It’s time for another Retro Ad Replay article! This is the series where we take a trip back in time to reminisce and celebrate the anniversary of some of the most significant moments in gaming. If you find yourself hungry for more content like this, be sure to visit Mandatory.com.
In this February 23 edition of Retro Ad Replay, we’re traveling back 10 years to when Heavy Rain first launched. Launching first on PS3 on February 23, 2010, the game was eventually remastered for PS4 (March 2016) and PC (June 2019).
Developed by Quantic Dream, Heavy Rain is an interactive drama, which has players influencing the actions of characters through various button prompts (quick time events). Often, players have to make tough decisions under time constraints, with incorrect choices punishing the game’s protagonists. With a child’s life on the line and a serial killer on the loose, danger lurks around every corner and consequences can be dire.
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The GameRevolution Heavy Rain review awarded the game an above average 3.5/5, saying that the game is “refreshingly unique,” a “high concept drama,” boasting a “complex branching story,” and “realistic graphics and set modeling.” However, “too many insignificant actions,” the need to push buttons to walk, and inexplicable absence of umbrellas docked points.
Here’s a snippet from the GR review:
HEAVY RAIN is an inspiration board of editorials waiting to be written. It is entertaining without being “fun” and explores the assumptions players make as a spectator and a participant, the extent at which literary drama can interconnect with games, and the uncharted space far beyond mainstream gaming. For navigating through all of these waters and producing an experience that is stirringly unique, that comes as close as ever to a true “interactive story”, it is to be commended. Even if you come to oppose everything it stands for – and understandably so – HEAVY RAIN needs to be played.
As for what’s next from developer Quantic Dream: we recently reported on how it will no publish its own games, which makes it more likely for future releases to launch across all major platforms. If you’re an Xbox owner who feels like you’re missing out, then you’ll be happy to hear this news!
Check out the launch trailer of the Heavy Rain PS4 remaster embedded below:
