This game was on my ‘to play’ list from the time it was
released. I didn’t really know much about it, I knew it wasn’t an action packed
game and it didn’t exactly seem to have a suspenseful or dark horror vibe,
something I might normally look for in a game, but it did come across as a
sci-fi mystery of some sort, and that appealed to me. The fact the game seemed
to hold its price for nearly 12 months after release, meant I was late to the
party in playing it. I just don’t like paying full price unless I know what I
am getting or it is one of my favourite franchises, then I might pay full price
no matter what. I can now safely say that I am kicking myself that I waited so
long to play this, it is one of the best story driven games I have ever played.
The story is set in Detroit, the year is 2038 and humanoid
android robots are as common as mobile phones, used for conducting all manner
of tasks from cleaning and security to sports and military defence. Androids
have also found their way into people’s homes, filling more intimate rolls of
maids, nannies and personal assistants, and this is where our journey begins. Two
of our main characters, the story path of which we will be following throughout
the game, are working in such roles. Kara, a housekeeper android owned by an
abusive man who also has a young daughter, and Markus who is a personal
assistant for an elderly, wealthy, wheelchair bound artist. As these
character’s stories begin, they quickly take, what may seem at first, a turn
for the worst as their existence is thrown into turmoil; However, is it what
they are going to become, not what they were built for that makes this tale. You
see, there is a potential fault with androids, an error in their programming
where they decide to think for themselves, disobeying their programmed orders
and seeing themselves as their own person, making their own decisions and even
believing they are alive. This error is referred to as Divergent, the term
given to androids that have broken free of their programming and are running
rouge. We are told that divergency can be triggered in androids by a traumatic
event and this is exactly what happens to Kara and Marcus. Kara witnesses the young
girl being abused and becomes divergent to take the girl and escape the house
to safety and Marcus is put in a difficult situation as he gets involved in a
family argument between his owner and his son, ultimately becoming divergent to
defend himself. Now enters our third character, Connor, a police detective
android specially programmed to hunt divergents, returning them to the
manufacturer to be dismantled and studied to learn the cause of the divergency.
The scene is set as a three-way plot begins on an ultimate collision course,
with a lot of twists and dead ends along the way.
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| From left to right: Connor, Marcus and Kara |
The morals and meanings wrapped in the narrative of this
game are widespread and diverse, touching on many aspects of modern human life.
It felt like there wasn’t a scene, a scenario or at some point even a
conversation that wasn’t laced with moral questions that challenged who you
were as a person. I found that I quickly became attached to Kara, I felt
sympathetic to situation, she just wanted to get herself and the girl, Alice,
to safety. She has a vision of escaping to Canada, where android laws would
allow her to live free. Along the way she encounters threats, warm hearted
people willing to help her as well as some cold realities that will give you
that “no way!” reaction. The whole time she want’s nothing to do with the inevitable
revolution that is unfolding around her, a revolution that is fuelled by one of
our other characters, Marcus. While the touching mother daughter struggle for
freedom story is unfolding with Kara, Marcus is fighting for the freedom of all
androids, on the way raising questions and touching on subjects such as human rights,
oppression and false media reporting (or ‘fake news’) all while being
challenged with his own moral dilemmas, the biggest being whether to be
aggressive or peaceful when pushing for android freedom. The story played out
with both of these characters can easily be brushed over, played out without
really thinking too deep into it, but if you really contemplate some of the
situations you find yourself in you will quickly see that the game deals with
some pretty heavy stuff. Now while all this is playing out our third character,
Connor, is investigating the divergents, hot on their tail trying close the
case on them as he is programmed to do. This is not a simple open and shut case
however, as his investigations go on you are confronted with questions that
tear at the fabric of who he is as a android….or a person? You will have many
opportunities while following his story to make decisions, decisions that could
turn Connor into a cold, programmed robot or a divergent sympathiser, in fact,
even an outright divergent. The story of Connor is made all the better by
Lieutenant Hank Anderson, the police detective Connor is attached to as his
partner on the investigation for the divergents in Detroit. Hank adds a very
real human element to the game, while you never actually get the chance to take
control and play as him, he plays as much an important part in the story as the
3 playable characters. Is own personal journey throughout the game is heavily
affected by your choices as the androids, and it’s interesting to see how his
interactions can change.
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| Lieutenant Hank Anderson |
I just want to touch on some of the gamification of the
story, and how it adds to the overall effect. While I’m not overly
interested in controls, checkpoint placement or loading screens it must be said
that the graphics in this game are fantastic, some of the best I have seen on
consoles. This adds to the story by making it oh-so-easy to relate and connect
emotionally to the characters as it can sometimes feel you are watching a real
person. The fact that you are watching a video game that looks very realistic
is just compounded when you think, you are watching a very realistic video game
human, that is actually an android that thinks it’s alive… it just works.
Hand-in-hand with the graphics is the voice acting, it is outstanding and at no
time does it feel like the lines are just being read, the characters emotions
can be felt in the voices and this makes it feel all the more real. Quick time
events (QTE) are sometimes seen as the bane of a gamers existence and they can
draw a lot of hate as they are seen as lazy game development, however I am
happy to say that the QTE’s found in Detroit are pleasurable and actually add
to the story. While deeply engrossed in watching a fight take place the player’s
QTE actually makes flows smoothly with what’s going on and as your thumb
flashes to press the right button it connects to the impact of the next in-game
movement, so much that at some points it feels like you are controlling John
Wick during one of his intense combat scenes. Now it must be said, this game is
a ‘choose you own adventure’ type, meaning the story can change and be vastly
different depending on the decisions you make in certain situations. So, it is
quite possible that 2 people are going to have very different story experiences,
at least on their first time through. I played through the game twice, the
second time making polar opposite decisions compared to my first run just to
see what would happen. Needless to say, I had a very different game with a
completely different ending. Lastly the game’s main menu, not very often would
you come across a situation where the simple menu could add to the story,
But I feel Detroit finds a way. Chloe is an android; she is also the main menu
hostess who will comment on you progress and “talk” to you whenever you find
yourself on the menu screen. As your game progresses her comments and facial
features change as she starts to question who she is and why she is there, in
line with the timeline of the game’s story. It get’s to the point where she
asks you if you will let her leave, and you get to choose if she can go or not.
I found that an amazing touch, but I was further blown away by the moral
intense questionnaire she invites you too, later showing the global results so
you can compare your answers to everybody else worldwide. Some classy touches
that just add to the ambience of the game.
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Hostess Chloe
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To conclude, Detroit is a must if you are looking for a good,
narrative driven game. It is one of those stories you don’t want to end, you
will want to see what happens after the credits roll and will be praying for a sequel,
one that continues right where the first left off without changing a thing. Detroit
will make you really think, it will give you characters you invest emotionally
in, then force you to make decisions for them and show you the consequences. No
matter what you decide or how you shape your story, there is enough here to
keep both hardcore gamer and pure narrative lover occupied. A must have for any
collection.
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