The Rain Continues
I have to admit, in February, when Heavy Rain came out, I was completely blown away. The visuals, narrative, character development, and even (at times questionable) the voice acting all hooked me deep into the story and wouldn’t let go. If you also enjoyed Heavy Rain, you will want to know about Heavy Rain’s DLC – The Taxidermist. Will it enthrall you the same way, or is it just an add-on to charge you five bucks without delivering? Keep reading; though it is important to point out this is fairly spoiler-heavy, so if you want to go into the content blind then don’t read until the last paragraph.
The Taxidermist begins with Madison Page, the journalist from Heavy Rain, following a lead two years before the events of Heavy Rain begins. The lead, as explained in the opening by Madison’s friend Sam, is 40 year-old Leeland White, the Taxidermist, and it is up to Madison to use her investigative skills to see if Leeland is the Origami Killer. Fortunately, Quantic Dream packed in enough interactive bits into this DLC to make sure players who loved this aspect in Heavy Rain will be able to enjoy it more in a contained experience. Before I continue on though, it is important to point out this is the same scene we saw in it’s entirety nearly two years ago when they were showing off Heavy Rain and how awesome it would be. Therefore, if you are playing through this and feel a sense of déjà vu, it is because you have seen it before.
So, back to the journalistic investigating. Madison gets off her motorcycle and starts looking around a house that appears to have been ripped right out of a Stephen King horror novel. Immediately, players will notice the amped up amount of interaction options you will have. It’s not long before Madison realizes she is going to have to break into the house if she’s going to find anything out, since good old Leeland was kind enough to not be home. Once inside you start finding clues leading you to believe Leeland White is not just a mild mannered taxidermist, which is a creepy profession all on its own, and that’s enough to lead you upstairs.
Checking the rooms one by one begins to unfold a dark nature worthy enough to rival a certain Motel owner who’s last name rhymes with states. However, it is not until you check two of the last rooms that things are really brought to a new level in Heavy Rain. The scenes really capture a sense of horrific brutality worthy of an adult-oriented storyline. It is because of these scenes it makes me upset that the imagery in the main title is not conveyed in the same manner. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think they made bad choices in the way certain things were handled in the main game, some things should never be seen, but there is something about the way two scenes in this DLC are captured that drive home the point that this is a game about a serial killer and that it is only for adults.
After witnessing the horrors of one Leeland White, it’s time to get the hell out of there. Unfortunately, once you get to the stairs leading down to safety, Leeland’s truck pulls into the driveway thus beginning the most thrilling part of the DLC. You are trapped upstairs with no discernable way to get out, oh and the floorboards creak, so if you step on them too heavily, you’ll let the killer know you are there. Much like the main entry, now that you have reached the “third act,” your options open up and really allow you to explore everything. Will you race downstairs and confront Leeland, will you hide, or will you become one of his victims? There are several things to do here and, again, like Heavy Rain, there are multiple actions resulting in multiple endings. I’m not going to tell you those ending, however; suffice it to say after the credits you will be able to see how many and what they are called but not how to get them.
The multiple endings are great, but they actually create the first problem I have with the DLC. Madison can die in some of the endings! These events are supposed to take place before Heavy Rain and are also supposed to be canon. I know it is a creative direction by allowing those things to happen and it creates this sense of “what the hell will happen if,” but at the end of it, there’s no real bearing on the main story. The fact this is the scene we were shown roughly two years ago doesn’t really help. It is almost like this is a deleted scene removed at the last minute from the main game. Since this was a trend clearly set up in Heavy Rain with Madison visiting “The Doctor” and having the encounter she had there. While in concept this is great to have a character you can constantly revisit in order to flesh out other possible serial killer ideas you had at one point – sort of like Nancy Drew only much cooler and, well, much hotter too – it also easily falls into the Superman complex. Nothing can hurt Superman, and if you have too many Madison Page-investigates-this-and-lives storylines, you can lose the edge of impending and looming death.
Also quite odd is that Madison’s voice is not the same. In the beginning you will not even notice it, but once her internal monologues begin, it painfully stands out. It feels unnatural at times and very forced so you may not pick up on the fact it is not the voice of Madison from the main game. I mean, honestly, why they couldn’t have the same voice actress is beyond me. In addition to Madison’s jarring voice, you will find it rough to assimilate the voice of Leeland White. The main reason is because the same actor voices Scott Shelby. I won’t reveal why it is a jarring experience, but you’ll understand once it is all said and done with the main game.
However, those two complaints are probably minimal compared to the major complaint I have with this DLC – the five dollar price tag; a disappointing trend as of late. Let me clarify first before I really get into it. Lately, big titles have released DLC for the price tag of around five bucks for content that will take no longer (including pausing the game for fifteen minutes) thirty minutes to play through. While The Taxidermist does have more reason to play through repeatedly than say Dante’s Inferno “The Dark Forest” it still feels a little off considering the price. Sure, if you stroll through the DLC on your first playthrough it may take you about twenty minutes to complete and then going back through it from beginning to end to get the other endings could in theory take you about two hours, but if you only load back certain chapters to get the endings, then you are looking at about thirty to forty minutes.
The Taxidermist has a lot of potential for what could become a chapter-based series for Heavy Rain. It delivers on the same graphical level as the main entry, continues the narrative experience, adds more of an adult feel to the story, and can easily enthrall a person back into the experience Heavy Rain first gave the player. The price tag is a problem, though others may see it differently. Part of the magic of Heavy Rain and even The Taxidermist is the experiences are always different for each player the first time through. I can say I anxiously await Chapter Two, I just hope it is a little longer and maybe next time with Norman Jayden and Madison Page.
RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.7 Graphics
Continues the amazing graphic representation of Heavy Rain; you will not be disappointed. 4.6 Control
If you have been playing Heavy Rain, then playing this will feel no different. 4.2 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
At times it sounds like Madison isn’t voiced by the same person and it is distracting. 4.1 Play Value
Taking place two years prior to Heavy Rain’s overarching story doesn’t really allow this to stand on its own. However, for the five dollar price tag some will see the value. 4.4 Overall Rating – Great
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.
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