Android Adventure--Detroit: Become Human Review

My love for android-themed science fiction is deep--I have done my best to consume any and all television shows (Westworld, Humans, a few choice episodes of Black Mirror) that deal with human vs. android conflict.  I had heard good things about Detroit: Become Human from console gamers but had read a few PC reviews that mentioned some crashing/issues.  I decided that it would be a good idea to wait and see if the reviews got better (and if it seemed like the issues were fixed) and then promptly got distracted by a bunch of other games.  Recently, I saw it go on sale and decided that for 50% it was worth the risk of some possible issues (and, it seems like those issues were potentially overblown--I experienced 1 crash just prior to the menu screen the first time I booted it up).  Having just finished my first full playthrough of the story, I wish I had snagged it earlier--it's great!

Kara is one of the three android protagonists.

What is it?

Detroit: Become Human is tagged on Steam with the following:  choice matter, story rich, multiple endings, and sci-fi.  The story follows three androids--Connor, a prototype model designed to aid the police with investigations; Markus, a caregiving android who belongs to a well-known, elderly painter; and Kara, a domestic android.  The gameplay alternates between the three characters--each sequence focuses on a piece of the story unique to a specific android.  During each sequence players are required to make choices that can change the outcome of the sequence...or potentially the entire story.

How long does a full playthrough take?

I played through the story in 12 hours.  That might seem short, but the choice based nature of the game means that it's meant to be played multiple times.  I fully intend on going back and replaying it.

Pros:

+ The graphics are amazing.  Initially I was a bit irritated--before you can even start the game it has to go through a sequence of "shader optimization."  The message that pops up informs you that the process could potentially take awhile and is based off the speed of your CPU and GPU hardware.  It took somewhere between 10-20 minutes on my machine (which isn't brand spankin' new).  Once it was done, I was stunned at how realistic and amazing the characters and world looks.  It's gorgeous.

+ Tons o' choices.  Each story sequence involves making many small and large decisions that have an impact on the outcome.  These decisions are frequently weighty and difficult.  There are many different factors to consider that add weight to the choices. 

The flowchart shows your choices as well as the ones you haven't made.

+ Unique branching narrative mechanic.  Each time you finish a story sequence you are presented with a "flowchart" that shows you all the choices you made.  It also shows paths for the choices that you didn't make (it doesn't spoil anything), but it makes it abundantly clear that there are many potential outcomes for each sequence.

+ Replayability factor is high.  It's not the kind of game you're going to replay 10 times, but the choice-based nature and branching narrative lends itself to playing through the story multiple times to see the many potential story outcomes.  There's also the handy chapter select option that allows you to replay specific scenarios.  If you're unhappy with an outcome or are just trying to see all the potential outcomes (which is actually quite difficult) you can easily pick a checkpoint and opt for another path.  (*I would strongly recommend replaying the entire story though)

+ Sequence length varies, but most are fairly short.  This format is perfect for gamers who don't have hours and hours to dedicate to playing.  You can play through a single sequence in less than an hour (and much shorter for some sequences).

+ Collectibles/unlockables.  Each sequence awards a sort of currency for the choices you unlock--you can use the currency to unlock artwork, character models, developer commentary and shorts, and other fun stuff.

+ World stats.  You can see what choices other players from around the world made.

+ Branching storyline.  Playing as three different characters provides some variety in the story.  The storylines also overlap a few times and players are forced to make some difficult decisions that could impact one or more of the three characters.

+ Touches on some thought provoking and philosophical themes.  There's a sort of android "guide" on the menu screen and she will prompt players to answer questions related to some of the themes in the game.  The game doesn't go into too much depth about these big questions, but they do make you think.  There's even a short survey players can take and compare their answers with others from around the world.  

Cons:

+/- Timer for choosing dialogue and/or making many choices is short.  There are many QTE sequences in the story that require fairly quick reflexes and messing them up can result in the loss of a character (*however, there is a lower difficulty setting that makes QTE sequences less impactful).  The ability to easily replay sequences means you have the option for a re-do, but they might be a bit challenging for some people.

- There's not a lot "game-y" about it.  You guide the characters and make choices--the QTE sequences are the closest it gets to resembling gameplay.  If you're familiar with TellTale games...it's in that same vein of gameplay.  I found the story, characters, and choices to be compelling enough that I didn't find myself wanting any further "gameplay" but this particular genre of games isn't for everyone.

- Even though I liked the story, it does play into some pretty standard androids vs. humanity tropes.  If they do make another game, I hope they try to do something a bit more unique.

- If you're the type of player who wants to 100% (which means uncovering all the potential outcomes on every sequence flowchart), you'll have to intentionally fail over and over.  Yeah, there's a chance that you could accidentally mess up some of the sequences, but for the most part they're easily doable--this seems like a needlessly irritating addition, but I suppose it does give you the chance to see how the story plays out if you fail at specific points.

Recommendation:

If you're someone who enjoys choice-based games, you'll definitely love Detroit: Become Human.  The demise of TellTale left a gaping hole in this genre of games, but Quantic Dream have given me hope that it's not totally dead and it might actually be improved upon.  Even though the story sticks to  standard android tropes, you'll still find yourself attached to the characters and having to agonize over your choices.