10 Haunting Video Game Moments We’ll Never Forget
8. Learning The Identity Of The Killer (Heavy Rain)
Like Se7en and other noir crime films on which it was based, Heavy Rain tells a dark and gritty tale, coloured with shades of grey and populated by morally ambiguous characters with mysterious motives and backstories. The game follows the story of the 'Origami Killer' and the various people caught up in the criminal's tangled web.
The moment when we learn the identity of the killer isn't terrifying in the traditional sense, but it's an extremely powerful scene in which players realise that their actions throughout the game have been having a scarily direct influence on the murderer the whole time. It's a perfect example of games, as a medium, offering people experiences that they simply couldn't have anywhere else.
Quantic Dream had already established a precedent for making players own up to morally dubious actions in Fahrenheit, but Heavy Rain took the concept to a whole new level, making for a highly disturbing revelation in the game's well-written plot.