![]() The game famously had some supernatural elements that were removed late in the development process, which likely would have helped to close a few of these gaps. This becomes an issue when rampant plot holes start to emerge. These all feel like characters and moments we’ve seen before, remixed into a homage to noir and thrillers, but lacking any real coherence. These two early scenes establish a tone that carries throughout the game. It’s the kind of scene a slasher film would use to establish the story’s antagonist, but Cage uses it to introduce a central character – and it doesn’t work. She wakes up to take a shower (as if that’s what people do when they can’t sleep), then is attacked and murdered by two men in masks. Without any context as to who she is or why we’re there, Madison wakes up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep. Later, one of the other protagonists, journalist Madison Paige, is introduced no less crudely. This aggressive introduction handily sets up the famous absurdity of the following scene. ![]() It does this with every trick in the book, from over-saturated colors to cloying sentimentality as he plays with his children in the backyard. Ostensibly a tutorial section to teach the player about the game’s basic mechanics, it mostly serves to aggressively underline how happy this guy’s life is before it takes a telegraphed turn south. We open on the idyllic life of husband and father Ethan Mars. Right off the bat Heavy Rain has the emotional subtlety of a bullhorn. Heavy Rain is a game that desperately wants to be a movie, but it fails as both. ![]() Like The Room, Heavy Rain has more than its fair share of memeable moments if you’re willing to go along for the ride, but boy, can it be a slog to get there. On some level I must applaud David Cage just for making a game so different and purely narrative-focused in the AAA space, however misguided his experiment may seem a lot of the time. At times, it’s more like a bad noir thriller fan film you need to click your way through. It’s less clear how he feels about games, however, since at times Heavy Rain barely qualifies. Cage is obviously a lover of cinema, with clear allusions to a wide variety of classic films throughout the game. Heavy Rain is also at odds with its own medium. Heavy Rain has more than its fair share of memeable moments if you’re willing to go along for the ride.
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