Set in 2038, in a dystopian world where humanity and AI have completely intertwined, Detroit Become Human provides the players with a unique narrative-driven emotional rollercoaster where every one of your decisions matters and can drastically change the course of the game.
Released in 2018, after the success of Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, Detroit Become Human was Quantic Dream's most ambitious project.
What is the plot of Detroit: Become Human?
The Story of Detroit Become Human revolves around a time of technological evolution where the advancements made by Artificial Intelligence have put the world on the brink of chaos as AI has superseded human intelligence and is now at a phase where many people have started to despise robots as their jobs have now been replaced by machines who don't have any biological downsides.
This game provides the player with more of an interactive movie-like experience where you get to play as androids named Connor, Kara and Markus and experience the world through their eyes as the scenarios play out. These three characters are quite different from each other and their distinct challenges and storylines keep the player from getting bored as the game continually throws plot twists at you.
All three of these stories intersect at certain points and impact one another as you play. The game does an excellent job of emotionally investing the player with whatever story route they have taken, making decisions even more critical as the wrong move can easily cause the death of a character extremely early in the game.
After the games release.
Compared to the games released today where choices don't have a significant enough effect on the outcome of the scenario, Detroit Become Human gives the player actual freedom to carve their own story and get an ending that is completely dependent on them and their choices.
The sheer amount of variability genuinely puts similar games by other studios where your choices generally don't have an impact on the outcome, like Telltale, to shame. The game is designed without a consistent storyline so naturally that affects the writing quality quite a lot, especially when you often change lanes.
Dialogues and acting can get a bit cheesy at times but for the most part, Quantum Dreams has done an excellent job. By itself, the base story of Detroit Become Human isn't something you've never seen before, but the way it immerses the player and tests your morality with an actual feedback loop is truly a one-of-a-kind experience that you can only find in David Cage's games.
The core gameplay mechanics of Detroit are nothing special. Compared to recent AAA titles, Detroit doesn't really have a lot going for it in the gameplay department as the scenarios are usually set in a closed environment and the controls are also extremely simplistic.
You are free to roam around but as the game is set on a scenario basis, for some players, the pacing of this game can in fact seem boring but again if you're in for a linear action-packed experience, this is not the game for you.
Combat isn't a strong suit of the game either as it's basically just a bunch of quick-time events and you spend most of your time walking around examining the environment, recreating possible crime scenes and collecting various clues.
Even though the gameplay is extremely basic the game makes up for it by utilising masterful cinematography and elegant sound design to immerse the player in this Sci-Fi world. Even little things like playing the piano at the beginning when you play as Markus is done in a way where the player feels a sense of intimacy and involvement with the character and the overall environment.
Talking about the environment, despite being released over 6 years ago, the graphical fidelity of Detriot: Become Human still holds up. It's not the best-looking game or anything like that, but it's still pretty enough to make you want to just observe the environment every once in a while.
Conclusion
Overall, Detroit Become Human provides a fantastic experience, through its narrative and thought-provoking themes, challenging players to explore moral dilemmas.
So if you're yearning for some interactive storytelling or are just bored of the usual AAA formula, Detroit Become Human will take you on a journey that you most likely won't regret.
