Sony unveils Quantic's Heavy Rain

By Oli Welsh Published 20 August, 2008

A "dark thriller", due next year.

At its press conference at the Leipzig Games Convention, Sony lifted the lid on Heavy Rain, a "dark thriller" for PS3 due in 2009.

The game appears to be an extremely cinematic adventure with horror overtones, and a mature, emotionally involving story exploring adult themes not seen in videogames before is promsied.

Live gameplay footage was shown, but aside from very quick button-prompt flashes on-screen, it was virtually indistinguishable from a cut-scene, with fast cutting between static cameras.

David Cage, the writer and director of the game and head of French developer Quantic Dream, said it would be a new kind of emotional, story-led experience not seen in games before.

"For years we wanted to create a different type of experience not based on repetitive actions... but really based on narrative and emotion," Cage said. He said the core of the game would be "emotional involvement, empathy, contextual actions, moral choices and decision making".

He said the player would be " the actor, but also the writer and director at the same time," making decisions that have lasting consequences for the story that's told in Heavy Rain.

The footage showed what seemed to be a rain-soaked American suburban street, with children playing in a front yard. A young woman with short hair made a note into a voice recorder before breaking into a darkened house.

The house contained strangely-dresssed mannequins and the dark outlines of huge ravens hanging from the ceiling. The woman was attacked by a knife-wielding assailant and a very fast-paced combat scene began.

As the woman blocked her attacker with furniture, her actions seemed to be guided by button prompts on the screen; rather than combinations, these appeared to be single quick presses of the four shape buttons only.

Having effected her escape, the camera went in for a close-up, showing the a remarkable level of facial detail, with stunningly lifelike eyes in particular.

Quantic Dream is the French studio behind cult adventures The Nomad Soul and Fahrenheit. Heavy Rain was first seen at E3 two years ago in the form of a tech demo called The Casting, showing its advanced facial animation technology.

After David Cage departed the stage, Sony Europe boss David Reeves described Heavy Rain as "the great game for PlayStation 3 next year".

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (46) Latest comment 4 years ago

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  • AJUK #1 4 years ago

    Sounds graphically impressive but not so much of a game so far. Here's hoping for more info soon eh?

  • mkreku #2 4 years ago

    Where's the video? I demand a video!

  • Gallilee #3 4 years ago

    Oh YAY!!! Just as boring and trite gameplay as Farenheit then (although, I liked the story before it turned into the Matrix).
    Quantic Dream must be a big fan of the Dragon's Lair games.

  • JediMasterMalik #4 4 years ago

    Looks fantastic, the action scene looked intense. Facial animation needs work on that woman though.

  • Peew971 #5 4 years ago

    That's the game that might push me over the edge to get a PS3. That's how much I loved Fahrenheit.

  • #6 4 years ago

    Eeek, that looked good. I hope its not all QTE but now and again.

  • Raz76 #7 4 years ago

    The trailer:

    [link url=http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=MP260in3ph4
    ]http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=MP260in3ph4
    [/link]

    Quicktimey...

  • Mr_Dodger #8 4 years ago

    QTE FTL

  • niteninja #9 4 years ago

    [link url=http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?pager.offset= 0&cId=3169463&p=37
    ]http://ww w.1up.com/do/previewPage?pager....[/link]

    Heres a piece on how the game works sounds incredible.

    Leagues above all games we have seen this year.
    Edited by 1 at 20/08/08 @ 18:12

  • Kenshin001 #10 4 years ago

    Reading the controls you move forward with the right trigger and can move the head with the left analogue. I don't like the sound of that, sounds extraordinarly restrictive. Still, like the premise and atmosphere of the game.

  • Widge #11 4 years ago

    Is Fahrenheit out on the PC? Might get it for the laptop....

  • menage #12 4 years ago

    I am looking forward since that first casting trailer. But I will not get my hopes up for something a year away. Too much to do this year I think.

  • john_silence #13 4 years ago

    I'd absolutely love this to be good - and to come out for the PC eventually. At the same time what they promise here is pretty much exactly what they promised for Fahrenheit, and that one didn't work out as far as I'm concerned, so... let's wait and see.

  • penhalion #14 4 years ago

    It's as much a modern PC issue as it is a console issue. If you have rediculously amazing graphics, your gameplay needs to be super simply otherwise the whole thing grinds to a halt. Heavy rain will most likely be a series of hands off conversations and scenes between characters, with some canned animations triggered by QTEs. Quantic will argue that because they are telling a story and not doing an action game, this is how it's supposed to be. I suspect that gamers will see right through this nonsense and label it very good looking machinema, which is what it currently is.

  • Tyedyed #15 4 years ago

    Seeing as Farenheit was fantastic (cept for the ending natch!) ive got high hopes for this one.

  • Ryze #16 4 years ago

    /waits for blig_merk and Apololol...

    Hopefully the gameplay will be much improved from Fahrenheit's button bashing / stealth and simon says nonsense.

    It started out looking and feeling like a masterpiece.

  • Waldo #17 4 years ago

    GET READY!!

  • ThePissartist #18 4 years ago

    Sony showing off all these great looking new Playstation games - where the fuck is Microsoft??

    *is a 360 user*

  • J.C #19 4 years ago

    Why is this a PS3 exclusive? Fahrenheit graced the xbox. when did Quantic crawl up sonys ass?

  • PanStre #20 4 years ago

    If you saw the video, you'd know this couldn't be done on the Xbox...sorry but shapes are distinctive and letters are not :)

    I'm glad Reeves thinks this game is THE Playstation game for next year. Now if he could just explain why he thinks we Sony fans should be so excited for those two or three shooters he thinks are so great...
    Edited by 1 at 20/08/08 @ 19:40

  • Waldo #21 4 years ago

    when did Quantic crawl up sonys ass?

    When Sony backed up a dump truck full of money to their doorstep. ;)

    I wonder if this will stay exclusive to the PS3 though, since Sony doesn't own Quantic Dream? Not that I'd ever play it, since Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit was so gawdawful.
    Edited by 1 at 20/08/08 @ 19:41

  • Noctilucent #22 4 years ago

    @Widge, yes Fahrenheit is out for the PC, that's the version I have.

    Oh, and Quantic Dream: Give me another Nomad Soul!!!!!!! I'm still waiting for the prequel/sequel, whatever you promised.
    Edited by 1 at 20/08/08 @ 19:43

  • makeamazing #23 4 years ago

    but aside from very quick button-prompt flashes on-screen, it

    Ah hope its not like that, I really hate those types of games, press a key quick otherwise you will die. Like in parts of Bourne Identity... oh well i was expecting more, will have to wait and see.

  • Darkedge #24 4 years ago

    Quantic Dream - reinventing Dragons Lair for 10x times the cost and half the gameplay
    Looks pretty, but that quicktime stuff is just rubbish

  • Widge #25 4 years ago

    my god you've played the entire game! post a review for us pls!

  • michaelius #26 4 years ago

    This looks good but definitly not 40 pounds good :)

  • Les #27 4 years ago

    " I suspect that gamers will see right through this nonsense and label it very good looking machinema, which is what it currently is."

    No, gamers are graphics whores and easily seduced by lots of shiny pixels...

  • J.C #28 4 years ago

    Cant believe microsoft let this slip through their fingers. weird.

  • Chufty #29 4 years ago

    What's wrong with the odd game that's 90% story anyway? There are plenty of other shooters if you want to shoot, racers if you want to race, MMOs if you want to grind, etc.

    It's great to see games that aren't completely generic.

  • Indecisive #30 4 years ago

    Speculation:

    Looks like points of interest are tagged with a button icon (see the O-button tracking the knife near the end of the fight).
    So not quite "random guessing at what button won't get you killed" as in Dragon's Lair, and not Farenheit-style "watching the HUD overlay instead of what's going on." Should feel pretty natural as you're already looking where the buttons appear.

    If that's the system, I'm interested. Even if that's all the interaction for the whole game. I loved the Resi4 knife fight. ;)

  • Negotiator #31 4 years ago

    This is what N Gen gaming should look like, a fully realised 3D enviroment, the main character in a intense situation and realistic encounters. No 2D bullshit here my friends, gaming being moved forward, not staying in the past, thats what I want.

  • Stuz359 #32 4 years ago

    Why don't you just wait until there are concreate details to make a judgement? Things look good, could be amazing, so instead of dismissing it straight away have a little faith and see what the final product is like.

  • SeesThroughAll #33 4 years ago

    QTE is a disappointment.

    I do like that the button cues are better integrated into the action.

    But still disappointing.

  • TheFamousKevin #34 4 years ago

    Is anyone else thinking 'next-gen Shenmue?'

  • AJUK #35 4 years ago

    If it actually IS a next-gen Shenmue then that will be a good thing. Unfortunately it looks a lot like the usual B-Movie hollywood wannabee. If this was a trailer for a film then I suspect a lot of people would be going 'meh' at it. As it stands it looks nice graphically, nothing that couldn't be done on a PC or a 360, but nice. The real question is how representative of the game this trailer actually is. It really does seem to be a QTE narrative style thing at the moment.

    Here's hoping it turns out good :)

  • The-Bodybuilder #36 4 years ago

    Why are people wondering why MS let this game slip through thier fingers? You don't think they are busy enough with thier own action-thriller in Alan Wake as it is?

  • wewillselfdestruct #37 4 years ago

    Hmmm. I wish they'd shown something more than just a QTE section.

    Also the title reminds me of Chubby Rain from Bowfinger.

  • Beek4257 #38 4 years ago

    I sure think it's pretty.

    Control scheme is interesting. Maybe mapping forward movement to a trigger instead of a stick will eliminate confusion with a fixed camera when switching angles. Kudos for trying and I hope it works.

    And I don't really mind QTE's as long as they're well implemented and aren't overused. There's only so many actions you can map to a joypad. Bourne turned even basic actions into a QTE which is overdoing it. At least that's what I thought.
    Edited by 2 at 21/08/08 @ 09:50

  • andywilkie35 #39 4 years ago

    I loved Fahrenheit so I'm keeping an eye on this one

  • Widge #40 4 years ago

    I actually think its nice to be able thats a bit more of a mature narrative driven game... rather than bow down to the embarrasment of something like Haze.

  • Quint2020 #41 4 years ago

    Looks kind of like a modern spin on the old school adventure game, colour me interested, I highly doubt I'd buy a PS3 just to play it though.

  • _Price_ #42 4 years ago

    Bloody ravens again! Haven't they got anything better to do than act as a metaphor for a sinister, possibly paranormal, threat?

    Anyway, enjoyed Fahrenheit (again, excepting the last third/quarter) so here's hoping for a multi-platform release at some point.

  • Widge #43 4 years ago

    I like the fact that this particular movie sequence isn't on rails. You can play the sequence not triggering any confrontation, you can confront, defend in a manner of ways, even kill the attacker. Its not the same ever spawning on rails QTE.

    [link url=http:// www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3169463
    ]http://ww w.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=31...[/link]

    for more details. Also says its not a game of going into houses and QTE-ing away from people.

    So have a read. Or ignore and keep moaning about QTE. Your choice.

  • Tomo #44 4 years ago

    Hmm. This looks like Fahrenheit 2 basically. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm not overly impressed. It doesn't even look THAT amazing. You lead me to believe this was going to be zOMG good looking.

    STILL, looks interesting.

  • Yaz #45 4 years ago

    Hmmm, this is the kind of gameplay which just doesn't appeal to me at all. :(

    The game itself looks nice graphically (not amazing, but good), and that's about the only positive thing I can find to say about it really.

    Still, I know there are fans of this type of game, and so I'm sure they'll enjoy Heavy Rain upon release.

  • drxym #46 4 years ago

    I had high expectations of this title before I saw it. It looked like one extended QTE. Not that I don't mind QTEs used sparingly but when people go on about "realtime" graphics I expect them to mean dynamic gameplay where the models and acting are directly controlled by the player. I don't think of an interactive cut sequence where everything is pre-animated with appropriate survive and death paths depending on your speed to push a button.

    If this is how a substantial part of the game plays then I'm not interested. I hope it isn't. I hope that most of it does play out in an interactive fashion and still preserves the much touted graphics and plot. But so far we have so little to go on that I am worried by what has been shown.
    Edited by 1 at 22/08/08 @ 11:27