10 Quick-Time Events That Made Video Games BETTER

6. Building Empathy & Fail State Uncertainty - Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain is a bit of a controversial entry here but I’d argue the QTEs absolutely serve the narrative and your investment in it, yes, even the ones that don’t impact the flow of the game.

The reason Heavy Rain’s numerous quicktime events are so successful, though, is because you never know which of them can be safely missed and which lead to a fail state. This removes the idea that failing quicktime events is synonymous with a fail state, but it still keeps you engaged, because for a first time player, any choice could mean life or death for your characters.

Okay, probably not setting the table, but you know what I mean.

There’s a lot of narrative investment you get by being involved in every moment of the story. This ensures you don’t miss a thing, and having to execute some extraordinarily convoluted or quick button presses keeps you in the same tense headspace as your protagonists. Heavy Rain is a game that requires you to empathise with its characters and forcing you to embody their every thought and movement does a good job of helping bridge the gap.

I’m not saying I felt like I was also avoiding electricity charged power lines while Ethan was but on some of those QTEs where I had to hold three buttons and mash another I kind of felt like I was.