Detroit: Become Human

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JaySevenZero
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Detroit: Become Human

Post by JaySevenZero »

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions of Detroit: Become Human for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder to all that where feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but self-editing (brevity) is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mainly reading. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.
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Caliburn M
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Re: 419: Detroit: Become Human

Post by Caliburn M »

Not sure why but I really tend to like the games by quantic dreams, while I can appreciate there are major inconsistencies in the stories and the gameplay can often be lacking I always find myself enjoying them.
Detroit may be the game where they actually got things right, I'm sure if I wanted I could find contradictions in the story but I really don't care enough about such things in games, I enjoyed it when I played it and that's all that matters to me :)
What was really amazing about this game was the choices you made and the differences it would make to your playthrough. The choices you made actually seem to make a difference in this game leading you to one of its forty endings from very differing routes.
The graphics are amazing and the sound and voice acting are generally excellent and for the first time in a quantic dreams game I actually cared about the characters as this time they didn't feel like idiots who should have been locked up for their own safety.
I can only admire the way they made all these choices fit together while keeping a decent narrative going
without it becoming nonsensical and for me it's the first story driven game in which your choices really do make a difference.
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The Baboon Baron
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Re: 419: Detroit: Become Human

Post by The Baboon Baron »

I’ve a soft spot for Quantic Dream software. I think Its because they manage to scratch the adventure gaming itch, whilst also pushing forward gaming as a story telling method. For better and for worse, I always find their games worthy of my time, even if I come away with a sack load of criticisms.

But before we open the aforementioned sack- some good bits. What a stunning game to look at! It ran well on my baseline PS4 and had several scenes that I enjoyed wandering around just to soak up the marvel of what Quantic had created. A genuinely beautiful creation to behold, and a new totem for graphics in my view. The performances were up to scratch, with some interesting actors chosen. Reminiscent of Until Dawn, they picked people who could adapt to the medium rather than chasing the Hollywood darlings.

I was also happy to see there was more flexibility in the story than I expected. Different paths opening up constantly, through seemingly small decisions. Clues, hints and red herrings were all placed in your path. I’m always pleasantly surprised when a game avoids the old Tell-Tale bait and switch, and actually allows you alter the story in a significant and often harrowing fashion.

But there are issues with this game, and sadly they’re the same issues I always have with Quantic Dream software.
The writing often falls flat to me. I want to care for the characters, but it seems that David “emotions” Cage’s way of making me care is to inform me that I should care, rather than give the emotional weight subtly. There is very little “show don’t tell” in his games, and they could really do with more.

Also, the inconsistencies got to me in this one- so spoiler alert for my play through- Characters died. But as we learned in scenes earlier you can re-build the robots quite easily. Doesn’t this render the concern moot? The “rules” of the universe were established early on, but then thrown out if it didn’t fit the narrative. Some robots were superhuman bullet sponge parkour ninjas, others gibbering cowards. Some could spot another robot, others were oblivious, some were able to suffer the cold, others folded near instantly. I found myself with a feeling that Detroit wasn’t playing fair by its own rules.

3WR- USB emotional connection
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seansthomas
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Re: 419: Detroit: Become Human

Post by seansthomas »

Really hope you're going to invite James Farley on this show!
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DomsBeard
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Re: 419: Detroit: Become Human

Post by DomsBeard »

seansthomas wrote: April 25th, 2020, 8:32 pm Really hope you're going to invite James Farley on this show!
I don't, he'd written it off before starting it where as Jay gave it a fair crack and enjoyed it I believe
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Alex79
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Re: 419: Detroit: Become Human

Post by Alex79 »

I really enjoyed Detroit: Become Human. To be honest, I've enjoyed all of David Cage's games. I can understand the criticism, but I think Quantic Dream are really interesting developers and I think this is the best of their work so far. I found myself really invested in the characters, and really felt like I was making my story as I went. I was surprised and impressed at just how different two playthroughs of the game could potentially be. I thought my story was pretty solid and concluded satisfactorily enough.

Technically the game seems pretty impressive too. Audio and graphics were both excellent I thought and I didn't encounter any glitches or bugs during my time with it. Voice acting was excellent throughout as well. Overall I found the game highly enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone who likes games with a decent story.

Three word review: Cage's best yet.
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Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (16.5.20) - 419: Detroit: Become Human

Post by stvnorman »

I hated this game! The first chapter, with its future-CSI vibes, was fantastic, but then I started collecting packages and cleaning houses and taking old men to the toilet. I lasted until chapter 8, which is a record for me and David Cage games, but I don’t want any of those things from my gaming.
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Mechner
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Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (16.5.20) - 419: Detroit: Become Human

Post by Mechner »

I’m a life long fan of Quantic Dream as I do believe whilst some of their games run some people up the wrong way, they truly are trying to create and provide players with something unique within the industry. That alone is enough to give them praise, but I do find myself enraptured in their narratives.

I am a day one purchaser of all of their titles since playing “Omikron” (will you please do a show on that game, it’s unbelievably interesting!)

Detroit is another in their colourful history and I think it might be their most engaging narrative since Heavy Rain, I do enjoy stories that explore the nature of what makes us human, and what does it mean to be conscious.

It’s wonderful that Quantic Dream finally took one of their concept demos and fleshed it out into a full game.

Speaking of “Kara” I accidentally had the character killed right at the start of the game, and this being a David Cage game that became permanent, so I ended up playing through the whole game with Markus and Connor.. I do wonder how much I altered my story.. and I’ve often not replayed David Cage games (except omikron) but this does give me a reason to go back now and play it again.

Detroit was great I can’t really say more.

Three word review: BRING BACK OMIKRON
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Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (16.5.20) - 419: Detroit: Become Human

Post by MarkHoog »

I'm fairly proud to say that I've never paid money for any David Cage game directly, thanks to PS+. While I liked some bits of Heavy Rain, the sexism, awkward voice acting and ridiculously insulting plot twist ruined the experience, and I thought Beyond: Two Snores to be one of the most boring games I've ever played (can you even die in that game?).

Now, with D:BH, third time turned out to be the charm. It's a well crafted, visually engaging game with some truly intense set pieces. While still often as subtle as a jackhammer to the face, Cage lets you explore familiar ethics concering android life and manages to respectfully draw parallels with modern history. He even managed to genuinely move me at times. For instance, when clichéd alcoholic, abusive father Todd was introduced, my first thought was: "Ah, here we go again." But as his story progressed (and eventually concluded with some form of redemption), I was actually impressed with the writing. A David Cage first, really. I also thoroughyl enjoyed the 'buddy cop' schtick with Connor and Hank Anderson. I really wanted to earn that guy's respect (no matter how bad his hairdo.)

D:BH is Cage's most branching game to date, and the option to review potential routes and outcomes feels a bit like showing off. It's a look behind the curtain that I could've done without, but of course I could always opt to simply not look at it after a certain event. In the end, I miracously managed to unlock the Survivors Trophy on my first playthrough, so I might return for a 'darker' approach to explore some other branches of the story. However, like with Mass Effect, my penchant for goodness will probably prevent me from going full Renegade this second time 'round.
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DeadpoolNegative
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Re: Our next podcast recording (16.5.20) - 419: Detroit: Become Human

Post by DeadpoolNegative »

The only David Cage game I played prior to Detroit Become Human was Heavy Rain, which was innovative and compelling and utterly, utterly ridiculous. As a resident of Philadelphia, it was amusing to see vision of the city by someone who has obviously never set foot in it, or even seen pictures of it.

The story gripped me at first, but as it progressed, it became a prisoner of its twists, and its strange characterizations, performances, and dialogue. By the end, i was left bemused more than anything else

I skipped Beyond Two Souls, and didn't try for Detroit Become Human when it was originally released, given the wildly varying views of the games. This past summer however, it arrived on PlayStation Plus and I decided to give it a go.

Detroit: Become Human is almost as ridiculous as Heavy Rain, and often embarrassing, staggeringly on the nose, featuring plot turns and metaphors that wouldn't' be out of place in late 1970s or early 1980s hacky sci-fi. But there's an earnestness and warmth to it that I think is missing from the previous game, that sustained me through two playthroughs.

When I wrote about Days Gone, I spoke of how Sam Witwer's performance really held that game together. In Detroit: Become Human, two in particular stand out: Bryan Dechart as Connor and Valorie Curry as Kara.

Jesse Williams as Marcus is also effective- the scene where Marcus is crawling through the android graveyard is amazing- but he's also saddled with a more conventional, more "Human" character- the story establishes almost from the beginning he's more advanced in emotion than Marcus and Kara.

Marcus is trying his best understand the situations he's been placed in, but he's also incredibly blunt and alien in the way he interacts with others. Granted, part of the way he reacts and others react to him is under the control of the player, but Dechart grants every interaction with an otherness (it's rumored he frequently went off script, much to Cage's dismay). His interactions with Clancy Brown's crusty detective character are the best parts of the game- Brown, always a fantastic actor, meets Dechart note for note as he reacts to Connor's behavior in an achingly human way.

Curry as Kara does a good job of playing how her own programming informs her deviancy- she just can't walk away from seeing Alice be hurt. She plays Kara as surprised- at her own behavior at first but her need to protect Alice, to reassure her, it's very moving, because Curry reads her lines as if Kara's discovering something inside of her she didn't know existed. She so desperately wants Alice to feel safe, yet she can't quite comprehend why. At least, that's how I read her performance.

(Curry is best known for playing a serial killer on the TV show the Following; at one point I fixed Kara's hairstyle to be as close as possible to Curry's character on that show, which was very amusing).

It helps that Detroit Become Human is a game that definitely deserves more than one play through. Quantum Dream continually boasted of a large script, and for once it lives up to the hype. Unlike Telltale Series games, which only occasionally pulls it off, I felt like an entire chunk of the game was locked off to me due the choices I made, and I wanted to see what those parts of the game were like. What's interesting is, I didn't want to intentionally choose "Bad" things because the actors were so good with the characters I didn't want to see them hurt. The final embrace with Hank and Connor in their best ending sticks with me.

I also find doing mundane stuff oddly compelling in a video but that's possibly just me.

Lest you think I'm being TOO favorable I acknowledge the overall story of Detroit Become Human is often full of holes and strange twists and it seems to making up the rules of its universe as it goes along. For example, if unemployment is as bad as the news reports say it is, there would be a lot more anger at the androids, and the economy wouldn't be doing as well as the news reports say it is either. The reveal of Alice's true nature is dragged out to an almost absurd length, with characters always being interrupted before they can explain it to Kara. Marcus has bizarre superpowers- he can mobilize an army out of newly awakened androids in just minutes- we see Marcus, Kara, and Connor struggle with being deviant, yet the androids Marcus awakens are all for the revolution immediately. (One point for the story- it's never fully explained, just vaguely hinted at, that the deviancy may be man-made, a bit of ambiguity that I thought works). There's a lot of loaded imagery throughout the game that's borderline comical.

And yet, I don't regret the time I spent with Detroit Become Human, and I wasn't as disappointed with it as I was with Heavy Rain. Quantic Dream assembled a fine cast and really worked hard on the execution of the narrative and melding it with the game mechanics. Cage and his team are not quite there yet, and knowing David Cage, they may never be, but it's fun to see them try.

--Dan
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Re: Our next podcast recording (23.5.20) - 419: Detroit: Become Human

Post by Angry_Kurt »

I appreciate that it divides opinion but I enjoyed Heavy Rain somewhat, I didn't play Beyond due to the universally bad reviews but when I saw that Detroit was getting some positive reviews with a few 8 and even 9's I decided to give it a go, hoping for a return to Heavy Rain form.
I should preface this by saying that I only did one playthrough so might have just had a bad run but from my playthrough I really didn't like this game. I just thought it was a bit boring, the only playable character's story I thought was slightly interesting was Connor's due to his interesting relationship with Hank. Kara and Markus though I thought were really boring and monotonous with lots of lengthy sections where not a lot happens. My abiding memory of the game was the bit where you play as Markus and have to scan the environment looking for graffiti in and around a train station. I was one of the worst parts of a game I've played this gen as it went on far too long and just wasn't fun at all.
The only praise I can give this game is the acting performances, Connor and Hanks relationship and that it was a very good looking game.
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Re: Our next podcast recording (23.5.20) - 419: Detroit: Become Human

Post by ratsoalbion »

Angry_Kurt wrote: May 21st, 2020, 10:50 amI didn't play Beyond due to the universally bad reviews
I realise you're just using shorthand here and you're probably talking as much about peer review as press review, but I always find the post-release perception of games like this fascinating.

According to Metacritic, Beyond: Two Souls was reviewed by 98 outlets and organs, 52 of those reviews are deemed positive, 38 mixed and only 8 negative!

Again, not picking you up or calling you out, Kurt - I'm just struck by the disparity here.

NB: I suspect I would hate the game. I have it in my PS4 library from PS+ but I have no desire to play it.
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Re: Our next podcast recording (23.5.20) - 419: Detroit: Become Human

Post by Angry_Kurt »

ratsoalbion wrote: May 21st, 2020, 10:58 am
Angry_Kurt wrote: May 21st, 2020, 10:50 amI didn't play Beyond due to the universally bad reviews
I realise you're just using shorthand here and you're probably talking as much about peer review as press review, but I always find the post-release perception of games like this fascinating.

According to Metacritic, Beyond: Two Souls was reviewed by 98 outlets and organs, 52 of those reviews are deemed positive, 38 mixed and only 8 negative!

Again, not picking you up or calling you out, Kurt - I'm just struck by the disparity here.

NB: I suspect I would hate the game. I have it in my PS4 library from PS+ but I have no desire to play it.
Wow, that is interesting. I don't think I heard anyone praise the game among people I follow on Twitter or from the podcasts I listen to. It must be my social echochamber who weren't fans of the game.
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Re: Our next podcast recording (23.5.20) - 419: Detroit: Become Human

Post by Simonsloth »

ratsoalbion wrote: May 21st, 2020, 10:58 am
Angry_Kurt wrote: May 21st, 2020, 10:50 amI didn't play Beyond due to the universally bad reviews
I realise you're just using shorthand here and you're probably talking as much about peer review as press review, but I always find the post-release perception of games like this fascinating.

According to Metacritic, Beyond: Two Souls was reviewed by 98 outlets and organs, 52 of those reviews are deemed positive, 38 mixed and only 8 negative!

Again, not picking you up or calling you out, Kurt - I'm just struck by the disparity here.

NB: I suspect I would hate the game. I have it in my PS4 library from PS+ but I have no desire to play it.
I am a huge fan of Quantic Dream’s output and I have very little positive feedback to encourage you to play it. Instead give Omikron a go. Now there’s an oddity! David Bowie, reincarnation, parallel worlds, terribly rendered intimacy...FPS/beat em up/adventure game porridge. Not to everyone’s tastes but to some it’s the finest delicacy.
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Re: Our next podcast recording (23.5.20) - 419: Detroit: Become Human

Post by ratsoalbion »

It’s in my Steam library since they gave it away when Bowie died. I can’t say it’s near the top of my ‘must play’ pile though..!
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Re: Our next podcast recording (23.5.20) - 419: Detroit: Become Human

Post by Alex79 »

On the other hand, I really enjoyed Beyond Two Souls when I played it. There were a couple of annoying sections (stealth bits, which also were the low points of Fahrenheit previously), but overall I really liked the story and some really unique and experimental gameplay. I'd say it's worth playing, if you can forgive a few flaws. It's certainly not a terrible game by any means.
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