Heavy Rain: Chronicle One - The Taxidermist

Play (UK) ( ) (100%)

The Taxidermist is a brilliant start.

XGN (9 out of 10) (90%)

De ongekende spannende filmachte sfeer van Heavy Rain ontbreekt ook niet in deze scène, en is dus zeker de aanschaf waard.

Cheat Code Central (4.4 out of 5) (88%)

The Taxidermist has a lot of potential for what could become a chapter-based series for Heavy Rain. It delivers on the same graphical level as the main entry, continues the narrative experience, adds more of an adult feel to the story, and can easily enthrall a person back into the experience Heavy Rain first gave the player. The price tag is a problem, though others may see it differently. Part of the magic of Heavy Rain and even The Taxidermist is the experiences are always different for each player the first time through. I can say I anxiously await Chapter Two, I just hope it is a little longer and maybe next time with Norman Jayden and Madison Page.

IGN (8 out of 10) (80%)

This should've been the demo released before the game. Heavy Rain Chronicles: Episode One - The Taxidermist shows how good Heavy Rain can be. That feeling of suspense and all of those different endings are worth the price of admission for fans, but I wish it had been more polished. Madison Paige was such an important part of the retail game that it's really weird to have her voice be as off as it is, and as smooth as the fights looked in Heavy Rain, they can look a bit rough around the edges here. Still, The Taxidermist overcomes its faults to be an impressive download for those looking to get back to the world of Heavy Rain.

PS3bloggen.se (8 out of 10) (80%)

Berättelsen känns välgjord, och det känns som ett bra komplement till Heavy Rain, inte bara ett nedladdningsbart material som finns där bara för att, eller för att tjäna mer pengar. Dessvärre tycker jag att det är lite i kortaste laget, jag tillbringade en hel del tid på att undersöka alla vrår som fanns, och jag hamnade väl på en speltid på runt 15 minuter.

GameZ (75 out of 100) (75%)

Los van het vrij klunzige gegeven dat het hoofdstuk niets toevoegt aan de beleving van het verhaal is het hoofdstuk zeker wel spannend en kent ook zeker weer de naargeestige en vooral morbide sfeer die ook in het origineel de boventoon voerde. Vond je Heavy Rain niets, dan gaat dit daar weinig aan veranderen. Vond je Heavy Rain oké maar niet meer dan dat, dan is het waarschijnlijk verstandig dit hoofdstuk te laten voor wat het is. De echte liefhebbers van de game zullen ongetwijfeld weer erg vrolijk worden van deze DLC. Heavy Rain - The Taxidermist is via het PSN te downloaden voor €4.99.

Thunderbolt Games (7 out of 10) (70%)

Much like Heavy Rain itself, The Taxidermist is not for everyone. At face value it might not appear to have a whole lot of content, but if you’re patient enough and diligent, there’s a lot more game than there might initially appear to be. It suffers from the same problems that mar the original game, but if you were able to overlook them the first time you should have no problem doing so again here. Despite its issues, The Taxidermist is a tense, atmospheric delight and a promising start to the Heavy Rain: Chronicles.

Gamer Limit (7 out of 10) (70%)

After Grand Theft Auto‘s Episodes from Liberty City set the benchmark for what is possible with episodic DLC, it’s hard not to be a bit disappointed with The Taxidermist‘s shortcomings – it’s more of a light drizzle than heavy rain. Hopefully future instalments of Heavy Rain Chronicles will be fleshed out with a more substantial length and insight into the characters, but for now The Taxidermist is a decent enough distraction for the low asking price that manages to perfectly highlight the more exciting elements of Heavy Rain.

Destructoid (7 out of 10) (70%)

Narrative-wise, “The Taxidermist” has a few problems, and it can produce a big one. But it also represents the best of Heavy Rain: character motivations, visuals (most notably, some tension-inducing split-screen cinematography), and game mechanics coalesce to create a gripping sequence of events that quickens your pulse and leaves you panting. I felt much the same way about “The Taxidermist” as I did about Heavy Rain as a whole -- the story doesn’t always make sense, but it’s worth playing anyway for the sheer excitement of it all. If the more mundane parts of Heavy Rain left you unenthused -- and if they didn’t, that’s even better -- you’ll enjoy this exhilarating condensed experience.

Gaming Age (B-) (67%)

In short, (pun intended) this is the least value for the money, as far as DLC is concerned, that I have seen to date. While it was enjoyable to play, I would be thoroughly upset, to put it mildly, if I paid my own hard earned cash on this. Still, if you are a hard core Heavy Rain fan and you have cash literally burning a hole in your pocket, then by all means pick it up and be ready to get freaked out.

PlayStation Lifestyle (6 out of 10) (60%)

Rather than a true piece of DLC, The Taxidermist feels more like a deleted scene from the game–something that the developers began to work on, but, for some reason or another, never quite finished. Although it does have the same core mechanics and gameplay that gamers loved in the original, it’s the length, voiceovers, and movement that really detract from the overall gaming experience. Even though there are a few different endings, there isn’t any incentive to play through them. After playing through the initial playthrough, most of the endings will seem quite predictable. Mysteriously, Quantic Dream opted to not include any trophies. Hopefully Quantic Dream will ensure the next installment is better thought-out and and detailed. Until then, I’ll still be trying to see all the endings which Heavy Rain offers.

GameSpot (5 out of 10) (50%)

The strong disconnect between the main story and this separate episode is the biggest reason why there is little incentive to play this downloadable content. Madison is not developed beyond what was already known about her, and there is no more insight into the world at large. Furthermore, even though the chase sequence offers some tension, because Madison already has been attacked by madmen on two other occasions, the sense of heart-racing excitement is lessened. And to top it all off, each of the five endings concludes with a lame newspaper clipping that gives you a perfunctory wrap-up of events you just played through. This fleeting episode is a disappointing addition to the great original adventure.