Detroit: Become Human

For some odd reason I'm always a bit hesitant when starting a game such as Detroit: Become Human. 

One where the lines between movie and game are very blurred and the "gameplay" is a descriptor that must be placed in quotes because...well...it's just not very traditional. 

Recently my exposure to these sorts of games have been the swiftly-aging Telltale games. These originated with such powerful storytelling capabilities on previous-gen hardware and, if my recent playthroughs are any indication, haven't grown or evolved hardly at all. That's sad given the potential that was there and it's even more disturbing that their own inability to upgrade their systems have made me apathetic to similar new releases. Even non-Telltale ones like Detroit. 

It's certainly wrong of me to have that pre-judgement against Detroit since it comes from David Cage and Quantic Dream who usually do push themselves and the industry. Their previous effort, Beyond - Two Souls was one of their weaker entries (likely adding to my middling interest) because it seemed unfocused and farfetched while also nearly totally neutering the "choices" aspects of these games that make them so important. If Heavy Rain was Quantic Dream's high point right before, Beyond was a questionable follow up and certainly not one of the PlayStation brand's stand-out exclusives. 

I was fearful that Detroit would suffer the same fate. Admittedly, perhaps it's the awful title with the "Become Human" add-on that made me assume it would be similar to Beyond vs. Heavy Rain, but, as always, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. 

My, my. Detroit has certainly cleaned up...

Instead of continuing to beat around the bush I'll drop the gauntlet and say that Detroit: Become Human is David Cage's and Quantic Dream's best game to date, by a fairly significant margin. Heavy Rain was a classic back in the day for the story it told and the choices it put us through (and yes, the odd sense of "Press X for "JAAASSSSONN!!"). It was a mature story before games had grown up and was different. The uniqueness + the quality made it a memorable classic, but, as we saw with Beyond, once you're unique with sub par quality or storytelling, people move on.  

Plays with some fun camera angles ^^

Detroit is Quantic Dream's choice-based-storytelling-"games" nearly perfected and in one swift motion it's nearly completely invalidated any need I'd have to play a Telltale game ever again, though I'd argue they've done that to themselves a bit. The first, and perhaps most important point I'd like to praise Detroit for is its choices. More specifically? The fact that choices matter in the game. And branch, and kill, and change drastic pieces of story. It sounds like something you may have heard 1000 times before with games, but once you actually complete a few levels of Detroit and see the after-level decision-tree maps, and how they connect from chapter to chapter, you'll get it. A few levels have such robust decision trees that you have to zoom out and pan to see all the choices you didn't make -- all of which are hidden until you make them of course. There's also something deeply exciting (and shocking) about comparing your choices at the end of each chapter to other players and your friends. A few times I saw myself on the path of only 3-4% of players and questioned how radically different someone else's experience had been. The ending of my first playthrough in particular was deeply grim, with one of my characters dying 2 chapters earlier and me not even being able to play as them in the finale. There aren't many games that can claim to have that degree of consequence. Some choices are smaller than others, but as the story ratchet's up in intensity, it places substantial decisions at your feet, a handful that I found to be lose-lose propositions, making them all the harder. 

Damn millennial AIs!

The story is one of their best too. Where Beyond seemed to not make much sense and go off the rails near the end, Detroit makes sense the whole way. You play as 3 separate AI humanoids, all of which are products of a company that has revolutionized the world by introducing true AI. As is the case with artificial intelligence stories, the "intelligence" part of these creatures begins to become sentient and want choices, lives, and feelings of their own. Many will relate it back to Westworld from a current pop culture standpoint, but A) those are very different comparisons and B) this makes a lot more sense than the mess that was Westworld Season 2. Detroit builds its story piece by piece and chapter by chapter until things escalate considerably. It's far-fetched, sure, but I never felt like there was a totally illogical jump in the plot; probably because I was driving it. As is the case with Quantic Dream stories, some of the dialogue is cheesy and other scenes are designed purely for "Hey look at this" control options (e.g. I think I've done "chores" in every single David Cage game). Looking at the plot in broad and smaller strokes though, it makes you invested in each and every character, doesn't bend over backwards to shock, and feels like a mature story that most gamers can relate to. I'm eager to start back up on a second playthrough -- making choices radically different than my first time -- in order to see what else there is to offer. 

And this is probably one of the smaller/medium size decision-trees you see after chapters. Simply stunning...

Horror elements?

From a gameplay standpoint, Detroit does less to impress, but you should know what you're getting into before you buy the game. Put as bluntly as possible: it's an extended quick-time event as a whole game. Some people will absolutely detest this. That's fine; this game isn't for them. For those of us that are more story-driven gamers, the gameplay works efficiently almost all the time and I had far less awkward quirky moments than I ever have in comparable games. It's a polished game with controls that can be both fun and intuitive and worked well on a consistent basis. It's certainly no God of War or Horizon, but that was never the point. 

Where both those games showed technical quality however, so too does Detroit. It's visuals are stunning and the framerate never dips. Facial and character animations match up with the stellar performances provided with the cast and give an eerie sense of realism. Make no mistake about it just because it's a videogame, but Detroit has some incredible performances that are nuanced as these characters (read: AIs) grow and evolve to be more human like. Accompanying the strong graphics is some original music that's also thrilling...and touching...and really whatever it needs to be in the moment. I don't think it's on par with some movie greats, but it gets the job done well in most scenes and is a key element in others.

Me when attempting to write the final paragraph of any review ^^

Detroit: Become Human, other than a dumb title, is Quantic Dream's best game they've ever made. I was compelled thoroughly by its gripping, intertwining story, it's a technical marvel with similarly impressive performances, and it's one of the very few games I've ever played where choice felt like it mattered. If you've never played a David Cage game and you're willing to take a chance/break on something that's not Call of Duty, Fortnite, PUBG, or Fifa/Madden -- you'll likely find yourself well-rewarded with a unique, memorable experience. 

CONS

• A few chapters in the story seem superflous
• Usually marked by "Hey, isn't this cool?!" control segments like sweeping or some mundane activity
• Episodes of stilted, corny dialogue
• Only a few awkward control moments
• Dumb post-colon title add on. Game should have just been called Detroit and it would have built more intrigue and sounded less cornball sci-fi

PROS

• I found the story and plot movements to be logical, engrossing, and far better (and easy to follow) than some of Quantic Dream's previous. Easily their best story to date
• For a game of this nature, the controls were intuitive and fun most of the time. I rarely felt like they got in my way
• From a film standpoint, the game is paced well, features some professional cinematography, and at least three core performances that are impactful and memorable. David Cage should be praised for his confident direction
• Looks damn great. Facial animations at their best
• Sounds damn great too. The original score shines from time to time
• I've never felt so in awe of the choices that a game provides. This is what these "types" of games needed to evolve to. It's intricately incredible
• Seeing all players' and your friends' choice maps drives this point home. Mine were vastly different
• A hugely unique experience that is fun, riveting, heart-warming, heart-breaking, and complete. Kudos to Sony for driving innovation and games like this in the marketplace

Rath's Review Score | 9/10