A Pleasant Surprise – Detroit Become Human (Video Game Review)

“Detroit: Become Human puts the destiny of both mankind and androids in your hands, taking you to a near future where machines have become more intelligent than humans. Every choice you make affects the outcome of the game, with one of the most intricately branching narratives ever created.” – Steam Synopsis

I came into this game expecting to like some aspects of it, but ultimately kind of clown it for its corniness and not-so-subtle racial allegories. I have never personally played a David Cage game, but I’ve watched others play them. Most recently, a few years ago, I watched Heavy Rain. Which had an interesting premise but was ultimately convoluted and messy. When I was younger, I watched someone play Beyond Two Souls, which I absolutely loved. And when this game first came out, I may have watched somebody play through about a third of it. So I kind of knew what I was getting into. But ultimately, there’s just something about actually playing these games and having to make these decisions that are often split-second that changes the experience. And while I was fully ready to cringe and make fun of this game, it actually surprised me in a good way.

I highly recommend the book I, Robot by Issac Asimov. It is one of my favorite books ever, and in it, Asimov proposes a lot of interesting philosophical questions about artificial intelligence, which this game takes strong influence from. So already a few hours in, I was into this world and the premise it presented of this Detroit in a not-so-distant future where the entire world has androids for various purposes. A world where the unemployment rate in the us is over 1/3. People have lost their jobs and livelihoods to machines. It is a world divided that only gets more divided when deviants start to rapidly appear.

So off the bat, the character introductions do an amazing job at presenting the dilemma that each character is going to face throughout this entire game. Connor is a new model android directly from the main android-making company, whose sole task is to get to the bottom of the rising level of androids becoming deviants. They are breaking all three laws of robotics. Not following their programming, killing and harming humans, and going missing. It’s Connor’s job to get to the bottom of it and/or stop it.
Then we have Kara. Who is a model android made for the housework/families, who we first start out playing as in an android shop, as her owner comes to pick her up after she was repaired. As she said, her damages come from her “falling down the steps.” Quickly, we learn how awful he is, how he lives (which is probably how a lot of people in this world live), and how he abuses his daughter. As Kara, our job is to maneuver this situation.

Then, finally, the last character is Markus. An android that belongs to an elderly, famous artist. Who, after a confrontation with his addict son, leads to Markus being thrown away by the police, but his story doesn’t end there.While I do love all three of these characters and their stories, I also love how they eventually come together. Markus does feel like the most pivotal in the grand scheme of things. And here’s where we get to my preconceptions about this game. Because the civil rights/slavery allegories are very ripe and often played into. His storyline was a tightrope between being cringey and being good. And I genuinely think it works. Yes, it is very preachy, but I think what it nails most of all is the complexity behind the fight for rights and freedom. I felt like my choices really mattered, my mistakes affected a whole population, and my voice carried weight. No revolution or freedom fight is clean, and I love how this game lets you choose how bloody or clean or both you could be, and you have to live with those decisions.

I’m being intentionally vague about Markus and Kara because this game has genuine choice. Unlike a lot of other games, where there is an illusion of choice and/or choices don’t matter or boil down to just a few paths in the end. You can make a lot of decisions in Detroit that will affect the story in the moment, in the next chapter, and in the end. There are various endings and even more ways to just completely end a character’s story. It seemed like Connor was the only character that can’t have a super abrupt ending technically, and that may go for Markus as well, but definitely Kara’s story can end quickly based on your choices. Which is an amazing feeling and absolutely adds to the tension of this game.

I’ve already touched on it a few times by now, but it is actually amazing to me to play a game that has genuine choice and repercussions for the actions and the dialogue that I choose. A lot of choice-based games or just games with choice end up bogged down by that aspect. This game flourishes. Which again adds to the intensity of every single moment. And with all of these characters going on their separate journey, there’s a different type of insensitivity for everyone, which is great. I love the attention to detail in this game. Minor spoiler, but there is a moment towards the end where, playing as Kara and hiding out with some people, a cop comes by to inspect. So quickly, you have to tidy up the house, make it look unoccupied. And that moment was already intense because of the time limit and scenario, but as I was cleaning things up, I saw a magazine on the counter with an android that was the same model as Kara on the cover. Out loud, I went to my girlfriend, “No way he notices that. That would be crazy.” Lo and behold, as he’s walking around, he looks at the magazine, then takes another look at Kara, and his suspicion meter goes up. That was just one of many small moments that solidified how much I loved this game. Also, visually, this is still one of the best-looking games you can buy, and we’re 7 years removed from when it released. It is still stunning. And finally, the voice acting is amazing.

So yeah, I was so ready to clown on this game, and once the credits rolled, I have to admit that it is one of my favorites of all time. Maybe not top 10 if I really think about it, but it is right there. The characters are amazing. For brevity, I really only talked about the main three, but there are a handful more that show up within their stories that are just as strong as they are and add the right amount of emotional and story weight. The story overall is amazing. It poses some really poignant questions while also juggling a lot of interpersonal things. All of the above is just strengthened by having actual, meaningful, impactful choices from start to finish. I love this game, and it’s something that I’ll be coming back to and thinking about for a long time. Detroit: Become Human was a pleasant surprise.

Detroit: Become Human – 10/10