Detroit Become Human is the latest game from Quantic Dreams and offers a very similar experience. Although this is my first game from Quantic Dreams so I have nothing really to compare it to; Detroit Become Human is not just a game, but an experience and is super relevant to where we are today as a society.
The first important thing to note about Detroit Become Human is that its more like an interactive Netflix show instead of an actual video game. I did enjoy surveying the field and the quick time events were exhilarating, but the real drawing point is the story. This can be a very big drawback for certain players if they are looking for a more gameplay focused video game, if the narrative doesn’t interest you than there is not much else Detroit Become Human can offer you.
I am going to do my best job to describe the story without spoiling too much. The story obviously centers in Detroit, Michigan, however it is in the year 2038. In this era there are androids that people can own that can help with a variety of tasks. This story centers around three characters: Kara who is a housekeeper android, Conner who is a police investigator android, and Marcus who is a caretaker android. You will be constantly switching between each character and playing from their perspective. One downside that I personally found is that one of the characters I found far less interesting than the other 2 and I would often find myself taking a break when I would have to switch to that character. With all that being said I just want to say I absolutely loved the story, it genuinely felt like I was watching a great Netflix exclusive. It has been a long while since I played a game that kept me as interested in the story as Detroit Become Human did.
As I mentioned earlier, Detroit Become Human does not have the most intricate gameplay mechanics so this may turn quite a few people off. You are mostly just walking, interacting with the environment, making choices, and having quick time events. However, I did enjoy what little gameplay it did give me.
By far the best part of the game is when Detroit gives you the option to choose certain options. A lot of games nowadays the decisions you make only really affect the ending, however Detroit Become Human has it so the decisions not only affect the ending, but the entire story as a whole. At the end of each chapter you see this massive flowchart and it shows you how many different possible scenarios there are within this game which genuinely makes you want to replay to see possible scenarios.
A big addition that I absolutely love is the chapter select option. This may seem like a very random thing to be so enamored about, but let me explain. Although the game does recommend finishing the story, before using the chapter select which I also do recommend, the game allows you to select to play from any chapter. However, the big thing is when you want to see a new outcome or even if you didn’t like how your chapter ended, you can select that chapter and it gives you the option to continue the story from that point. This is extremely valuable if you want to see how certain things would play out without having to replay the whole damn game from the start. I really appreciated this feature after I beat the game so that I could see alternate endings without having to do everything all over again.
Detroit Become Human does what every game should do: reward dedication. What I mean by this is, the more you explore and the more you interact with the environment the more options you can have with the decisions. Certain points I would notice when I would have a decision to make an extra option would unlock and it was because I decided to inspect the area prior and it would give me an option that was far more satisfying than the original 2 choices that they give you. I just love that this game would give me more options to choose from if I explored the area and it made me decide to explore every nook and cranny of the world.
The most exciting part of the game might be the quick time events. These are during very tense moments and it can often make it so you slip up. I loved it when this would occur, except for one moment. The quick time events often make you have to rotate the controller in some direction and this rarely ever operates the way I want it to. This was incredibly frustrating and most of these quick time events this is where I would miss the action. As the game got in the later stages I hated seeing this and just started accepting that I would miss this reaction command. The one good thing however is that if you miss this reaction command its not all over, your character might make a slip up, but you still have several moments to recover so I appreciated that it was not all over.
PROS
- Great Story, like a T.V Show
- Massive Flow chart
- If you make a mistake it’s not over
- Three Different Characters and view points
- Rewards Exploration
- Decisions not only affect the ending, but how the story plays out
- Ability to continue from a chapter
CONS
- Not Much gameplay
- Rotating the controller
- One character less interesting
CONSENSUS
Detroit Become Human offers a great story and really keeps you interested throughout. Although one character is not as interesting and its mostly story over gameplay. If you are looking for an immersive story this is a game for you.
RATING
8/10: GREAT
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