Genre: Interactive Drama, Action-Adventure
Year: 2010
Developed by: Quantic Dream
Published by: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms: PS3, PS4, PC
#94
Feeling Like: Bringing an umbrella
I’m going to have to tread lightly here.
Heavy Rain is maligned and mocked around the gaming circles; it’s hokey,cheesy, and likely over extends its reach. The graphics are very 2010 and because Quantic Dream tried to go for a realistic style, they haven’t aged as well as I’d hoped. This is harmful to a game’s goal of getting you emotionally invested. The uncanny valley is lurking, especially when it comes to the character’s faces. The quick time event button pushes make up the majority of the gameplay. Upon scrutiny, the plot doesn’t hold up entirely.
It also doesn’t help that David Cage, the founder of Quantic Dream, appears to be a bit of a knob. Allegations regarding homophobia, sexism and a toxic workplace are rampant. The company won their libel suit…but it’s a murky situation, particularly since the laws in France differ from the UK, US and Canada.
While I’ve navigated a few games that have dealt with tricky subject matter like war, or portrayal of sexuality, those are kept within the confines of the product itself. I feel ill prepared to discuss the separation of art and artist, mostly because I haven’t made up my mind. Do I like hearing about frequent sexual harassment lawsuits from major developers? Absolutely not, particularly since I work in the industry so I’m sensitive to hearing about workplace malpractices. Learning how the sausage is made removes a bit of the magic, but understanding how emotionally crippling the industry can be is downright depressing. I lean towards consuming entertainment regardless of how awful the artist was. But then I draw the line in the sand in very arbitrary places. I won’t listen to any Lost Prophets music, but I still enjoy Michael Jackson songs. Orson Scott Card is a massive homophobe, yet I loved Ender’s Game and consider him a very good author. I loved Beyond: Two Souls and Detroit: Become Human, but I don’t condone the type of behavior I’ve heard about.
So, what’s my stance? After about 15 years of considering this matter seriously, I still don’t have an answer. Heavy Rain even being on the 500 may offend some people, others may scoff at the fact at how much I enjoyed it. I can’t apologize for that, but I do understand any consternation – maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place. I’ll keep trying and keep learning. In the end, this is a video game blog and what can I say? I loved Heavy Rain. I really did.
If you’ve been paying attention, narrative games are my jam. I like the focus on dialogue and characters, rather than gameplay and action. It’s nice to have a break – I don’t think I’d go all-in on these types of games and play twelve a year or anything. Still, not having to worry about where to invest my skill points, or bashing my head against a wall while trying to figure out a solution to a puzzle is a relief.
Heavy Rain invoked all the stuff I liked about police procedurals, and mysteries. Interesting characters, a clear motivation. Tortured souls. A grim atmosphere. A storm has hit the town, and everybody is put on edge. There’s a serial killer on the loose. I suppose a child being put in danger is a cheap way to get me invested, but it alwyas works. The Origami killer is a worthy adversary and revealing their identity was one of the great twists I’ve enjoyed in gaming.
I can’t be the only one who liked it – it has an 87 on MetaCritic. Maybe it was a product of its time, or it was the first big budget narrative game we’d seen in a very long time. Using the controller to mimic cutting off a finger, or crawling through a vent filled with glass, or swerving to avoid oncoming traffic would be pedestrian stuff in a Grand Theft Auto, but the stakes feel so much higher here, so these segments hit me hard. I winced when I failed, I cringed at the gruesome portions and I frequently restarted back to checkpoints if I couldn’t handle the consequences of my actions. After all that, there was no way I was going to suffer the bad ending. My protagonists deserve a happy ending, or as happy as you can get in the world of Heavy Rain, anyway.
This is definitely one of my rougher entries, I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to properly justify putting Heavy Rain this high up, but I have to listen to my gut. I recall playing this on Grant St. on a rainy day in the fall and just couldn’t put the controller down. Each chapter ended on a mini cliffhanger, deepening the mystery. Where was the kid? Who was the Origami Killer and why were they kidnapping people? What’s the motivation behind using water to drown the victims? It’s likely aged poorly, and there are a dozen reasons why serious gamers avoid Quantic Dream games like the plague, but have mercy on me, I’ll play anything they make.
The tone is perfect, but some of the lines are right out of a B-movie. The scenarios are fascinating, but the button prompts have led to dozens of goofy memes. There are so few games on the 500 where I can point to them and say “This game is really good. Also, it’s really bad.” Quantic Dream took a big swing here and I think they mostly succeeded. I felt a deep sense of satisfaction upon rescuing Shaun, and searching for clues was far more enjoyable than it had any right to be. The soundtrack is eerie and effective, too. You can practically feel the emotional pain through the screen with Ethan’s theme.
I just wish there wasn’t so much baggage behind the scenes.
The 500 