Games based on choices and consequences like Life is Strange marked a high tendency in the video game industry, and Detroit: Become Human is not an exception. I would say this is one of the best video games from this category I've ever played and its success, narrative, and gameplay led many streamers to play it live on platforms like YouTube or Twitch. Actually, the same thing happened with Life is Strange, streamers tried these games and that way their great gameplay became famous around the world. But the beauty of this is that these two games are a lot different from each other, so, unlike Life is Strange whose main characteristic is original art and animation, it is pretty interesting to see what the approach of Detroit: Become Human created by the great studio Quantic Dream - the one who also created Beyond Two Souls!
Plot:
The story is set in a possible future in the year 2038 in Detroit, where humans create androids to help them with what they need. The androids can deliver many types of services and some of them come with specific designs depending on the activity they have to do. For example, Connor, whose design allows him to analyze better the evidence of the crimes, is the only one who can do some specific things that Kara or Markus can't. Also, Luther would be a good example too, as he is a huge and strong android because he was created with the purpose of helping others to carry heavy objects. Everything was good with the androids until some relevant cases appeared to the police where we learn that they can become deviants which means they have the freedom to make their own decisions and can show feelings too. Here the game starts with Connor, who is in an apartment with the police and has to stop a deviant to kill a kid.
The cases of the deviants do not stop growing and that is why Cyberlife (the company that creates the androids) created an advanced android, who would it be Connor, to help stop the deviants and solve the case. There are also social and political issues, where many humans hate androids because they basically stole their jobs. You will get to play with Connor, Kara, and Markus and see their different stories and how they develop some relations with humans and other deviants. Here Connor's purpose is to stop the deviants, Kara's purpose is to protect a girl and be her mother, and Markus's purpose is to find freedom for the androids. Depending on your decisions, not just the future of these characters is in your hands, but also of other beloved secondary characters and even you have to be convinced if the androids are actually alive or not.
Graphics:
The funny here is that, as the game is about the future, I actually think they used everything they could to create an advanced design for the game. Scenes are seen as very real and because of that we can witness and understand the message about the future they deliver to us. They created the androids as perfect beings and the expressions and actions of the characters displayed in the game are incredible. The great design and graphics of the game are because they used some methods like motion capture and development footage techniques. So motion capture helps a lot to show very well characters' expressions and to display a modern graphic design. You can see more in the video about the behind-the-scenes of the game here!
Vision:
Quantic Dream did not just manage to deliver nice gameplay but also delivered a possible vision of the future where machines are capable of doing many tasks better than humans. Nowadays, this is a topic that we usually debate and talk about because we already noticed that technology is advancing and some systems and programs are really replacing us. The concern about it is real and they projected it very well.
It is interesting to see that we humans actually can use that advanced technology to create new lifeforms even by accident, and this can be scary too as this is also a topic that we know may happen in the future. There are many books where intellectual people like scientists and physicists try to predict how the world is going to develop with the technology in some years, where some of them think that there is a probability that the new technology can turn against us and others believe that not.
So it is very smart how they projected correctly these interesting debates, discussions, and topics into the game and see if, in this case, what would happen if the androids convert into a new form of life, how humans and androids would coexist, (if they could), and if this would be scary or not for our species. Would this mean the end of humanity and the next era of life would it be the androids then?
Deep message about humans:
As there are humans who hate androids, there are also others like Carl who feel empathy for them and actually think that they are better than us, not just because they do better the tasks but also because they would make better decisions than us. And I think he is right, I actually think the world would be in better hands if other intellectual species like the androids would make important decisions. This is something that also communicates pretty well and delivers some deep lines like Hank talking about how his son died because a human decided to be irresponsible and being high instead of doing his job.
The game delivers a deep message about humans by showing us our imperfections, how sometimes we do not care for certain things, and how we can only understand some things by violence. Nowadays some politicians are arrogant and corrupt and many other people are arrogant too and only want power. Until today we can see many people are affected by the decisions of the ones with power who only think in themselves. In the game, Markus actually says that humans only understand with violence and I do not blame him. In the beginning, I was actually on the side of my own species of course, but the more I played the game and the more I repeated the scenes, I was putting myself on the side of the androids. This is something insane that Quantic Dream did incredibly.
Because of all of these, we can see a lot of character development in androids and humans, and the perfect mix of all these features leads to one of the best science fiction narratives I've ever witnessed.
Gameplay:
It's interesting how they implemented the gameplay because as we control androids, it is easier in a way to find important things that are essential to unlock new dialogues, paths, or actions that you would like to see and choose more than the default ones. So they manage to do detailed environments where you have to think outside the box and think bigger to see other hidden objects while you analyze the place.
Also, you will enjoy this game a lot because it has a huge variety of endings, unlike other ones. This is the most sophisticated and more worked one I've ever seen until now.
Another and one of the greatest and strongest features of the game is that there are so many actions and scenes that are impossible for one gamer to unlock and see all. Even all types of finals are difficult to discover, so you will enjoy and have a great time if you want to repeat the story and have a different ending.
Other features:
You can also enjoy other features of the game like the soundtrack. There are also good musical themes like when you are in a persecution or specific nice soundtrack themes that only sound with Kara and Alice. Also, as Markus would become the leader of the deviants you get to choose if you want to do a pacific or violent movement. Another small but one of the best details is the open menu where an android (Chloe) talks with you and while you play you unlock new dialogues from the menu, it's exceptional how they created this interactive menu! Besides, you have free will to choose to have nice or hostile relations with the characters you have to meet with, and so on!
Best characters to me:
For me, the best relationship is between Hank and Connor. The way they get along will be always interesting and Hank reacts in many different ways depending on the actions of Connor. Both are very well linked and I have to say that Hank is my favorite character of the game and I was happy when I got a good ending for him and Connor!
Cast:
In addition to the previous sections, another strong feature of this game is that the people who gave life to the characters are experienced in the acting industry and that is why, with their skills, they catch your attention by making the story believable. Some of them actually participated in popular series and films and here they are:
Connor: Bryan Dechart (The Smurfs, Jane by Design, The Remaining)
Markus: Jesse Williams (Grey's Anatomy: B-Team)
Kara: Valorie Curry (Twilight, The Boys)
Hank Anderson: Clancy Brown (Spongebob Squarepants, John Wick 4, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Thor: Ragnarok)
North: Minka Kelly (Titans, Euphoria)
Carl Manfred: Lance Henriksen (Pumpkin, Tarzan, Alien vs Predator)
Elijah Kamski and Gavin: Neil Newbon (Extinction, Resident Evil 3, Resident Evil Village)
Chloe: Gabrielle Hersh (Life is Strange, Beyond Two Souls)
Luther: Evan Parke (King Kong, Star Trek: Picard)
Amanda: Simbi Khali (A Savannah Haunting, Plump Fiction)
Josh: Parker Sawyers (Southside With You, Monsoon)
Simon: Ben Lambert (True Bloodthirst, Outpost 3)
Rose Chapman: Dana Gourrier (True Detective, Raising Dion, the hateful eight)
Adam Chapman: Bruce Sherfield (Black Box, Streets of Rage 4)
Todd Williams: Dominic Gould (Glenn, the Flying Robot, Monsieur)
Jeffrey Fowler: Barry Johnson (Blacksad: Under the Skin, Beyond: Two Souls)
Traci: Amelia Rose Blaire (True Blood, Scream, Caught)
Richard Perkins: David Coburn (Captain Planet, Alice)
Carlos: Cornelius Smith Jr. (love take two, Jingle Belle)
Leo Manfred: Paul Spera (On the Line, Soldat Blanc)
Jerry: Kristopher Bosch (Verses of Love 2, The Inpatient)
President Cristina Warren: Christina Batman (Syberia: The World Before, Styx: Shards of Darkness)
Zlatko Andronikov: Saul Jephcott (The Darling Buds of May, Hidden City)
Alice: Audrey Boustani
Conclusion:
Detroit: Become Human is an interesting game that can deliver deep messages about topics we even debate today. It offers innovative and advanced gameplay which also helps to discover new and better decisions. You will never get bored because there is usually something new to discover. This is also a great example that video games based on decisions do not have to be just like Life Is Strange (which is also an awesome game). It is enough that you have a great vision and passion, and an original idea and story to tell. The better you work in the narrative in this type of project, the greater gaming experience you can have. Here they work and justify very well the actions in every type of scenario despite creating many endings. The mix of all these features is why Quantic Dream and the director David Cage (the same one from Beyond: Two Souls too) achieved another successful video game.
Detroit: Become Human trailer:
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