Heavy Rain Nudity - Not a Big Deal

Heavy Rain: The Movie

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eavy Rain is a very cinematic gaming experience. More so than most other video games, Heavy Rain can easily be boiled down to “press X to watch game.” Quicktime events are the name of the game, and make up almost all of the gameplay. In many ways, the its more like a movie than a game. This is why there is relatively little controversy surrounding the inclusion of nudity.

Strip Tease

The Strip Tease Scene in Heavy Rain is the lesser of the two scenes making their rounds on the Internet today. In it, the heroine is forced at gunpoint to strip for her assailant, whom she ends up knocking over the head with a lamp. Picture that scenario in an action movie. Sure, starring Halle Berry if you like. She’s no stranger to nudity in media; she was topless for no reason in the 2001 film Swordfish. Would it be out of place? Not at all!

In fact, there has been nudity in film for over Eighty Years. Long before video games were even a spark in someone’s mind, film had been showing mammaries on the big screen. Compared to many films, the nudity in the strip tease scene is barely even a blink. You can watch the NSFW video yourself, here.

Shower Scene

The shower scene in Heavy Rain is the greater of the two nude scenes. You can watch the video (NSFW!) or read what we have to say about it in this article.

So why does no one care? More importantly, why do people think someone should? Part of the answer lies in the self-censorship of the scene itself. Breasts abound, and buttocks are prominently displayed, but the game steers clear of full frontal nudity. That’s a stage even hollywood tries to stay clear of. The two occasions where full frontal nudity could be included, something obscures the pelvic region of the character.

Growing Up

Video games are no strangers to nudity, but they’re harshly rated for even the slightest inclusion. Why is this? The games in question are always rated mature, meaning the people capable of buying and playing said games are of legal age to be in much more ‘interactive’ nude scenes themselves. The interactivity of the games, then, doesn’t lead to their criticism. Maybe game developers, and game critics, just think the rating system is imperfect and allows underage game players access to content they shouldn’t have access to. While this is undoubtedly true, the same can be said of movie theaters, DVDs, and even the prolific nature of pornographic material available on the internet.

Maybe we all just need to grow up a little. Or maybe we just need to realize that video games are themselves growing up, and to treat them as such.