L2 button to bring up a list of thoughts that reveal more about each characters’ views and opinions. This function also provides hints about ways to interact with the environment.

Interestingly enough, depending on the selected character’s mood and circumstance, the dialogue options can literally become more frantic to select. The choices whirl about your head like electrons around an atom, with thoughts corresponding to buttons on the controller.

In a killer’s house searching for clues? Bring up the thought option and they’ll whirl around blurred and crazy. Try to open a door into a back room and don’t know what waits behind it? The button command to open the door will also shake on the screen to indicate your character’s apprehension.

Everything fits thematically here. The musical score is phenomenal and suits the mood perfectly. The result of Quantic Dream’s years of development is a masterwork of storytelling, grim atmosphere and tense gameplay. While the gameplay lasts around 9-10 hours, the story lasts just long enough to warrant another playthrough to see what other endings your choices can affect.

I didn’t like how the game ended on my first playthrough, so I played it again and landed one with which I was ultimately much happier. The chapters are available to play through specific scenes, which also means you don’t have to start from the beginning on the second or third playthrough.

This comes highly recommended from, well, me. But trust me when I say that games don’t generally affect me as much as this one did. I was yelling, sliding to the edge of my seat, and rooting for the characters the whole way.