2. No Generic Cut-Scenes
In Heavy Rain, not one single cut-scene was wasted, everything had a point and a purpose, even if it was something completely banal like watching one of your protagonists have a shave (and even use the shower and toilet, in some instances). They weren't generic because
you, the gamer, controlled the cut scene and how it ended, not some producer who has already painted out every scenario in permanent ink. If you wanted to step outside and play basketball during your time out, that was possible. If you wanted to spend time with your kid watching TV, fine. If not - send him to bed instead. All this lent to such an immersive experience, and it felt as though you were really there, sat inside this fictitious universe controlling what happened next through your own actions. So dissimilar to the majority of disaffected cut-scenes we see today where we merely have to sit through a generic action and have no say over it.