Heavy Rain

What an ending. The credit-roll on Heavy Rain leaves you thinking, “What the fuck just happened.” And not in a good way. The ending to Heavy Rain is equal parts iconic and ludicrous. It, and I mean this without any hint of hyperbole, makes no sense whatsoever. There are endless plotholes and a million loose ends left untied. That’s almost certainly one vital piece of the story seemed to have been scrapped.

Heavy Rain wants you to think Ethan is the killer before revealing that private detective Selby is the true antagonist. However, it doesn’t actually make sense why Ethan would have blackouts when someone would be kidnapped or why he would wake up in Carnaby Square. Based on deleted scenes shown in behind-the-scenes video, the two were supposed to have a spiritual link making everything make sense—or at least make more sense. We still play as Shelby who thinks to himself when no one is around wondering who the killer could possibly be. And we see him when he’s supposed to be doing his whole bad guy schtick. The ending tries to convince us that the camera pans away just in time! See? The game is clever! So clever.

It’s not clever.

It’s bad writing. Heavy Rain has been meme’d to death at this point, but the ending really solidifies the mess of this once-celebrated game. It’s an ending I’ll never forget, no matter how hard I try.