Heavy Rain

It really scratched that itch for a story-based game which I've had for a long time. The last time I felt something similar was back in 2012 with Telltale's The Walking Dead. A really great experience even with the occasionally clunky movement controls.

Not a bad game, but far from a masterpiece.

Heavy Rain is one of those games that grips you all the way through — even if you sometimes find yourself grinding your teeth at what’s happening on screen. Overall, I liked it. But let’s be honest: the game has a lot of rough edges, especially when it comes to the writing, controls, and optimization.

Gameplay often feels less like a race to save a child’s life and more like a battle just to get your character to turn their head properly. The controls are clunky, to put it mildly — especially in high-stakes scenes where pressing a button a fraction of a second too early or too late can spell disaster. The optimization isn’t great either; it feels like the game can barely handle itself at times, especially later on. But you can live with that.

The real problem is the story. Heavy Rain wants to be a serious thriller, but more often than not, it veers into straight-up nonsense. One of the most ridiculous (and unintentionally funny, if you forget how tragic the context is) examples? Ethan, who just hours earlier had multiple broken ribs and barely survived being burned alive, suddenly has a romantic scene with Madison. Meanwhile, his son is literally dying in a storm drain at the hands of a deranged lunatic. Like… what?

That said, the segments with Norman Jayden are easily the best part of the game. They give you a break from all the constant suffering and actually let you feel like a detective. Jayden is a character you can genuinely care about, and his chapters add some much-needed breathing room to the experience.

And the whole “who’s the Origami Killer?” mystery actually works really well. You start second-guessing everyone! You end up seeing a potential villain in everyone, and that’s pretty effective.

But then... the actual reveal. God. It’s not a twist — it’s a cheap trick. Not earned, not foreshadowed, not even hinted at in a fair way. It’s just bad writing. The game lies to your face the whole time and then throws a “gotcha” moment like it's clever. It’s not. It’s manipulative. And it shows a total lack of respect for the player’s intelligence.

There are also way too many completely pointless scenes. Sure, it was 2010, and tech had its limits — but when you spend a minute and a half watching Jayden throw an imaginary ball at an imaginary wall, it stops being immersive and starts feeling like lazy filler. Even Beyond: Two Souls, which I’m not a huge fan of, doesn’t stoop to that level.

Still — for all its flaws, I liked Heavy Rain more than I didn’t. It tried to be ambitious, emotional, grown-up. It didn’t always succeed, but I respect the attempt.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to play it when it was released, and first time I played it only in 2025.
After Detroit, this game feels kinda simple, but it's still great. Just don't expect it to meet today's standards.
Anyway, 9/10, definitely recommend

Heavy Rain is an emotionally gripping interactive thriller that pulls you into a dark, suspenseful story. With strong characters, a haunting atmosphere, and choices that genuinely impact the outcome, the game keeps you on edge from start to finish. The visuals and music deepen the immersion, while the branching storyline makes every decision feel meaningful. It’s a unique, unforgettable experience that fans of narrative-driven games shouldn’t miss.

This game had a slow start but it picked up pretty quickly as soon as the first traumatic event happened. The gameplay is a bit clunky and quite simple but the storytelling and character development are excellent. The darkness and mystery it presents hooked me in and made for a great cozy game to play in the evenings after a long day.

There were some segments that I did not care for but overall the game is worth a play through. I usually dont care for QTEs but it was actually pretty entertaining in this game as long as you play on the hardest difficulty. Keeps you on edge and its pretty funny to see the result when you miss a key.

the QTE's are horrid, the graphics did NOT age well and are actually quite hilarious in some instances, and while the story isn't bad overall, it feels like Quantic Dream realized the plot line they had going was stereotypical, and switched up the ending near the end to keep you from guessing (though I found it pretty obvious)
You should play it - simply because this is the pre-cursor to Detroit Become Human - and if you've played that through, I think you'll find it interesting how the developers applied things they learned from this game, to the much better Detroit.
Have fun, you will rage at the QTE's, but my gf and I kept everyone alive on our first run. you can do it!

I need to preface that I played this on my laptop, so I had graphics on really low and still had pretty bad lag because my computer just wasn't up to it. Its also definitely not designed to be played with keyboard and mouse (I recommend that if you do you set the difficulty to "I play games ocassionally" which is the equivalent of easy). My review is based on the way I played it, but you'll have a better time on a better computer or with a controller. I did still really enjoy it and would recommend it even on laptop

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☐ Good
☑ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☑ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☑ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☐ Workable
☑ Big
☐ Will eat 15% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

---{ Author }---
☑ https://vojtastruhar.github.io/steam-review-template

One of the finest story games I have ever played.

Great writing, great structuring, great acting and beautiful visuals.

90 Minutes into the game and I was already brought to tears, and that was not by cheap low blows.

As a lover of cinema, I was also pleased to see resemblances in one way or another, to the following films:

TAXI DRIVER, Se7en, 2001 A Space Oddyssey... there were probably some more that I have missed or forgotten. Great piece of gaming.. and beautiful music.

Игра просто шикарная. Хороший баланс между сценами и необходимостью действий. Сюжет и вариативность - отличные! Для игры 2010 года это однозначно 10\10 по жанру. Русская локализация приятная, хотя видно что тогда еще не имели большого опыта в дубляже игр. Меня вовлек сюжет и я очень сопереживал героям. Рекомендую данную игру.

It doesn't play so well with a mouse and keyboard, but it's easier with a controller.

It's also more of a linear, scene-based game, with multiple endings, so you can play through it multiple times.

One of my favorite games as a kid. I was so excited to see it on Steam. I beat it in 10 hours and got the ending I've always wanted. <3 I can't wait to see the other endings I haven't seen yet. Amazing story, intense scenes, and incredibly done...especially being a PS4 game. WORTH IT.

I'm not sure if I'll ever play through the whole story myself. So far I've only got as far as the first chapter and have already quit the game a few times due to the more than frustrating controls. The controls, camera angles and movements with mouse/keyboard just feel clunky, unintuitive and unnatural. I can get used to various control problems, but in this game they spoil the fun completely for me. It may work better on the Playstation, but the PC port is just awful in that regard. I was roaming rooms in circles like an i***t, just trying to get somewhere or to get something to interact with in my line of sight. I can't judge the story and the atmosphere only rudimentarily, but what I found also very annoying, apart from the controls, was the voice acting, which i think varies between poor and just bad. I'm really curious about the story, the decision-making in the game and I would like to play it, but this is just too much to bear for me.

I played this after Detroit Become Human, so I already had an idea of the emotional rollercoaster that awaited. And oh boy, did it deliver. This narrative manages to deliver an insanely unexpected gut punch when you least expect it, and it truly forces you to consider super carefully the choices you do. This is a must play for single-player game enjoyers!

One of the greatest games of it's genre! Fabulous story with complete immersion in the atmosphere of the game. I'd recommend completing it in one gaming session for the best experience. A true classic for most and a new game that I completed for me. Thank you steam for the 90% sale XD. It is definitely a must play!!!

Overall a 7/10 game.

Pros: choices matter, quick events matter, multiple perspectives. The atmosphere is great, you can sense the mood intended of each section.

Cons: Controls are funky, voice acting isn’t good, story isn’t strong and has plot holes. Drinking straight from the orange juice carton.

It's still so fresh.

First time I touched this masterpiece around 10 years ago and I was happy af that we can play it PC nowadays. I strongly recommend it for psycho-thriller lovers and will definitely remind old players about this. It's not that beautiful or variable as future products of the studio, but it keeps atmosphere high all the way down the plot.

Dive into an unforgettable adventure with multiple endings.. And give yourself a rest. Don't forget to take your wife, she will definitely like this genre, even if she is not a fan of video games.

10/10.

Fun and interactive game, interesting and engaging story
My controller refused to take the R stick commands so I had to use a 3rd party controller config

In addition to the jank that most other reviews mention I wish to add that the game crashed 4 times in the 53min of my playtime. Playing around with the settings did not help.

Nutshell: Clunky controls, and the story left me disappointed.
Bought this for 2€ and would recommend it for that price, but not for anything more than that.

Early to mid game was intriguing and got me hooked on this game thinking about the different possibilities this game could take, but once I got to the ending it left a lot to be desired.
It almost felt like the last third of the game was rushed out in a hurry.
A lot of the questions and mysteries were left unanswered and didn't make any sense.
The controls were extremely clunky/dated and needed some changes to steam settings for it to work properly.

My save got corrupted near the end which seems to be a somewhat common problem for others too.
(Had to reload a earlier chapter that didn't crash the game as a fix)

Overall I enjoyed it for the low price of 2€, but would have felt robbed if I paid full price for this.

Heavy Rain is a game that i've been wanting to try for so many years now as i'm a huge fan of this style of games, and now that i finally finished it (and even went as far as 100%ing it), i can safely say it's still one of the best games in this genre, and is still very much worth it (to me anyways) even 15 years after the original release date!

But i also acknowledge that this genre as a whole is simply not for everyone, so let me state this now; If you hate games where all you do is alternate between making meaningful choices AND completing QTEs then you should stop reading here and completely skip his one, as you'll most likely hate it even more. (It has more QTEs than i've ever experienced in my last 5 whole years of gaming lol, and i played stuff like The Quarry!)


Lets start with The Good:

+ The graphics still hold up surprisingly well considering how old the game is. (i'm aware that this is a remaster and not the original btw, but my point still stands.)

+ Very cinematic & atmospheric, which greatly helps to immerse you in the game & cover some of the many shortcomings it suffers from when it comes to the writing. (more on that later)

+ Minimal bugs if any.

+ Decently long, choices do matter and the game has many different endings to explore, very replayable!

+ Comes with some cool BTS extras about the making of the game, of which i only experienced "one" video & was totally looking forward to see the rest, but ended up forgetting about em & already deleted the game, and i'm only now remembering them as i'm typing this review, shoot! :(

+ A decent soundtrack that very much fits the setting & story of the game.

+ While a lot of people (understandably) hate QTEs in modern games, i actually don't mind them & even enjoy them when done right, and this game is full of them; like really full of them! something that i didn't really expect when i first got into this, as i'm simply not used to them being featured that heavily even in similar games, but i consider this to be a good thing, if you're gonna go the QTEs route may as well get your money's worth lol! (they might be a tad too quick at times for casuals though)


The So-So:

- While i consider the story to be decent & enjoyable enough, one simply can not deny the sheer number of major plot-holes the game has, i don't think i've ever experienced any story in any type of media with this much plot-holes & inconsistencies, insane stuff!

I did a quick google search earlier, and apparently there was "a whole supernatural plot that was simply removed from the game late in development" that would've explained most of the inconsistencies, but they decided to axe it to try to keep the plot "grounded & believable", but forgot to make the rest of the story make sense, shame.

- Not sure how good the KB+M controls are on this port (as i used an Xbox controller), but for me controls were fine for the most part, except for one major issue right at the start where the game refused to recognize certain interactions using my right stick, to which i had to change some settings on steam to fix it.

(If you're facing similar issues here is the fix:
Go to the game's page in your library -> Click the controller icon just below the banner (Alternatively, right click your game on Steam & access your controller configuration menu through "Properties") -> Edit Layout -> Joysticks -> Right Joystick behavior settings -> Dead Zones -> Dead Zone Shape -> Pick the "Cross" option and voila!)

- The camera is a bit janky & makes certain interactions needlessly hidden or needlessly frustrating to perform, still not the worst thing out there though.

- Voice acting is a mixed bag, good on some characters but extremely bad on others, and even varies significantly in quality in a single character's performance from line to line.

- Can get a bit tedious & repetitive to 100%, it took me 1 full playthrough + 6! partial ones to do that using a guide showing the most optimal route, it would've been even more tedious had i gone through it blind.. this gets even worse after knowing how long the credits are and the fact that there is no way to skip them, except for the ol' reliable ALT+F4..

- It's often not obvious which route or interaction will advance the plot, making exploration very annoying & discouraged.

- Achievements only pop up when loading the next scene (sometimes many scenes later), so you're often left not knowing if you did the thing correctly or not.

- I wasn't sure if i should mention this, but i honestly expected more from the endings and was left a little disappointed for most of them, they feel a bit too short & undercooked, but i understand why they did them this way i guess.

- Ethan isn't the most interesting & fun protagonist to play as.


Now to The Bad:

- Some plot-hole are borderline unacceptable for a game of this scope & size, and can & will 100% ruin the game for certain people. (my advice is to shut your brain off & never think too much about the details, for the sake of your own enjoyment.)

- The main plot-twist makes no sense at all if you really think about it. (again, try not to lol)

- The writing in itself isn't always the best, and sometimes certain characters will make the most idiotic choices ever for no real reason.

Minor spoiler ahead: (a certain non-important character barely just survived getting chocked to death after begging non stop for mercy, 0.2 seconds later he proceeds to spout the most vile/insane shit ever for no real reason as his assailant is leaving, stuff that will 100% lead him to die, why?)

- Even though i mentioned having minimal bugs, the game itself crashed for me at least 3 times, always at the end of a scene/chapter, i only lost my progress once (~10-15min of gameplay), not that big of a deal but still worth pointing out.


All in all, and despite all the shortcomings i just mentioned i still very much enjoyed Heavy Rain, and i'm looking forward to play the other 2 games as soon as i can get them, i believe the world needs a lot more games of this style so i'll support them whenever i can (as long as they're good), but i also acknowledge how biased i'm, so as much as i want to rate this an 8/10, i think it's realistically more of a 7/10.
So happy to have finally experienced the infamous SHAUN!! meme! :D

I am a father. But I am no killer.

[hr]That quote is a perfect one. So, I first played Heavy Rain back in high school—it was a pirated version. Now, I’ve purchased the Quantic Dream Bundle, which is absolutely worth it. It includes Beyond: Two Souls, Detroit: Become Human, Fahrenheit, and of course, Heavy Rain. I played my second playthrough of Heavy Rain in one sitting, and it was absolutely satisfying. This game is a true classic.

Before diving in, it's important to note that Heavy Rain is not suitable for players under 18. It contains strong violence, gore, and sexual content.

Heavy Rain is an interactive psychological thriller that plays like a crime movie. It explores deep emotional themes such as love, sacrifice, guilt, grief, morality, and consequences. The game is built on player choice, where every action and decision affects the story. The player’s morality and emotions are challenged through the game's storytelling and gameplay mechanics, making them question "How far would you go to save someone you love?" Choices can lead to different outcomes, including multiple endings, and any of the four main characters can die, altering the narrative. Real consequences. No second chances.

The story follows Ethan Mars, once a successful architect, devoted husband, and still a father. However, his life falls apart after the accidental death of his eldest son, Jason. He breaks up with his wife, and now lives with his youngest son, Shaun. Ethan suffers from psychological trauma, blackouts, and depression, all because he feels guilty after his eldest son's accidental death. Some time later, tragedy strikes again, Shaun is abducted by the Origami Killer, a serial murderer who kidnaps boys and locks them in storm drains, testing their fathers to do series of trials to prove their love. If the father fails, the child drowns. Now, the Origami Killer has chosen Ethan as his next subject, testing him to complete the trials to save Shaun’s life.

The game offers four playable characters, each connected to a single story. Ethan Mars, A father willing to do anything to save his youngest son. Scott Shelby, A private investigator suffering from asthma, hired by the victims’ families to track down the killer. Norman Jayden, An FBI profiler assigned to the case, using a high-tech tool called ARI for investigation, while also battling a dangerous addiction to Triptocaine. Madison Paige, A gorgeous, independent journalist plagued by chronic insomnia, who crosses paths with Ethan and becomes deeply involved in uncovering the truth.

One of the most unique aspects is that each of these characters has a personal struggle that affects their perception of reality. Ethan experiences blackouts, Madison suffers from insomnia, and Norman fights addiction. This left me questioning what is true and what might be a misperception from all three characters in my 1st playthrough.

Heavy Rain offers a unique immersive gameplay experience that feels more advanced than Beyond: Two Souls but serves as a predecessor to Detroit: Become Human.

• Unlike Detroit: Become Human, where three characters have separate paths, Heavy Rain’s four characters are all connected to the same story. In certain scenes, two to four characters can appear in the same chapter.
  
• The HUD for choices and thoughts is brilliantly designed, shaky, spinning, and hard to read, reflecting the character’s stress level. The more they struggle, the more chaotic the HUD.
  
• Quick-Time Events (QTEs) are fast-paced and action-packed, making players stay focused during fights, chases, and high-stakes moments.
  
• Playing as Norman Jayden adds an extra layer of immersion with crime scene investigations using his ARI system, where players scan environments for clues connected to the Origami Killer.
  
[*]Small details tie into the game’s themes. For example, the game's progress is connected to the maximum inches of rainwater. During a police briefing, Jayden mentions that it takes exactly six inches of rainwater before a trapped child drowns.

With its engaging narrative and immersive gameplay, this game remains one of the most interactive thriller ever made.[hr]"How far would you go to save someone you love?"

Trata-se de um jogo consideravelmente mais interativo do que outros títulos do mesmo gênero, como os da Telltale, por exemplo, em que as decisões do jogador influenciam diretamente o desfecho da história mais baseado em ação do que falas em si. Embora a trama apresente alguns furos menores, ainda assim, é bem estruturada, especialmente no desenvolvimento do perfil de um serial killer.

Apesar de ser um jogo datado e não causar grande impacto nos dias atuais, continua jogável e não chega a incomodar tanto. Além disso, a tecnologia de expressões faciais utilizada foi, sem dúvida, inovadora à época de seu lançamento e ainda impressiona. É plausível afirmar que essa mecânica tenha servido de inspiração para L.A. Noire. Eu aposto nisso.

Enfrentei problemas técnicos com múltiplos crashs. A solução que funcionou para mim foi configurar o jogo para "Alto Desempenho" nas configurações do Windows. Embora ainda ocorressem congelamentos esporádicos, os crashs finalmente acabaram.

Great game.
Great story.
Terrible controls on foot.

I finally managed to get through that same $60 soap movie for the third time, but on PC!

Heavy Rain was one of those games that people bought a PS3 for back in the day. Earlier on New Year's Eve between 2012 and 2013, I touched this interactive movie, but for some unknown reason I was able to get through the game before the halfway point. It was due, to my surprise, to improper gamepad synchronization with the console, causing the Sixaxis feature to work intermittently during tense QTE moments. After 8 years I went through the game, but on PS4 and after playing Detroit: Become Human. And the other day I came back to this wonderful interactive game to share my opinion about it.

The main thing you buy a console and a game for is the story. Heavy Rain tells us the story of several characters. Earlier this technique was used in the previous game Fahrenheit, all from the same Quantic Dream, but here it is done in a much more interesting way.
Ethan Mars is an architect, a happy father, a loving husband, whose life was turned upside down in an instant and knocked out for two years. A man who gave up once, tries by all means to prevent the death of his son. Is the main character of the game; Norman Jaden is an FBI agent who owns the coolest VR goggles. He uses the technicalities of his gadgets to the maximum in order to find the Origami Killer, works together with the local police station, which results in difficulties; Scott Shelby is a private investigator, a one of a kind man, ready, perfect in the long run. One of those people who wants to deal with the situation in the classic method, through questioning and looking for clues; Madison Paige is a young journalist, formerly a war journalist, who suffers from chronic insomnia, so she often rents rooms in cheap Motels in order to relax a bit and get a good night's sleep.
You can, of course, continue to talk about how amazingly twisted the plot is here, how excellent and unhurriedly presented stories about each active person, but here it's better to get into the game yourself, as well as how coolly the main characters intersect with each other.

The gameplay of the game is responsible for the variation in player actions. The game made excellent use of this element in its time. With his actions the player could provoke a lot of consequences, and even after 15 years not every game can afford such attention to details.

Control on the PC was transferred not in the most convenient way, but in a very obvious way. All Sixaxis chips and a number of actions were transferred to the mouse control, character control is carried out on the classic WASD buttons, and all other actions were transferred to the upper digits. In most moments you can get used to such control, considering that on PlayStation you had to press R2 and steer with the left stick, so that the character could start moving.

Speaking about immersion in the game, I can't avoid the topic of localization. In our Russian voice-over you can notice that somewhere they skimped on emotions, and somewhere they overplayed. Most often it happens in those moments when you start to hear the inner voices of the main characters. At the same time you should take into account that even in the original there are sometimes failures in the voicing of characters.

Heavy Rain looks great at maximum settings even today, especially by the standards of the 2010 release. Although the PS4 remaster by Virtuos was the basis for the re-release, it's hard not to admire the skill of Quantic Dream's programmers: they made a technological leap in their time. The textures are crisp, the rain effects are beautiful, the models of the main characters are impressive and, to this day. The age gives away mainly the environment. If the interiors look good thanks to the competent work of designers, then the shots with trees and nature emphasize: “Past Gen”. However, this is a minor detail. Most of the story takes place in apartments and offices, and everything is fine there.

All these aspects mentioned above, including several endings of the game, definitely create a desire to go through the game again, but already with other routes and dialogues. All in all, putting aside all the gloating about the best platform for the gaming experience of this or that game, I was very pleased that the genre of “interactive movie” finally visited the PC, improving in technical terms. We have before us a perfectly pitched story about the search for the Origami Killer who kills children in rainwater, a great story of character interaction that the player can directly influence. If you like variation games, I highly recommend checking out this game.

The good:
- An emotinal and intense story.
The bad:
- Full of plot holes.
- The controls are bad.
- Significant lag at the beginning of each chapter.

I love this game! (IM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE BUTTERFLY) The story is amazing! (SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF THESE GODFORSAKEN TUNNELS) and the trials you have to go through are tricky, but enjoyable! (NOT YOU, YOU STUPID BUTTERFLY) I love the mechanics for interacting, it keeps you on your toes! (YEA, WHEN IT WORKS! UNLIKE BUTTERFLY'S ELECTRICITY APPARENTLY) It's very easy to get invested into the story!! (GET THIS GLASS OUTTA MY A** PLEASE) Absolutely worth the money and time (THE ONLY REASON MY MONITOR IS IN ONE PIECE IS BECAUSE IT'S MORE EXPENSIVE THAN MY MENTAL DAMAGE)

Heavy Rain sets a great atmosphere for a thrilling mystery story. However, I don't think the story ultimately takes advantage of everything it has at it's disposal. The suffering middle aged male characters are fairly well written, but the kids and female characters are written like David Cage has never met a child or woman in his life. There were many moments where I wished for a scene to end so the story could move on to something that didn't make me cringe. The overarching story has a few glaring plot holes, and after finishing my first ending (thankfully with the results I was aiming for), I didn't feel the need to go back and see any more. Still, it did make me think, and I got really into it at times. I don't feel entirely satisfied with where the story went, but it might not be the same for everyone.

Technically it's a beautiful game. The visuals, music, and sound design are top notch for the time. Voice acting can get pretty awful, but there are some stand out performances as well. The camera feels odd, and moving around is awkward - it takes some getting used to. The camera angles try to stay cinematic for the most part, so I get why they did it. QTE's are weird especially on the steam deck where you have to waggle the whole thing around. They happen very fast, even on easy, so you really have to focus, which can be jarring when you've been watching slow burn cinematics for a few minutes.

It's not a terrible game, and it's not a great game. I think it's worth playing if you can get it on sale and have a weekend to get into it...if anything, it'll hopefully leave you thinking rather than disappointed.

still a great game after all these years, even if the story and acting can be a little tacky at times (makes it a little silly tho)

Best basketball simulator out there. Finally I can live my dreams of playing basketball and ignoring my son. It is all that I have ever wanted and I can't believe that David Cage put so much effort into such a short game about basketball. Honestly? I wish I could reexperience the first time I made a basket. #larrybird

At first, I didn't intend to buy this game. But when I saw it in the deep discount section on Steam, I decided to buy it and give it a try. And I was truly surprised that I got hooked on this game without even realizing when it happened

Best spent 2 euros ever on game.
If you like the genre of interactive movie/choose your own adventure games , then Heavy Rain is a "must play" game.
The atmosphere in Heavy Rain game it's amazing and it gives a truly unforgettable atmosphere.
It feels monochrome because of never - ending downpour of rain , and industrial city combined with the foreboding instrumentals is awesome.
It really drives home the oppressive , melancholic atmosphere , and the way the game environment interacts with the fights is also impressive.
This genre that blends choose your own adventures with cinema in video game format is fantastic , but overall Heavy Rain is very nice packed game.
Controls are not the best and that's for sure , but overall it's good game and story is engaging.
I definitely recommend this game.
7.5 / 10

I love this game. I played it on an old console years back. So I ended up buying it on Steam. Im not even 20 minutes into the prologue and the game has frozen 3 times. Can the devs please fix this game?

Feels like middle aged man simulator, and the quick time action system did not age well. I'm sure there's a good story but I can't get to it without being frustrated.

When Heavy Rain was launched on PS3, I thought it was the most realistic game I´ve ever seen, and it was a game with an incredible narrative.
The story is good. It truly is, but it´s an old game. You can expect some weird dialogs and expressions due to this fact.

The controller doesn´t respond in some of the QTEs and I´m using a dual shock controller, which should work as intented. But you can find a quick guide here on steam to fix it.

You can play with a keyboard and mouse. Of course you won´t have the experience that the devs wanted you to experience playing like that.

Despite how goofy some things are, how the controller scheme was planned to work but it doesn´t without a guide, and how pathetic Ethan is as a father, I still recommend this game.

5/10

Contrived high-school writing, cheesy action sequences, numerous plot holes. Ironically, worse than Fahrenheit in almost everything.

Heavy Rain is a great, intense, and sometimes frustrating choices-matter thriller that fully embraces its QTE-heavy gameplay, using every button on the gamepad (yes, even the Steam Controller’s gyro) to make even scrambled eggs a challenge, while delivering a gripping story that, despite some questionable twists and a few unsatisfying endings in my playthrough, still kept me hooked from start to finish.

Heavy Rain - 4/5 stars

Really loved the story and the character building . The way you connect to the characters is amazing, and I felt genuinely invested in their journey. The plot twists and emotional depth kept me hooked the whole way through! 😍

The only downside for me was the controls. I didn’t really enjoy the character movement—it was a bit frustrating, and not my preferred style of gameplay. 😅 I only played for the story, so it didn't ruin the experience too much, but it’s definitely worth mentioning!

Overall, a great game for those who love a deep narrative experience, just be prepared for the quirky controls.

(-)Control: Controlling the character in this game feels like teaching a toddler how to moonwalk.
(-)Story: Overall, the story was good, but it has too many plot holes.
(-)Chapter 3: I remember playing the demo a couple of years ago, and now I understand why it started at Chapter 4… Chapter 3 (Father and Son) was written so badly.
(-)Voice Acting: Some performances are great, while others sound like the actors were given the script five minutes before recording.

Well, I wanted to like this game, but...
First of all, horrible controls. It just didn't recognize my controller, so I had to use Steam Input with custom mapping, because default doesn't work as it should. Some QTEs failed not because of wrong button press, but because of game not registering the input correctly. Luckily, you can fail some of them without consequences.
Second, too many plotholes. Like massive ones. You have to close your eyes to it to be able to have some pleasure.
Third, no real variability. You just can succeed or fail. There's almost no such thing as select an option you believe to be a right one to face some consequences later. Yeah, I'm spoiled by Detroit.
All in all, you just witness a massive waste of potential the story has. It's not that bad, but it's bad.

The game doesn't really run well on modern hardware, due to it being a rather old game. While I have 1.8 hours on record, that is only from trying to make the game run decently during the prologue. Facial animations don't work, lowering graphical settings makes the game somehow run worse for me, and the voice acting isn't that good.

If you wanna play this game, I'd recommend just buying a physical copy and playing it on an actual PS3 (or PS4 if you buy the re-release bundle with Beyond: Two Souls). At least from what I can find, there are people selling their copies as low as 45kr (Around less than $4 American).

Bardzo dobra gra. Fabuła niesamowicie mnie wciągnęła, naprawdę nie wiem kiedy minął ten czas, zakończenie było dla mnie szokujące i to właśnie też skradło moje serce. Jedyne co mi się nie podobało było sterowanie i kamera. To było upierdliwe, ale poza tym to masterpiece

The gameplay was secondary to me, it's a narrative game. But the story is unbelievable stupid, which made me really hard to enjoy it. At some point in time I checked "How long to beat" and decided to see the rest of the story, as it was not much. Regretted the decision.
There is a cliffhanger, but the only thing you can say it when you reach it is "seriously??" Plus many, many completely dumb screenplay events.

I think there are better story-telling games which means this one can be skipped.

buggy af and several plot holes. I grit my teeth through the whole thing hoping it would get better. it didn't.

Animation has not aged well. First hour was a little rough however after that, the story becomes very gripping and a little raw. Game ran just fine, no bugs or stutters. I played with a controller myself however can be done with keyboard as i know that may be preference for others on this type of game. I give it a solid 7/10.

inputs dont work! Ive tried xbox, ps4, ps5, and m&k the all have issues with the right stick or mouse inputs. Game is unplayable, very disappointing.

It was great on PS3, but on PC this shit is unplayable. They even didn't try to fix control.

Heavy Rain is an intense, story-driven thriller that keeps you hooked from start to finish.

Pros

✅ Great Story – The mystery keeps you guessing, with twists that make every decision feel important.
✅ Suspenseful – Tension builds up throughout, leading to a thrilling climax.
✅ Engaging Choices – Your actions shape the story, adding replay value.
✅ Runs Well on Steam Deck – Smooth performance, making it great for handheld play.

Cons

❌ Clunky Controls – Some movements feel awkward and frustrating.
❌ QTE Issues – Quick Time Events can be tricky to execute, sometimes breaking immersion.

Final Verdict
Great story, a few clunky controls, but totally worth it—especially on sale!

Amazing game, ive played through it plenty of times in the past on Playstation and just purchased it on my new comp, amazing story telling , real choices lead to real consequences. must buy !

Very good game, I was at the edge of my seat the entire story. The soundtrack is really really good at setting the mood.

oh wow, wow, as far as ive been on playing games all this time, the only thing ive heard abt heavy rain is that it is THAT good, ppl keep praising the game and its been long since i wanna play it.

couldnt agree more to them tho. such a good story, the plot twist is insane, i kept guessing the wrong person (basically i cant trust anybody, and accusing anyone that appear on the screen as the killer lol)

good god, the qte on mouse is awful though, like how can u press q/e, arrow keys, and mouse click at the same time?!?!?!
maybe its just me cause i did mess a bit with the button options.....