[From here on I'll be trying to provide some relevant information at the top of my reviews so you can get it at a glance if you'd rather not read the whole review. Though it hurts my feelings, I understand.]
Platform: PS3
Genre: Adventure DLC
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Quantic Dream
ESRB: M
THE VERDICT: Short but thrilling, The Taxidermist is a must-play for Heavy Rain fans.
Barely a month after the release of the retail game, the first entry in what I hope will be a plentiful series of Heavy Rain DLC, The Taxidermist, reunites players with Madison Paige, the lone female protagonist of the main game. This brief but intense chapter occurs shortly before the main narrative, when Madison investigates a man she believes might be the Origami Killer.
The Taxidermist builds slowly and creepily as Madison investigates the titular character, and though her discoveries are not entirely unpredictable the atmosphere of the house where the episode takes place lingers tangibly. Quiet investigation leads into an exciting action sequence which should not leave fans of Heavy Rain‘s thrills disappointed. As with Heavy Rain itself, The Taxidermist features multiple endings, and checks each off a list as you see it, challenging you to dive back into Madison’s short (20 minutes or less) adventure to get them all.
Where the short tale does not quite deliver is in character exploration and presentation. Though we get more time with Madison, The Taxidermist does not reveal anything that Heavy Rain doesn’t reveal, and so this DLC does little to really expand the story and characters of the primary game (though one could certainly argue that the events of The Taxidermist are what caused Madison’s insomnia in Heavy Rain, this is not directly addressed). Considering how quickly after the retail game this DLC released, it almost seems like it might’ve been better to include this as a scene in the game, rather than DLC; not only would it have fit in a bit better, it could also have broken up the slow first act. Hopefully future entries in the Heavy Rain Chronicles will fare better.
The presentation is also a bit rough, and suffers from many of the same texture issues that Heavy Rain did, as well as vocal performances which, while more solid than those found in many games, do not equal the standard set by the core title here. Madison, played again by Jaqui Ainsley, sounds a little off sometimes. More distracting, I thought, was that the eponymous taxidermist is voiced by Sam Douglas, who also provides the voice of Scott Shelby. This would not necessarily be a problem, but Douglas does not make any apparent attempt to differentiate the vocal style of this character from Heavy Rain‘s own private detective. Though this character has no apparent link to Shelby, it’s still a little disorienting to hear Shelby’s voice coming from him.
The Taxidermist is short and sweet and, for the most part, really delivers. Small irritations prevent this DLC from being perfect, but it bodes well for the future of Heavy Rain DLC and, if nothing else, will give players hungry for more something to occupy a solid half hour.
