#and then people could point out the hypocrisy of you benefiting from previous technological advances

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For a website that was all about pirating movies, TV shows, and music it suddenly got very anti-art theft on here.

And for a website that was all about fanfiction, fanart, and OCs, it suddenly got very anti-derivative art.

[eggoreviews]

My Top 25 Games Advent Day 10 - Detroit: Become Human (#16)

“We are gonna tell them peacefully that we want justice. If there’s any humanity in them, they will listen. And if not, others will take our place and continue this fight. Are you ready to follow me?”

This is a divisive game if ever I’ve seen one. Some cite David Cage’s latest multi-branch epic as a modern masterpiece of cinematic gaming, seamlessly weaving three tales of humanity and equality that is genuinely and sometimes harshly affected by your choices. But others, a fair amount of others, see this title as an overblown, janky mess with David Cage’s typical wonky, heavy-handed writing and themes that don’t even attempt subtlety. Me personally, I can see both sides of the fence. So here’s my take.

Going into Detroit, I honestly wasn’t expecting much, being well aware of the reputation Cage carries from his previous projects, but I’m a big ol fan of decision-based adventure games as anyone who’s been reading this countdown will know, so I thought it’d be a fun distraction. Detroit turned out to be what I consider to be the best decision-based game ever created (there’s one other in this list that places above Detroit, but you’ll see why when I get to it). And that’s purely down to the game mechanics alone, even just putting aside the characters and writing for a moment, the sheer amount of endings and branching pathways is baffling. This is a game that is perfectly in tune with every single choice you make, which can often result in deaths of characters that you can’t undo and then boom, you lose the rest of that character’s storyline. It’s harsh, but it means every player gets a different experience and gives much, much more weight to the decisions you make as you strive to get everybody out at the end. Detroit is genuinely a wild ride, made even more enjoyable by its various crime scene investigations, fight scenes and chase sequences, which all keep the overall gameplay from becoming stale.

Now, I know some people criticise this game as a whole for not digging into AI or telling another Ex Machina story about science and technology and ‘tHe SiNgULaRitY’ or whatever, but that’s because that’s really not what Detroit is trying to do. Detroit tells a story of standing up to prejudice and reminding us that humanity should always strive to do better by those that are oppressed, and using the allegory of androids is excellent in driving this home. Detroit is a story of overcoming prejudice in an increasingly terrifying world, as the city of Detroit itself is home to those hurling insults and violence at androids, while simultaneously becoming reliant on them. It’s an interesting paradox, especially as the game continues to give subtle speculation in the background of various scenes as how technology could affect infamous cities such as Detroit in the future, as well as giving an insight into the potential international climate in 2038, from bees dying out to a potential war over the Arctic between the US and Russia. The speculative world-building in this title is stellar, and it’s something I think a lot of people gloss over when considering this game to entirely lack subtlety.

Moving on the foreground of Detroit, here’s where the majority of the people point to Detroit’s massive ham-handedness. The characters. Detroit places you in the control, and basically places in your care, three entirely different characters with completely different and engaging perspectives on the growing number of ‘deviant’ androids:

Connor, a prototype detective android, begins the game entirely sided with his own oppressors, doing everything he can to ensure his mission is complete. Connor can remain as a cold, ruthless, uncaring machine for the entire game, to the disdain of your reluctant colleague and eventually close friend (boyfriend) Hank. Or, if you’ve made enough choices to make Connor reflect on his life, you are given the choice to later defect and allow Connor to discover his humanity. Here’s what I love about Detroit; going back to the masterful story branch crafting for a moment, the game doesn’t allow you to make throwaway choices that entirely contradict how you’ve been treating a character for the whole game, so Connor’s eventual deviancy can only come about if that’s how you’ve been playing him. What’s even more powerful is that, if you choose to stay on the original path Connor was taking, his eventual obsolescence is all the more heart-breaking, as he realises all too late that he was manipulated and used by his creators to harm those who wished for freedom, only to have himself replaced by a more advanced model after being successful. Now that’s how you do an ending.

The second, Markus, yet another prototype gifted to the artist Carl (played by the legendary Bishop himself, Lance Henrikson) to take care of him in his old age. Markus’ story has a hell of a lot of dimensions to it, as you acknowledge throughout your time with him that, despite the fact he is still a slave, he lives what could be seen as a privileged life, compared to other androids at least, living with the artist that simultaneously owns him and dictates his entire life, whilst also urging him to seek his own humanity and think for himself. Some interesting hypocrisy from Carl, which is another reason why it’s so easy to have mixed thoughts and feelings on certain characters. Characters are morally grey in Detroit, even if it doesn’t seem so on the surface! So there’s some of that nuance people seemed to forget was there (but hey, this is all just my opinion so uhhh don’t @ me telling me I suck). In the end, having fallen from his sheltered life into one now entirely dictated by himself, Markus finally sees for himself the horrible treatment of the rest of his kind and resolves to take action and becomes a symbol for the android rebellion, rounding off a satisfying arc for a character previously completely blind to the suffering of his fellow androids.

And the third, Kara, is a household android that has lost all memory beyond a horrible accident she seemed to have suffered. Unlike the polar opposite stances of Connor and Markus, Kara and her growing bond with her previous owner’s child Alice represent what Markus is fighting for and what Connor is fighting against; finding humanity. Kara doesn’t want a part in war or rebellion, her only desire is to protect the child she’s now caring for. While this perspective was extremely important, not least as a way of seeing firsthand how your large scale choices as Connor and Markus are affecting smaller scale narratives such as Kara and Alice’s bid for freedom, my one and only gripe is wishing they’d made Alice, and to a point Kara, into more developed characters that could stand on their own. While their plight is poignant and effective and their motivations are clear, the same can be said of Connor and Markus, who each have their own nuances and quirks to their character that subtly portray the humanity they’re discovering in themselves. Kara and Alice, with a little more development outside of their main drive, could’ve made that plotline just a little more interesting, but I maintain that their perspective was essential in showcasing the outcomes of your choices. Plus, Luther is an awesome character and I love him more than anything. It all just goes to show that a lot of the subtlety some claim as missing entirely can be found in other aspects of the experience, most notably the world-building and the excellently composed soundtrack. In particular, I think the move of choosing an individual composer for each character was absolute genius, as it gives each one their own unique musical style and atmosphere.

I know a lot of this, especially the characters and their arcs, may seem like cliches and so on the nose it isn’t even trying, but I think in this case, it just works. Stories of breaking away from ingrained prejudice can be just that and sometimes benefit from telling stories as they are, Detroit didn’t need to be stylised or rooted in subtle, shifting plot threads to leave me an absolute emotional wreck by the time I finished playing. Sure, it tackled its heavy themes with as much grace as a blind rhinoceros, but that didn’t detract at all from the emotional value of each individual plot thread and it certainly didn’t hamper the experience of being completely engrossed in a story where your choices matter more than anything else. David Cage may have rightfully earned his reputation as a bit of a fumbling, heavy-handed writer, but this game is so painstakingly crafted from every character to every setpiece and every choice alteration from minute to grandiose, makes that famous Cage jank almost entirely disappear. Almost. And if you yourself are a Cage skeptic as I once was (and to a point, still am), I encourage you to give this game a try.

Standout Moment Award: The crossover finale of all three main narrative threads is absolutely perfectly executed, and feels equally impactful no matter your choices. But, you know, obviously the best canon ending is when everyone gets out alive.

Standout Character Award: Connor. Of course this had to go to Connor, the ever-conflicted, messily efficient twinky android who is definitely dating Hank takes today’s standout character shoutout.

Tomorrow: No. 15; framed swordsman gets pissed off at a world-ending prophecy, bothers entire world for help.