It has been two and a half years since we received the above from Quantic Dream, the simply correct Beyond: Two Souls . When they released this title we had already met Kara , in a short that did not go unnoticed by the general public. However, the developer of David Cage already had at that time the game that concerns us, Detroit: Become Human , which continues with the legacy of the study at the time of offering a graphic adventure in which the narrative is the center, but multiplies interest and diversify the possibilities by taking a few steps forward at almost every level. If you want to give the fast forward, Detroit: Become Human is the best game of this developer so far. Now let's explain the whys to launch such a claim.
About the Game
The last work of Quantic Dream does not come to revolutionize the unmistakable seal of the studio, but it does evolve until we find something really interesting. In this way, we find ourselves with a graphic adventure in which we directly control the protagonists of the story, we decide their answers in the conversations, we move them through the scenarios and we make decisions about what to do and when to do it. With this in mind, it may seem like another title, however, the novelty comes from the great number of ramifications of history and the variability of development depending on what we do with the protagonists. This fact adds an intrinsic replayability to the story that is proposed making it interesting to return to play certain scenes (which we can freely choose once we overcome them for the first time), to see what would have happened if we had answered differently or acted on another way, seeing its repercussions.
For example, there will be a time when we need to take refuge, and for that we will seek shelter, with each option requiring us to do something different. In one case we would have to steal, in another we have to convince, in another it will be necessary to look for the stage to be able to enter a building ... And of course, what happens with the characters that we control, and the way of perceiving them (and perceiving oneself) also varies) depending on the decisions and actions we take.
Gameplay
We treat other characters or what we do affects the way the world sees us and other characters perceive us. For example, Kara goes with a little girl, Alice, who can come to consider us her family if we treat her with affection, or quite the opposite if we do not take care of the relationship. Almost every decision opens up new branches of possibilities, which further increases the variability of Detroit's history: Become Human. There are decisions that we think are relevant, but they end up being banal, others seem trivial and end up being important for development ... In general, the feeling is that almost everything we do matters for the story , and that makes the action take on an intensity higher.
Of course, all this would be useless if the narrative that Quantic Dream has created for the occasion is not interesting. Luckily yes that it is, forming a history full of grays in which we, as players, have to position ourselves with respect to a simple question: what does it mean to be human?
We will live the story of three different androids: Connor, who helps the police when there are divergent androids (those who start acting on their own initiative, without obeying orders); Kara, a domestic droid who ends up in charge of a human girl, Alice; and Markus, another domestic android that will end up being an important part of the android liberation movement. It is about three different narratives at first, and Quantic Dream takes time to develop them, giving us time to get attached to the three robots, and thus feel responsible for their actions. Each scene lasts a little more than a few minutes, changing protagonist every so often. This makes Detroit: Become Human is much more agile than its gameplay could advance , getting the successive scenes of the game chained quickly, without never wavering interest. In addition, the story that tells us just imports, being full of nuances almost every step, and force us to choose continuously.
Become Human revolves around the idea of what makes us human, but along the way it also adds a certain social nuance, by taking us to a city as depressed as Detroit, in a context of that the androids are substituting humans in multiple jobs. In general, the world that Quantic Dream has created feels credible , and that does not do more than to continue adding whole so that we immerse ourselves in the history that it proposes to us.
Of roboces and men
Because David Cage and company has also proposed that there is nothing to take us out of his proposal, and based on that they have done an extraordinary job with the visual representation of Detroit and, above all, the factions of their characters. The capture of movement is excellent, but the textures and visual finish are up to the mark, with many moments that will be able to make us doubt if we are facing a game or before the real actors themselves ... So much so that we may be facing the game with better facial representations of the history of the medium . This, in a title where interpretations and characters are so important, is to add even more credibility to Detroit: Become Human.
The other big part of the Detroit equation that we have not talked about yet would be its mechanics, supposedly simple to the extent that the button presses are very limited. In general we will move freely through the stage and with the right trigger we will activate the 'Palace of the Mind', which is a view that highlights the interactive elements nearby. Beyond this, the interactions with the environment are a kind of Quick Time Events in which we just press the button / pattern in time in the touchpad / movement of the command via sixaxis that appears on the screen, or choose the conversation option what we think best before the response time ends. A proposal that escapes from complications, but that presents the odd seam (for example when we are not going against the clock and the characters move mechanically), but in general works without problems ... Although we would have liked it Markus, Kara and Connor moved a little faster, or that there were more 'irrelevant' interactions in the environment, since it is somewhat limited in this regard.
Levels of difficulties
There are two levels of difficulty, Casual and Expert, being the biggest difference the difficulty of the Quick Time Events, since it does not change the development, nor the decision tree of each of the scenes that make up Detroit: Become Human. And since we talk about possibilities, it is also remarkable that with each decision we will add points, with which we can buy extras in their respective menu. There are illustrations, videos, the soundtrack, the magazines (that are the collectible of turn) ... If seeing the repercussions of the rest of possibilities of the history is not enough motivation to return to the game after finishing its history, that lasts about 8 hours , perhaps the unlocking of the extras is. There is even a personal survey about androids and our position on the central theme of the Quantic Dream game.
That we position ourselves is precisely what Detroit seeks: Become Human, with each one of its sections being oriented so that what they tell us is something more than a simple story , and that as players we end up investing in the proposal, involving ourselves in every decision. That is achieved perfectly almost from the beginning, but it is when Alice appears when we really feel empathy with what happens on the screen and everything takes on a new dimension. The humanity shown by these robots before the apparent human passivity touches us, even making us really think if we, as a race, are becoming machines, forgetting what really makes us human. An interesting juxtaposition and on which the argument turns. In short, that the story that we are told matters, the characters are understandable and round and the development of the adventure itself, in playable terms, as well as visual and narrative, accompanies. Quantic Dream this time has succeeded , leaving us clear that the answer to Philip K. Dick of "Dream the androids with electric sheep?" It does not only depend on who wants to answer the question.
The final appreciations would be those referring to the sound section, since we have made it clear that the visual invoice is excellent. Here we also find an excellent work at all levels , with a high level speech dubbing, a high quality soundtrack and according to the product, and sound effects. All this contributes to the feeling that we are almost in front of an interactive film, because of the quality of the technical bill of the proposal ... but also because in the end, the limited interactions, despite the great variability in the development, make us feel like that ... And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
For all this, we believe that Detroit: Become Human is the best Quantic Dream game to date, the one that best manages to convey the message that the developer has thought of as the basis of the game, and that offers more possibilities to the user. As David Cage's good game is somewhat limited, but not worse. At the end of the day all the graphic adventures are limited and they are not worse …
Conclusion
A great adventure in which, finally, David Cage manages to offer what he promised: an interesting story, multiple variations, a technical section of the highest quality and that, besides, we care what happens to its protagonists. It may have some small sewing inherent to the genre, but that does not prevent us from facing a great game.
Happy Gaming!!!