But does it have Androids?

Starting on a high note, I think I've finally broken my streak of semi-bad gaming luck and managed to find a game that has stuck.  Huzzah!  I wish I had pulled the trigger on Detroit: Become Human earlier because I am greatly enjoying it.

I'm a science fiction fan and in particular I love stories that involve androids.  I loved Westworld (originally a TV drama in the 1970's and then brilliantly rebirthed by HBO as a series in 2016--I would highly recommend it) and enjoyed AMC's series Humans (not as good as Westworld, but still good).  I'm also constantly on the prowl for good robot/android books/stories and discovered the excellent Murderbot series (here's a link to the series on Goodreads:  The Murderbot Diaries).  Android stories are fascinating to me--there's just something innately thought provoking about humans creating robots that are meant to emulate them and then struggling to figure out exactly how androids should fit into the world--they look and feel human...but they're not human, so how should humanity treat them?  Like humans or like robots?  Inevitably, most of these stories come down to the fact that humans wind up treating androids like shit (after all, they're not alive, right?) and things usually start to get heated.  I  find myself rooting for the androids.

Connor--the android investigator.

So, it's really no surprise that I've found Detroit: Become Human to be a great addition to my favorite genre of sci-fi.  The story revolves around three androids who live in the futuristic city of Detroit (which has seen a period of great re-birth thanks to it being the center of android manufacturing and the home of CyberLife--the world leader in android design).  There's Connor, a prototype model who has been specially designed to help the police with investigations into a new problem that is threatening to get out of hand--androids who have become "deviant" and are no longer acting according to their core programming.  Connor's job is to catch these deviants and try to figure out what is causing their abnormal behavior.  Players can choose how they play Connor--he can follow the company directives and keep CyberLife happy by capturing deviants or he can side with the deviants (who all have good reasons for their behavior).

And then there's Markus, a caretaker model who belongs to a well-known, elderly painter (voiced and modeled after Lance Henriksen--an actor who has played androids himself!) named Carl Manfred.  Markus's tasks include running errands for Carl and it's through the seemingly mundane task of buying paints in an art store that players get an idea about the place of androids in society.  To get to the art store Markus has to walk by an angry man preaching to a small crowd about the evils caused by androids; news screens flash messages about a high unemployment rate caused by the introduction of android laborers...things are definitely complicated.  After Markus buys the paint he has to walk past an anti-android protest to reach the bus.  The bus presents another troubling aspect of society--androids are forced to stand in the "androids-only" section located in a small compartment on the back of the bus.

Markus, a caretaker model.

Once Markus arrives at home players get a glimpse into his relationship with Carl--it's one of care and respect.  Things take an unfortunate twist when Leo (Carl's adult son) shows up out of the blue and demands money from his father.  It's obvious that Leo has a drug problem and Carl refuses to give him the money.  Markus stands by protectively, but fortunately Leo angrily storms out without any physical conflict.  Things heat up the next day when Carl and Markus arrive home from a party to find that someone has broken into the house--guess who it is?  Yep, it's Leo and he's trying to steal one of Carl's paintings to sell.  Carl tells Markus to call the police (which he is easily able to do with built-in software) and has Markus wheel him in so he can confront Leo.  Leo angrily rants against Carl and accuses him of only caring about Markus (who isn't even human!).  Then Leo turns his anger on Markus and starts physically attacking him.  Carl implores Markus not to fight back (and players can choose whether Markus obeys), but he's getting too worked up and he collapses--his fragile heart couldn't take the excitement.  The police show up just in time to see Markus crouching over the downed figure of Carl...it doesn't look good.  Leo, being an asshole, tells the cops that it's Markus's fault and they don't hesitate to open fire....  The story continues when Markus wakes up in what appears to be the dumping ground for all inoperable androids.  He's damaged, is now considered deviant, and has painfully lost his owner...what's he going to do?

Things start off on the showroom floor for the third character--she wakes up to the sight of shoppers perusing android models.  An employee approaches and is explaining to a man that the android has been reset and repaired (an interesting tidbit that implies that something strange happened that resulted in the android needing to be repaired).  The employee questions the man about the name of the android (it's Kara and she was named by his daughter) and why he is opting to pay for repairs rather than buying a new android.  The entire situation feels a bit ominous and strange.  After paying for the repairs the man tells Kara to get in his truck so they can return home.  "Home" happens to be situated in a rundown section of the city.  The man takes Kara inside--it's here that Kara meets a little girl who is apparently the daughter of the man.  The girl seems apprehensive about Kara and players don't get much of a chance to interact with her because the man orders Kara to clean up the house (he also adds in that Kara's been gone for two weeks...apparently she was very badly damaged).

Kara, a housekeeping android.

Players then get to play through a series of chores around the house--picking up trash, washing dishes, and various other cleaning tasks.  It's an interesting glimpse into the repetitive nature of the tasks that androids perform.  While cleaning up, players are able to learn a little bit about the situation--looking at a framed picture reveals a family portrait (there's no sign of the woman in the picture, so she must be gone and the little girl must be the daughter).  Part of Kara's cleaning task involves tidying up the little girl's bedroom.  It's here that players get a chance to interact with her--it's a bit difficult because she seems apprehensive about Kara.  Kara is programmed to deal with children and if players choose the right options the girl warms up enough to reveal that her name is Alice and gives Kara a key to unlock her "treasure box."  Players can choose whether or not to open the box.  If you do choose to open the box, Kara finds a picture of the girl's parents as well as several crayon drawings that appear to show a damaged Kara--something bad did happen.  Kara puts the items back and heads downstairs to ask about any other tasks that need to be completed.

Kara finds Todd on the couch with drug paraphernalia scattered on the table (awesome....) and he is very agitated and aggressive.  He orders her to make dinner and proceeds to enjoy his drugs (which seem to be making him even more agitated).  Alice has come downstairs and apparently Todd has no concerns about using drugs in front of her.  Kara finishes making the food and serves it on the dining room table--she stands nearby to help pour water and serve the meal.  Todd has reached a boiling point and starts in on a rant about how his wife left him and how he's stuck with Alice (a "brat" who he doesn't care about).  He goes ballistic, flips the table, grabs Alice and slaps her!  It's hard to watch....

Players have to choose whether to intervene--(umm, who wouldn't?) and Kara grabs Alice and flees upstairs.  You can choose the actions that Kara takes--I had her hide with Alice in Alice's bedroom and lock the door.  Todd is raving and smashes the door open--there is a frantic QTE sequence as Kara tries to defend Alice and fend off Todd's drug-fueled attacks.  Eventually Kara manages to smack Todd in the head and disable him long enough so that she and Alice can escape--but where are they going to go?  An android with a human child?

The story alternates between Connor, Markus, and Kara and plays out in short choice-based sequences.  Occasionally there is an overlap in the stories and that adds in an additional layer of intrigue.  I'm really enjoying the stories and the way the game stresses the branching narrative.