Detroit: Become Human Review
In the year 2038 technology is at a place where androids not only look human, but act like humans as well. The only real difference between humans and androids is their programming protocol that requires them to follow all orders given by their owners… but what would happen if by some strange twist of fate that protocol was breakable? What would happen if the androids could have free will and decide what actions best suited their needs? Well in the city of Detroit, the answers to those questions are going to be at the top of everyone’s mind. In Detroit: Become Human, you will be in control of three androids (Connor, Kara, and Markus), each are different models of androids, each have very different backgrounds when it comes to how they interact in the world, and each of their fates will rest on your decisions that you make throughout the game.
One of the things that I have come to expect from a Quantic Dream game is that all actions have ramifications, and all the choices will rest on the shoulders of the players, themselves. You will be in control of the three main characters, but understand that your choices that you make will affect more than just those three. There is a very good chance that one small decision you made early in the game could cost the life of a character late in the game. The game is structured in a way that you’ll be taking turns with whose story you are currently advancing, and there are going to be times where the stories will overlap.
I really wish that I could go deep into the twists and turns of the story, and how they affected me, personally, but the beauty in this game is that there’s a very good chance that the story I experienced is not the story that you’ll get to experience. What I will say is that with the decisions I made, the story that I played through definitely exhausted me emotionally because of what ended up happening around me (vague enough for you ;) ). The best advice I can give you is to play the story through, at least once, without ever trying to take back a decision. One of the great features of the game is that when you finish a section you will see the decision tree and what options/decisions you made as well as the branches that weren’t taken. Those branches not taken will only show question marks (the developer doesn’t want to give away any additional twists in the game). I personally enjoyed the times that I saw that my choices were made for the longest decision tree possible.
This game looks amazing from start to finish. You’re going to be visiting several different locations and they all look like you could walk into the screen and be there. I will admit with the main focus being on androids it does make it easier to understand seeing the exact same faces over and over again (a feature that is used to help make game worlds look populated). Throughout the game there are going to be things you need to interact with, and I liked the “scan” mechanic in the game that basically changed your view to a more monochrome-like appearance, but with highlighted/labeled items of interest in your immediate vicinity). The only issue that I had with the look of the game was the sluggish camera controls that made it a bit of a chore to move around areas. Yes, there was a key assigned to abruptly change your view in the world, but I would have liked a slightly better feel to the panning around your character (when not in scan mode) especially when you’re looking for specific things in a room/area.
This is not a game for everyone. There are definitely issues that are brought up that will make some people very uncomfortable. There is some combat in the game, but it is done through QTE (Quick-Time Events) which means you’re tapping keys that match what is flashing on the screen. If you mess up there’s a very good chance that something bad will happen (which could include the death of a character). I have to say that this game was much more in the vein of Heavy Rain, which was an amazing game, and less in Beyond Two Souls, which I felt really fell flat. I don’t know if I’ll go through another complete playthrough of the game, but I definitely know that if I do there are things that I can/could change about the outcome of my personal playthrough.