Getting on for a full decade after its initial PlayStation 3 release, Quantic Dream’s cornerstone classic – Heavy Rain – is now available on PC, albeit restricted to patrons of the Epic Games Store. Releases for Beyond: Two Souls and the much more advanced Detroit: Become Human are en route too, so what can we expect from the developer’s PC debut?
Heavy Rain made its first splashes as a work-in-progress title with a demo snippet leading up to the launch of the PlayStation 3, showcasing remarkable character rendering technology for the time. The final release developed a cult following of sorts for a variety of reasons (Jason!!) and it’s also known for the craft and great level of detail in put into its individual scenes. A PS4 port followed, upgrading the game to 1080p resolution, adding post-process effects like screen-space ambient occlusion while improving performance and eliminating the original’s off-putting penchant for intrusive screen-tearing.
As I see it, the arrival of these PC ports is very exciting – Quantic Dream’s games have always been ambitious in terms of technology on their respective platforms. Being able to have those historical technological advances catalogued for eternity on PC brings a smile to my face. But just how good are the ports?
