Heavy Rain/Chronicle 1: The Taxidermist

This chronicle is the first and last installment of Heavy Rain's planned episodic DLC, which can be purchased from the PlayStation Store as an add-on. The Taxidermist is a scenario with the character Madison Paige, prior to the events of the main game. In this chronicle she has a lead on the identity of the Origami Killer and she is going to the suspect's house to investigate. There are no trophies for this DLC, although one concept art bonus is unlocked for completing the chronicle.

Outside Leland's house

The story starts with Madison learning the name and address of a possible suspect in the Origami Killer case while she's driving on the highway. Gameplay starts when you arrive at the house. The goal is to get inside Leland White's house. You can't go out into the street and you'll turn back if you try to go talk to the neighbors, so your only option is to check out the garbage cans and mailbox on the sidewalk, or go look around the yard.

No one answers the front door, although you can peer through the keyhole and the front window. Even though one of your thoughts is that you should leave, you won't have the option if you try going back to your bike, so you'll need to keep exploring. Head around the right side of the house, as the left side is blocked off with a fence. The back door is blocked off as well, so you'll need to get in through the slightly cracked kitchen window.

Start out by holding to look at the window, then press and tap to turn over the small barrel beneath the window. It's not tall enough for you, so knock over the bigger barrel on the side of the house by pressing and tapping . Kick the barrel over to the window by tugging down on the controller, then pick it back up by bending down and tapping again. You'll now be able to climb up the barrel with then open the window with the same button press and upward tugs on the controller. Hold the combo instructions to get inside, where the window closes behind you.

Inside the house

You're inside Leland's kitchen and you won't be given the option to leave the house until you've entered the master bedroom. If you break anything or leave anything different than you found it, Leland will know you're in the house as soon as he sees it. You can open cupboards and closets, but just put things back the way they were. On the any difficulty other than easy, you'll also knock things over if you walk around too close to them. You'll need to perform a quick-time button press to catch whatever it is before it falls, or Leland will see that you've disturbed it. When you're done looking around downstairs, and maybe out in the garage, head upstairs to continue your search.

Upstairs you'll find a hallway with access to some rooms, but you don't find anything very interesting until the last room on the left and the one at the end of the hallway. You won't be able to leave until you've gone through that last doorway, and Leland comes home shortly afterward or when you attempt to go back down the stairs.

Leland is back

When Leland gets back, you'll find yourself at the beginning of the creaky hallway upstairs, while he comes in the front door downstairs. If you walk too quickly on the floorboards up there, he'll become alerted to your presence. Wait until he turns the television on, then proceed slowly wherever you're going. Leland turns on the TV, then gets a beer and sits on the couch watching some boxing, before getting up to use the bathroom. After that he goes upstairs to fiddle around in each of the rooms, although it's always in a random order. He sleeps on the bed in the first room, looks in the locker of the next room with the mannequin torsos and sits at the desk in the room across from there. He looks around the room with the glass case outside, saws on the girl in the bathtub in the last door on the left, and visits his models in the master bedroom. When he's done everything there is to do, he'll go back downstairs and watch TV again.

Once Leland is aware you're in the house, he'll come upstairs and start searching through the rooms, again in a random fashion. If he's looking somewhere where you're not, you'll be able to sneak past him back downstairs where you can escape. If he catches you, you'll have to perform a quick-time sequence to escape him, and then he'll be chasing you. As you're running way, you'll get more quick-time instructions to pick the way you want to go. Depending on whether you mucked anything up before he got home and your actions when he gets home, you might escape without him knowing you're there, escape after he chases you, or you may be killed.

There are several ways to make it out alive. The window at the top of the stairs can be opened, but it will create a lot of noise, so you'll probably only want to try this when Leland is far away. Going out the window lets you get to your bike without Leland chasing you outside. Downstairs, you can go through the front door or the garage, and either way will let you escape without being chased if Leland hasn't seen you yet. The front door requires a slowly unfolding instruction on harder difficulties, and then you'll have to look in his jacket pocket for the key. At the garage, you can open the door with the button on the wall, then roll underneath it. If you're being chased by Leland, the only way out quick enough is the garage. You'll get a quick-time instruction when you first enter, and you'll have to hit to go to the button on the wall. Your other option is to pick for the chainsaw, which requires a quick-time sequence to take out the killer. If you make it outside with Leland right behind you, he'll follow you to your bike where you'll have to tap repeatedly to start the engine, then to drive away before he gets to you.

Endings

There are five endings you can get in the chronicle, and when you finish you'll be shown their names and informed that you can try for all of them. Whenever you've found one of the endings, it will be marked off on that screen so you know which ones you still have left to do. Each of the ending names correspond to the newspaper headline shown once you've finished the chronicle, and you only have to replay the last chapter if you didn't do anything in the previous one to alert Leland to your presence.

• Sacrificed in the Name of Truth.: When the killer gets home, sneak into the first bedroom and call Sam from the phone on the side of the bed. After the phone call, alert Leland and let him kill you.
• In the Middle of the Horror.: Don't use the phone and escape without Leland following you outside. He can become alerted that someone is in the house, just don't let him see you.
• The End of Anguish.: Use the phone and either escape or wait for the police to arrive.
• Where is Madison Paige?: Don't use the phone and let Madison die.
• The End of the Nightmare.: Don't use the phone and escape with Leland chasing you outside, or kill him with the chainsaw.