In Defense of Heavy Rain

This is not one of my usual “How I stopped worrying...” pieces. I never had to stop worrying. I am someone who genuinely loved Heavy Rain from the get go. For me, despite the slightly awkward control scheme, it was a game that did so many things so very right that so many other games don’t even come close to. It’s a mature crime thriller with no (well, just a little) bullshit to it. It was straightforward, hugely enjoyable, and tackled a lot of different difficult themes and motifs successfully. Well, at least that’s my take on it, and I am aware that many people will disagree.

In Heavy Rain, every action of the player has a reaction from the game, but none are instant, and most are quite ambiguous. Which, for all intents and purposes of a crime thriller, makes Heavy Rain the far superior game.

What’s most impressive to me about Heavy Rain is it’s opaqueness when it comes to player decisions. A lot of other games throw in meters for all kinds of statuses. Karma. Good vs. evil. Standing towards certain characters. None of these are present in Heavy Rain, though the game indeed does feature mechanics that could be put right in the players’ face all the time. But they are not. Heavy Rain’s underlying mechanics can’t be gamed like that of any ordinary RPG. A certain amount of “gaming the stats” is still possible to some degree, but the outcome of that gaming lacks any direct statistical feedback—which is something a lot of other games should be doing. Less feedback, especially for a game like this, means the player has to work with what’s on screen. Character reactions, story outcomes and the like. It’s not possible to rely on some arbitrary statistical numbers to tell the player where the character stands between cackling evil and halo-bearing good. Thereby, the reactions allow for a much more nuanced approach to each encounter. This is all for the better, as it leads to a purer gaming experience without a meta-level.

The opposite of Heavy Rain’s positives in this regard is LA Noire. Every reaction of the player is provided with instant, unambiguous feedback from the game. In Heavy Rain, every action of the player has a reaction from the game, but none are instant, and most are quite ambiguous. Which, for all intents and purposes of a crime thriller, makes Heavy Rain the far superior game.

Also, Heavy Rain is much better in handling it’s overall subject matter. Yes, there are fight scenes, even some where guns are used by the player characters, but the overall bodycount of the game is almost “realistically” low. There are no sudden big shootouts with dozens of goons the player has to mow down only to then be shaken up by having to shoot some single named character a few missions later. Therefore, it’s a poster child for my plea for games with low bodycounts to topple ludonarrative dissonances of the Uncharted kind. Heavy Rain proves that it’s possible to successfully tell a mature story without the player character killing more people in the first level than Charlton Heston did in his whole screen career.

Heavy Rain proves that it’s possible to successfully tell a mature story without the player character killing more people in the first level than Charlton Heston did in his whole screen career.

I admit the overall writing might be at best on par with an episode of CSI, and that this is not where we should stop calling for more mature stories and better writing in games. But that’s not my point. The plot and writing of Heavy Rain are serviceable, grown up and good enough to have kept me going through the game and loving every minute of it. Yes, while Madison might be one of gaming’s stronger females, it was a bit ham fisted to have her run around in her underwear and have an exploitative shower scene the first time we see her. It’s not a game without its share of flaws. However in the bigger picture, there is no game like it, and far too few games that even try the things director David Cage has tried here.

Many people complain that the writing and off the beat voice acting were too weak to get them engaged with the characters enough. I didn’t have these problems, but maybe that’s just my personal superior ability to suspend my disbelief in favor of a great gaming experience.

Whatever the failings of Heavy Rain, it’s a game that as a whole has to be lauded for trying things differently, and more importantly, for proving that games that don’t feature gruff, male heroes gunning their way through the story actually work and sell.

I for one keep hoping that not only David Cage will keep up going down this path, but that other game developers take note and follow suit.

That said, I hope they won't do it just by having heavily context sensitive cutscenes like the ones shown in the concept trailer to the upcoming Rainbow Six game. There are lessons to be learned for the whole industry from this game. But this is not quite it.