“Both titles will be available as individual digital releases, with a two-game bundle also available both digitally and physically,” Sony’s statement reads.
Originally released in 2010, Heavy Rain tells the story of Ethan Mars, a distraught father who sets out in search of his missing son. Over the course of the journey, Mars finds himself wrapped up increasingly dangerous situations at the whims of the Origami Killer, a mysterious murderer behind his son’s kidnapping.
Heavy Rain spreads its narrative focus across a series of characters linked to the Origami Killer case, including FBI criminal profiler Norman Jayden and private detective Scott Shelby. Action sequences are driven by timed on-screen prompts, and failure can often have deadly consequences. Heavy Rain is unique in that its narrative continues even if its protagonists are killed, affecting the overall story arc and ultimately determining the game’s conclusion.
Follow-up Beyond: Two Souls launched in 2013, and features motion-captured performances from principal actors Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe. Beyond‘s gameplay is presented in a similar style as Heavy Rain, while its story focuses on psychic powers and supernatural phenomena. Sony notes that the PlayStation 4 version of Beyond will allow players to view story scenes in chronological order, an option that wasn’t featured in the original PS3 release.
Director Cage previously found success in the genre with Indigo Prophecy, a unique adventure game that tracks its characters’ mental states and challenges players to maintain good mental health over the course of gameplay. An updated version, Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered., recently premiered for iOS devices and PC platforms via Steam.
Sony notes that the PlayStation 4 versions of Beyond and Heavy Rain are currently slated for release “only for Europe and the PAL region.” Plans for a North American release were not announced.
