>>719210741 (OP)
It's one of those "concept is better than the execution" games. I view it as experimental. At the time, it was the closest thing to playable movie. It jumps between different characters all investigating the same serial killer for different reasons. The gameplay is walking around investigating areas but it had a fascinating concept where the characters thoughts would orbit their head and you could press a button to hear what they were thinking. All of the action sequences are cutscenes with quick time events. Characters can die and the story no longer follows them. This all sounds good on paper but it had some glaring flaws.
The story falls apart eventually because of a major plot hole which ruins it, and the uncanny valley effect of being able to break your own immersion by making the characters do silly things is an issue. (Standing in the mall screaming JASON JASON in some random guys face).
It was a great proof of concept though, and there are games that have done the same thing but better. Beyond: Two Souls and Until Dawn took what Heavy Rain did and refined it.
