Sony shows Heavy Rain off-cuts

By Fred Dutton Published 8 November, 2010

Who else did Origami Killer murder?

An early version of Heavy Rain added another murder victim to the Origami Killer's tally, a new behind-the-scenes clip has revealed.

The video, posted on PlayStation Network, shows the murderer ruthlessly dispatching another hapless victim. However, the scene was deemed "too radical" and cut out of the game.

The clip also explains the cause of Madison Paige's insomnia and reveals why a number of dream sequences establishing a supernatural link between Ethan and the killer were left on the cutting room floor.

We'll say no more – it's spoiler-filled stuff. Have a look at the video below for further details on what might have been.

Quantic Dream's ambitious adventure game landed on the PlayStation 3 last year, winning a 9/10 from Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell.

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About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (27) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • INSOMANiAC #1 2 years ago

    The blackout sections looked really good

  • ZizouFC #2 2 years ago

    So rather than explain Ethan's blackouts - they decided instead to leave the blackouts in the game, but not flesh them out?

  • ZuluHero #3 2 years ago

    I bet this was due to be part of the DLC that will never see the light of day now.

    Not that i'm still bitter that they chose to add move support over NEW content :'(

  • INSOMANiAC #4 2 years ago

    Rather that than some supernatural hocum pocum with linked minds etc, that shit would have ruined the game for me. The underwater stuff would have been good but only as a metaphor for ethans inner turmoil and helplessness, not, as they suggested, as 'a metaphor for the killers mind'. that would have been stupid.

  • metamorphic #5 2 years ago

    The scenes look amazing; all of them. The blackouts and Shaun goes to school scenes are fantastic, and I think a lot of people would have loved playing those (especially the latter), but the one thing I would love to have seen added is Madison's newspaper office, how she did her research on the killer, etc. That would have added a lot to the game. Why not add this as a DLC or update in the future? It would be a great way to drum up more interest in the game and you wouldn't even need to make anything new!

  • LittleMousy #6 2 years ago

    Interesting idea that Shelby was there when Jason was killed and saw everything, and glad to at least have some kind of explanation for the blackouts.

  • INSOMANiAC #7 2 years ago

    @metamorphic, they would because as you can see in the video they only have the concept art of her workplace,everything else was made then edited out but those sections were never built.

    As for the 'going to school' bit, it looks a bit dull tbh

  • NimbusTLD #8 2 years ago

    OMG, this made me want to play Heavy Rain again... I just booted it up and... massive update time! 1142MB for Move support? Seriously?

  • Jeepers #9 2 years ago

    The biggest off-cut was the gameplay!!1

    lolamirite?!?!

  • PixelPirate #10 2 years ago

    its good to see they were editing themseleves and removing scenes that didnt add anything.

    Removing the hocus pocus stuff is good because its more anchored in reality. I also loved the fact that they didnt bother explaining certain things such as Madison's insomnia or the blackouts. Leaving things out so you can draw your own conclusions adds to the suspense and horror.

    Too many films these days explain EVERYTHING let the audience draw there own conclusions its fun to speculate!

  • Ninja_Tino #11 2 years ago

    Fair point, Pixel, but Ethan's blackouts NEEDED to be explained. Such a bizarre side-story has to be explained. As it stands, it tarnishes the experience: having a mystery like that and then just ignoring it is poor story-telling in an otherwise (mostly) brilliant game.

  • INSOMANiAC #12 2 years ago

    To be hoenst I think it was more of the 'experience' of the game and certain individual situations and scenes that made the game great, not the overall storytelling which was bordering on poor. Too many characters without any real motivation and some areas where the storyline wasnt cohesive.

  • ZuluHero #13 2 years ago

    Yeah I think so too Ninja_Tino.

    Personally, I think the whole water thing was a great idea to explain the blackouts, as it would have explained both Ethan's guilt and put emphasis on the whole heavy rain thing as a background to it all, seaping in, affecting his 'dreams'. They didn't even need to go as far as the linking minds craziness. Just had Ethan explore deeper and deeper (no pun intended) into his own watery subconscious with every blackout until he eventually came to some great realisation (like he wasn't the killer).

    This last sequence could then have had him resurfacing from his guilt and going on his final quest to save his son.
    Edited by ZuluHero at 08/11/10 @ 21:28

  • TheTrueSpin #14 2 years ago

    Yeah, not explaining the blackouts ruined the story in many ways. I agree that films don't have to explain everything, but the blackouts were a fundamental plot device, especially at the start. To then deny the player any explanation was an insane decision.

  • ouchio #15 2 years ago

    Cutting the water/blackout scenes was a mistake.they are really good and help make sense of ethens blackouts.. i demand a directors cut with these scenes restored and all the dlc that they promised!!!!!
    Edited by ouchio at 08/11/10 @ 23:01

  • RevanNL #16 2 years ago

    Strange, they don't seem to have cut the scene at the end that explains how Madison has magically obtained the FBI dude's phonenumber and talks to him like she has at least met him, even though she never has.

  • Gaol #17 2 years ago

    Interesting video. I'm glad they cut what they did, keeping the game more realistic was the right decision for me. Game of the year for me still.

  • Soton4084 #18 2 years ago

    It's a shame the DLC was cancelled for Heavy Rain as I have a feeling it would have answered people's questions about the blackouts. I can understand why they chose to implement Move compatibility, but don't understand why they felt unable to make the DLC as well.
    Edited by Soton4084 at 09/11/10 @ 00:04

  • gameboyjustin #19 2 years ago

    @RevanNL David Cage explains that in an interview with joystiq. Apparently she has connections through her office or something like that.

    http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/19/interv...

  • Waggy44 #20 2 years ago

    Kinda wish I hadn't watched that video. Bums me out I'll never be able to experience these scenes. I agree there should be a directors cut. The hocus pocus appeals to me strongly but I understand why it was cut. It's just a shame this game has been put to rest by quantic dream and no DLC or alternative edition will be released =(

  • jackdoe #21 2 years ago

    Shame about the removal of the blackout scenes. It would have made the game make much more sense and isn't nearly as hokey as the Matrix stuff in Fahrenheit. But that was a damned cool video.

  • Rack #22 2 years ago

    Heavy Rain was great but I always felt that why Ethan ended up with Origami figures was a huge plot hole. I'm not sure if having a stupid reason for it is an improvement though.

  • ryandsimmons #23 2 years ago

    After the second half of Farenheit I am glad they decided to drop the hocus pocus from Heavy Rain. It was a good choice.

  • RevanNL #24 2 years ago

    @gameboyjustin: But it would have been better to explain that part in the game, rather then telling it in an interview afterwards right?

    The last two or three hours of Heavy Rain was when the game really fell apart for me. After finishing Heavy Rain I felt that I was cheated by the game for a couple of hours.
    Edited by RevanNL at 09/11/10 @ 08:45

  • iamian #25 2 years ago

    I think overall I'm happy with what was left in and what was taken out. Yes, Ethan having the blackouts and the origami figures was a bit weird but I don't think everything has to make sense...

  • MisterFalseName #26 2 years ago

    @GameboyJustin - Brilliant link. Fascinating stuff. I can't say it satisfies my problems with the story - not so much the origami figures Ethan has on him for no reason - that didn't bother me, but the cheap trick the game used to put Shelby above suspicion in the antiques shop. I also don't buy his line about Madison in the shower not being gratuitous!

    The video is great, and I think more developers should do this sort of thing. I'm glad the supernatural stuff was left out - I didn't think his blackouts needed to be explained, personally. The Madison stuff and the extra school scene would have been really nice to include though. With a game like Heavy Rain which wasn't massively long anyway, I personally wouldn't have cut any of these for length reasons though.

    Also - what letter from the killer in the father/son scene? That completely passed me by - can you do anything? Can you forward it to the police?
    Edited by MisterFalseName at 09/11/10 @ 10:32

  • Peew971 #27 2 years ago

    "After the second half of Farenheit I am glad they decided to drop the hocus pocus from Heavy Rain. It was a good choice."

    After the second half of Farenheit I don't even get why they thought about it again, clearly people did not like that.