Detroit: Become Human
When this game popped into my inbox I was excited. Not because of the hype, per se (although that helps). But because it was something that felt like it was going to scratch an itch.
You see, I never really took to former Quantic Dreams games. The technology and ability to be as close to a movie as a game could be was always impressive. But I never got hooked. The quick-time event type mechanics never sat with me.
But I felt that Detroit could have been a departure for me, emotionally. This is because I knew the story would be gripping to me; given it nestles itself firmly in a near-future (about 15 years from now) dystopia featuring artificial intelligence. Something I’m very curious about.
What’s interesting is that, like all Quantic Dream games, Detroit has managed to polarise it’s audience in a very red-state/blue-state kind of way. No one seems to be on the fence. They either love or hate it. I’m on the side that loved it.
Yes, it has flaws. The story is good, very good in fact. The characters are well played, well scripted and engaging enough to drive each of their three distinct arcs to a close with enough tenacity to keep the player paying attention. But it’s all very surface-level stuff. The easy comparative is modern day racism, which you could have gotten from the box art. Unfortunately, the story never really peels that many layers from the onion as it goes forward.
Detroit follows three main characters: Conor, an android detective; Kara, an android housemaid in an impoverished house & Markus, an android caregiver to a wealthy artist.
The story arcs around the idea of androids becoming “deviant.” Which is to say, they break out of their AI programming construct to attain some form of free will. And, of course, how the world reacts to it (somewhat predictably).
The story plays out in Detroit, as you might have guessed. And Quantic Dream have done a stellar job of creating a believable, and absolutely beautiful world to narrate a story within. The sci-fi tones aren’t overdone, making everything really believable & relatable.
The gameplay is the story. You have a huge amount of choices to make as the story progresses. And at the end of each chapter, the game will show you how you did in a linear progression bar, also revealing the other threads you could have pulled in the story. This gives the game some repeatability, as you can go back to chapters to replay them, giving yourself different choices.
These choices make a big difference in the story. And they change the dynamic of the characters in-game. In some cases progressing their stories faster, in others killing off important side characters.
Controlling these choices is mostly done through the right stick. Quick-time action events (which don’t happen too often) are done by pressing your standard control buttons, and some sequences rely on some mild dexterity as you press multiple buttons together to complete some task. I don’t know why these mechanics never sat well with me in past games. I’m actually putting a lot of it down to age. I’ve grown up, and possibly out of only wanting COD-style action. A relaxing game with an engaging story requiring some mild input from my end is far more appealing than a movie or COD of a Sunday evening.
Overall, this is a great game. It’s my favourite Quantic Dream game so far. But given my past experiences and my current mood, I’m definitely going to revisit Beyond: Two Souls (a current freebie for PS+ members). No, Detroit: Become Human isn’t perfect. But it’s worth the time investment. [8]
