Heavy Rain review

Here's my review of Heavy Rain for the Irish Times...

So here it is, covered by an umbrella of hype and hyperbole. Is Heavy Rain an overflowing success, or a washout?

Mixing elements of a role-playing game and film noir, Heavy Rain is a strange animal, probably best described as an interactive drama. You play Ethan, a young man who seems to have it all: two cute sons, a good job (as an architect, presumably before the property crash) and a pretty wife. However, almost as soon as the game sets up this suburban existence, one of Ethan’s sons is killed in a car accident. Not long afterwards, his other one goes missing. Could this be the work of The Origami Killer, a serial murderer who’s still at large?

Controlling Ethan, as well as an FBI agent, a Good Samaritan photographer and a private investigator, you must shepherd the characters of Heavy Rain to its conclusion.

Heavy Rain is nothing if not atmospheric. The pleasant, almost Sims-like opening scenes, bursting with primary colours, are almost satirically upbeat, but soon give way to rain-drenched urban noir. Ethan et al are dragged into a dark odyssey of ugly confrontations and difficult moral decisions. Ethan especially is forced to ask himself how far he would go for the one he loves, and you must decide how much he can ethically and physically compromise himself for the sake of his son.


The strongest aspect of Heavy Rain, apart from its fabulous music score, is its moral complexity. Unlike the vast majority of games, players are asked to ponder the repercussions of their actions and are urged to fire their guns only as a last resort. Given a multiple choice of statements and questions, they push the investigation forward, endear themselves to some characters and alienate others, often with ramifications for the finale of the game.

The acting is well above average for a game, not spectacular by film standards, but the storyline is rather compelling, like a pulp novel you can’t put down. The controls leave a bit to be desired though; while sometimes they make the mundane tasks, like brushing your teeth, rather fun, other simple actions like walking around a room are needlessly pernickety.

Heavy Rain uses a comforting, almost quaint set of film clichés, including the suave-but-troubled FBI agent and the crumpled private detective. Using such recognisable archetypes is a bonus, not a flaw, because it’s fun to be able to control the outcome of such a familiar milieu. The dialogue ranges from the entertainingly hard-boiled (“Your vast experience hasn’t prevented seven people from being killed!”) to the embarrassingly expository (“A hot shower, that’ll recreate the magic of sleep”).



Heavy Rain can often feel truly immersive, with shot compositions and an appearance that could stand shoulder to shoulder with nearly any beloved film noir. There are some fabulous visual flourishes: a rainbow appears briefly during a hopeful moment, light struggles to break through monsoons and clouds when characters are confused, sometimes Brian de Palma-style split-screens show multiple camera angles at once.

The developers of Heavy Rain have worked in some imaginative little taunts for the player as well. One scene, for example, has an exit door sprayed with the word ‘coward’ for those who want to avoid one unsavoury task. In fact, Heavy Rain is almost sadistic to its characters, including having one poor soul blackmailed into self-mutilation.

Though some dialogue and game-play kinks might have been ironed out, Heavy Rain is addictive and truly original, utterly distinct from just about every other game preceding it. Draw the curtains, dim the lights, and enjoy.