I had gotten Detroit: Become Human for free, but never got around to playing it until recently. I had played Beyond Two Souls so had an idea of what to expect with the gameplay. The introduction to the story was interesting because it shows several different android characters that are part of the story, the first being Connor who is a police investigator android, working with a human detective, Hank Anderson who hates androids. They work together to try and figure out why there is an outbreak of deviants, androids who are breaking their programming. Detroit is a slow burn because it is about the story as it switches between the android characters of Connor, Markus, and Kara.
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| Kara looks out the window. |
There are different scenarios for each character and you have a short time to make a decision for each path of said characters, some of them life or death decisions. It also decides what kind of person each individual will be, based on their choices. The overall idea is the same for each, exploring what it means for these androids to be human and there are several different paths they can take to figure that out.
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| Markus is introduced. |
The thing is for me personally, I really liked the story path for Markus to a degree. It seems to never bring up Markus's blackness as he leads the revolution demanding equality for androids. Maybe they thought it didn't matter, but it does considering the years of systematic oppression and racism black people have faced, important issues that are shown in Markus's story. It feels ignorant and does a disservice to black culture and history. While I am aware that Detroit: Become Human is a couple of years old, in the wake of Black Lives Matter and the constant issues that black people and people of color face every day, the flaws in this story chapter stand out. There was a moment in the game early in his story that I liked where there was a discussion about art with the man he is a caretaker for and Markus gets to create some beautiful art himself based on the choices picked in his path. It was a simple, beautiful moment exploring what it is to be human and figuring out ones individuality.
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| Markus discusses art. |
I admit Kara's story frustrated me a great deal because she is the only female character and the way they just seem to gloss over the fact that she and the child she cares for are victims of domestic abuse is quite troubling to me. In some regards Kara's story path feels rather short and it's disappointing because I liked Kara and her love for the little girl Alice as she did everything in her power to protect her. I felt like the story for Kara should have been stronger, but I did like her and I appreciated what the story was trying to do. Throughout all of these paths, Connor is the one constant because he's working with Anderson to solve this case and there are some areas where he goes that are very pretty and detailed like the garden where he reports his progress to his boss.
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| Connor in the garden. |
I love Clancy Brown and I thought he did a good job in the role of Anderson. The interaction between Anderson and Connor as they work together offer some thought provoking conversations about decisions Connor has made and what makes a person human. There is also a great scene where Anderson finally reveals why he hates androids and if certain choices are made Connor and Anderson can eventually become friends. There are a variety of paths you can take based on the decisions you make in the game, but you only have a split second to decide. This is where quick time events come in and frankly I do not like quick time events because sometimes I would mess up and pick the wrong thing and then have to reload my last save and start over. Don't get me wrong. I don't mind quick time events in moderation, but there are so many quick time events in Become Human that it could get a little frustrating.
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| Connor and Anderson working together. |
I feel that Connor's story works on many levels because the feelings of being other are handled in a thoughtful and subtle way and Connor's story felt the strongest because of how minimal his interaction with the other androids is. I just wish Markus and Kara had gotten that same thoughtfulness. This does not mean I did not like the game, because I did enjoy the overall story and I appreciated what they tried to do. I also found it interesting that you can replay through each chapter and make different choices which affect the ending for each character. Detroit: Become Human is a solid game, with some great voice acting and good characters. However, I do feel that the discussions about race and bigotry should have been handled better in a way. I am glad I played the game for myself to see what it was all about.
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| Markus in the final chapter. |
*Detroit: Become Human is available to play on the following platforms: Playstation 4, PC
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