Detroit: Become Human

I never thought I'd see the day where I'd sit down and say that I didn't hate a David Cage game. I'll even go on to say that I kind of enjoyed a David Cage game. Do I think it's a good game? Not really, no. Detroit: Become Human still suffers from the same shallow, flawed writing that Cage's previous games do, but unlike any of his previous games, there are moments that had me captivated, and not totally repulsed. Detroit is this bizarre mixture of a story that has meaning, and is enjoyable, while also being deeply insulting to any minority, by using their symbolism, their songs, and their struggles in an effort to provoke emotion, but in actuality just being awkward, and undermining the real struggles people have suffered through.

The Good: Every second with Connor on screen, I was having fun. Connor and Hank were the only two characters I genuinely cared about, and on my first play through I actually felt a pang of guilt as I saw my buddy cop partner laying on the floor, dying. That was the only time I felt something real in my 11 hour play through of Detroit, and it was right at the very end of my game. If we could have skipped the domestic violence, the android concentration camps, and the slavery, and instead just had a fun time with Connor and Hank solving mysteries... that would have been a much better game. Instead of a thought provoking, deep game, it felt more on the level of "Press F to pay respects", and Loot Boxes dropping on the shores of Normandy. Cage spends too much time trying to make you feel something, instead of focusing on a cohesive story, that will always end up in the same place.

When I first saw the Kara PS3 tech demo, I was blown away. It was the proof that David Cage can actually create something thought provoking, and emotional - which he tried so desperately to do here, but like all of his other games, his brilliant concept is drowned out but the awkward dialogue, and the story going off on its own tangent, losing sight of what made the idea good in the first place. I'm a very emotional, empathetic person - music only needs to hit the right note in a scene and I'll burst into tears. It's very, very rare that I'll not cry when a game wants me to cry. Maybe it's because try as I might, I went into Detroit being cynical about the game, I felt nothing but frustration and insult throughout it. If Detroit: Become Human wanted to say something that isn't political, they should have focused on what it means to be human, instead replacing any kind of minority and their struggles with an android, and forcing you to feel something because it's what we've seen before in the history of mankind.

Kara was such a disappointing character for me; her tech demo was an incredibly tense story of an android questioning their purpose, who believes they're alive. We see her built up from nothing, without needing to go through some intense trauma to feel human. It was a beautiful short piece that didn't have to take domestic violence, or racial abuse, or sexual assault as the reason for an android to want to be treated equally. With so much media lately taking on robots finding humanity i.e Westworld, NieR:Automata, Detroit: Become Human takes on an incredible cool concept and turns it into a shallow story, instead of actually saying something meaningful. Take NieR:Automata for instance; Yoko Taro gives us a story of androids, and finding the will to live. We experience the story of artificial intelligence and their finding something to live for, finding their humanity, and experiencing emotions that they know they shouldn't be feeling. NieR:Automata is a beautiful tale of humanity, depression, and destruction, and does so without recreating the holocaust, the civil rights movement, or sexually assaulting any of their characters. It doesn't need to remind of you of the horrible things people have done, for you to feel bad for these androids.

Detroit: Become Human is a beautiful game to look at; it has breathtaking scenery, and moments that are genuinely cool; Markus rebuilding himself, and walking through the pits of android hell, making his was through walls of hands reaching out for him. Connor making the choice to follow his protocol, or make his own decision and choose not to murder a fellow android. The end of the game, we enter Cyberlife and it's an eery moment seeing thousands upon thousands of androids, all being freed - and there's a very cool elevator scene, but while the good in Detroit is truly, very good, it is outweighed by so much bad that it's hard to look past. A good beginning, a mediocre middle, and a slightly better ending? Detroit: Become Human should have been so much bigger, and so much better.

If you've enjoyed David Cage's previous games, then you will love this, there's no doubt about it. If you're like me and David Cage leaves a bad taste in your mouth, you may even find yourself enjoying it. I tried not to focus on the bad, and there are moments I did genuinely enjoy playing, but it's 2018, stories should be doing better than this. A AAA title should be doing better than this.

#DetroitBecomeHuman #NieRAutomata