Flashflood: Heavy Rain playtime is 8-12 hours

Posted Sep 12, 2008 at 9:17AM by QJ Staff Listed in: PS3 Tags: David Cage, Leipzig, Quantic Dream
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Heavy Rain - Image 1


You know a game is good if it takes a short time to finish and yet has lots of replayability - at least, that's what I'd like to think (what, are you willing to play through a 50 hour game a second time around just to experience everything?). Well call me optimistic, but I think that's a swell way to approach Heavy Rain's overall playtime.

Quantic Dream's boss, David Cage, reveals that it shouldn't take you way over 12 hours to complete Heavy Rain. Speaking to videogaming247, he explains:

WeÂ’re still in the middle of production, so I canÂ’t really tell you the exact time of the game, but weÂ’re targeting a game between eight and 12 hours in gameplay for one walk through.


Well that sounds just about right. I'm just not sure how to factor in that "story continues even if main character dies" bit we heard the other day.

See, time and time again (as far back as I can remember, at least), the developers have always said that they designed Heavy Rain as something very open-ended anyways. And the choices you allow your character to make (one of them apparently being able to let them die) are critical to the gameplay.

David Cage explains that it's really quite impossible to explore and experience everything in one run through of the game, and concludes:

And thatÂ’s going to be OK. For most gamers, theyÂ’re going to play it once, and really enjoy it and have a great journey, but some hardcore gamers will want to come back and see everything, and all possible options.


As for the ratio of cutscenes and actual gameplay, who knows? Does it even matter? As far as I know, actual gameplay is already of cutscene quality (Oh, you know what I mean; I'm sure you've seen the Leipzig trailer). So how's that for blurring the lines, eh?



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Comments

by Tyrant156 - 2008-09-12 11:40:22
Sounds about right....

I know most people complained when Heavenly Sword was around 8 hours long, but thats about the same length as any resident evil game and no one complains about the length of those games.
by - 2008-09-12 12:17:52
Yep

And don't forget God of War and Silent Hill too. Those games ran from anywhere between 5-15hours depending on whether you know where to go and what to do. ;-) Short playtimes aren't a biggie. It's the overall experience that counts. ^_^ Nice to see devs like Quantic Dream catering to both markets: hardcore completists and single-playthrough types.
by tanman37 - 2008-09-12 12:19:55
lol

Actually, resident evil 4 Takes at least 12 hours for the first run. The second run is only about 8 because there is a million upgrades you start with.
by NarooN - 2008-09-12 14:19:34
Long game doesn't equal epic game.

Just like you guys said, this game will still rock no matter what. I actually love games that can be beaten in these types of timeframes, which is why I always tend to shy away from RPGs and whatnot.
by Silverback - 2008-09-12 19:38:26
Exactly!

I mean... Honestly, who in the hell has the 40+ hours to dedicate to Final Fantasy anymore?
by RyutsukeMurakami - 2008-09-12 22:10:51
I do when I have free time...

Although I don't have much free time I went back and play FF X-2. Reason was due to the 100% games status was bugging me. Spent another 30 hours on another play through. I do this only to the games that deserve my attention.

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