Games Like Heavy Rain
Quick Answer
The closest games to Heavy Rain are Detroit: Become Human, Beyond: Two Souls, Until Dawn, The Quarry and Life is Strange. Below are 9 picks with the reason for each — what carries over from Heavy Rain, and what does not.
What Made Heavy Rain Work
Heavy Rain is a branching thriller where characters can die and the story carries on without them, and most of the play is contextual prompts rather than mechanics. It stands or falls on whether the story grips you. Recommendations here are other games where choice actually changes the outcome.
Heavy Rain is Quantic Dream's 2010 PlayStation 3 thriller, written and directed by David Cage, later released on PS4 and PC. Four characters investigate the Origami Killer, who drowns children in rainwater, and any of them can die without the story ending. Most interaction uses context-sensitive button prompts and choices. Fans usually want another cinematic, choice-driven story where outcomes truly branch.
9 Games Like Heavy Rain
1.Detroit: Become Human(2018)
The same studio, and the branching is far more elaborate.
Why it fits: Quantic Dream's 2018 game follows three androids in a future Detroit and shows a flowchart of how each chapter branched.
What is different: Three androids instead of four people hunting a killer, and a flowchart after each chapter shows the branches you missed.
Where to play it: PS4 and PC.
Games like this →2.Beyond: Two Souls(2013)
The one between them, if you want the same shape again.
Why it fits: Quantic Dream's 2013 PS3 game stars Elliot Page and Willem Dafoe and follows Jodie's life, linked to a spirit called Aiden.
What is different: One heroine across fifteen years, told out of order, with a spirit partner you control; the story branches far less.
Where to play it: PS3, PS4 and PC.
More about this game →3.Until Dawn(2015)
Everyone can die, and the branching is genuinely tense.
Why it fits: Supermassive Games' 2015 PS4 horror game has eight friends who can all live or die based on your choices.
What is different: Teen slasher horror where any of eight friends can die; more jump scares and far less detective work.
Where to play it: PS4; the 2024 remake is on PS5 and PC.
More about this game →4.The Quarry(2022)
By the Until Dawn team, and the best-looking of these.
Why it fits: Supermassive Games' 2022 horror game, published by 2K, has a group of camp counsellors whose survival depends on your choices.
What is different: Summer-camp horror with nine counsellors; bloodier and more comic, with a mode that lets the film play itself.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
More about this game →5.Life is Strange(2015)
Choice-driven story with a much lighter touch.
Why it fits: Dontnod Entertainment's 2015 episodic game follows Max, who can rewind time to change choices.
What is different: You can rewind time to redo any choice, and it is a small-town coming-of-age story rather than a thriller.
Where to play it: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
More about this game →6.As Dusk Falls(2022)
Branching drama across decades, built entirely on decisions.
Why it fits: Interior/Night's 2022 game follows two families across decades, with multiplayer voting on choices.
What is different: Told in illustrated still frames rather than full animation, and a group can vote on each choice from their phones.
Where to play it: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS4 and PS5.
More about this game →7.Telltale's The Walking Dead(2012)
The other pillar of the choice-driven adventure.
Why it fits: Telltale Games' 2012 episodic game follows Lee and Clementine, with choices that affect relationships.
What is different: Episodic and cel-shaded, and its choices are about who to save and whom to trust rather than solving a case.
Where to play it: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Switch, iOS and Android.
More about this game →8.The Dark Pictures Anthology(2019)
Short horror branching stories, good in co-op.
Why it fits: Supermassive Games' anthology, beginning with Man of Medan in 2019, tells short branching horror stories that can be played in co-op.
What is different: Several short, unconnected horror stories instead of one long one, and two players can share a story online.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
More about this game →9.Twelve Minutes(2021)
If the thriller structure rather than the scale was the appeal.
Why it fits: Luis Antonio's 2021 game, published by Annapurna Interactive, is a top-down time-loop thriller voiced by James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley and Willem Dafoe.
What is different: Seen from above and set in one flat, on a time loop: you relive the same twelve minutes and keep only what you learned.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Switch.
More about this game →
Where to Start
Detroit: Become Human is the best next step from the same studio. Until Dawn is the pick if you want the branching in horror form. As Dusk Falls is the closest in tone for a grounded drama.
How We Picked These Games
Every pick is a narrative game where your choices shape the story, ideally with branching endings or characters who can die. We gave priority to Quantic Dream's own games and to Supermassive's branching horror, which grew from the same idea.
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Games Like Heavy Rain Compared
Year is each game's first release anywhere, on the platform in the next column. "Play it now" is where it can be bought or played today.
| Game | Year | First released on | Play it now | Closest to Heavy Rain in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit: Become Human | 2018 | PS4 | PS4 and PC. | Same studio, three branching leads |
| Beyond: Two Souls | 2013 | PS3 | PS3, PS4 and PC. | Quantic Dream's performance-led drama |
| Until Dawn | 2015 | PS4 | PS4; the 2024 remake is on PS5 and PC. | Anyone can die |
| The Quarry | 2022 | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. | Survival decided by choices |
| Life is Strange | 2015 | PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. | Choices you can rewind |
| As Dusk Falls | 2022 | Xbox, PC | Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS4 and PS5. | A crime drama across decades |
| Telltale's The Walking Dead | 2012 | PC, Xbox 360, PS3 | PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Switch, iOS and Android. | Choices that shape relationships |
| The Dark Pictures Anthology | 2019 | PC, PS4, Xbox One | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. | Short branching stories, in co-op |
| Twelve Minutes | 2021 | PC, Xbox | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Switch. | A thriller you solve by repeating it |
Which One to Play, by What You Liked
If you liked Heavy Rain for characters dying for good, try Until Dawn and The Quarry. Supermassive's horror games, where any character can be lost by your choices.
If you liked Heavy Rain for Quantic Dream's cinematic style, try Detroit: Become Human and Beyond: Two Souls. The studio's next two games.
If you liked Heavy Rain for the Origami Killer mystery, try Twelve Minutes and As Dusk Falls. Crime thrillers where the truth comes out through your decisions.
If you liked Heavy Rain for choices that follow you, try Telltale's The Walking Dead and Life is Strange. Episodic dramas built on relationships.
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