I’ve never been fond of games that emphasize story over gameplay, but with Detroit: Become Human I learned that it’s ok to sit back and let the game tell an interactive story. The game takes its time to introduce its characters before the main conflict starts to take shape, which is a storytelling method that only a select few games in recent memory are capable of doing effectively. Detroit does it well.
From developer Quantic Dream — creators of Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls — Detroit tells the separate-but-interweaving stories of three androids. Markus cares for an elderly painter; Kara is a caretaker for a young girl — Alice — and her abusive father; Connor is a detective investigating android-related crimes. In the game’s first level, Connor takes on the role of a hostage-negotiator when a rogue android threatens to kill its owners’ daughter. It’s a cinematic way to quickly introduce players to the game’s mechanics. At no point did it feel like a traditional “tutorial,” but rather a cold open to a summer blockbuster.
As the game goes on, more androids start to go rogue (called deviants). After a violent altercation, Markus becomes a deviant after he sees the mass grave for androids who misbehave. Kara attacks her owner and runs away from home with Alice, trying to take her as far away from her father as possible.
Each character’s opening level establishes all of the mechanics that players will use throughout the game. Players explore different settings and look for clues to progress through the story, often by completing mundane tasks, especially in the early levels. Most of the early objectives in Kara’s story involve some sort of housekeeping task. As the three stories progress the decisions become more dramatic. In the span of just a few moments, Markus’ actions change from pushing his owner’s wheelchair to defending himself from an intruder, becoming a deviant in the process. Every action (or inaction) players make will drastically change the outcome of the level and the game as a whole.
Whether it’s deciding to kill another character or choosing a bedtime story to tell Alice, every choice has a direct consequence and can open or close narrative pathways. The three main characters are mortal, and once they’re dead, they’re gone for good. This is a finality that just isn’t seen in a lot of AAA games. Removing respawning as a constant safety net for players brings tension to each decision that made me question everything I had done.
No other game has made me feel guilt for endangering a player. By the time the credits roll, I had been through so much with each character that I dreaded making decisions that put the characters in danger. This is what makes the game great: it puts real weight behind every choice. I genuinely didn’t know what was waiting around every corner. That kind of anticipation in a game is like capturing lightning in a bottle — hard to do, but when it’s done right, there’s nothing quite like it.
Another aspect where Detroit has few rivals is in its graphics. This game is absolutely stunning. Moving Markus around an abandoned cargo ship as the sun set is a sight that was simultaneously eerie and soothing. It actually convinced me to use the PS4’s screen capture function, something I swore I would never use. The realism of the game’s characters and locations made every decision more intense. I could see the happiness, dread and sadness in every face. This is motion capture on par with the likes of L.A. Noire or a Hollywood film.
I finished Detroit: Become Human in just a few days and couldn’t wait to start again, this time making the opposite of every choice I had made the first time. There is a very short list of games that have ever made me feel that way, which is why Detroit is a must-buy for any PlayStation 4 owner.
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