'Detroit: Become Human (2018)' is a bit of a mixed bag. It's centred around three androids who begin to understand their existence and place within the world. The three playable leads each go on distinct journeys which intertwine at critical points. Like 'Heavy Rain (2010)', the characters can die. As such, a lot of its set-pieces are suspenseful and its choices carry weight. It's incredibly clumsy with its storytelling, though; it mixes up civil rights metaphors with holocaust imagery. It's entertaining on a surface level but it's nowhere near as profound as it thinks it is. It also has its fair share of straight-up goofy moments. Still, it's enjoyable. Its choices shape the narrative in relatively natural ways, with a good amount of variation between potential outcomes. A lot of them are more binary than we've come to expect and often aren't described all that well (their outcomes are unexpected). Yet, this makes sense within the context of the plot, as each main character starts out fairly robotic and progresses towards a form of humanity. The piece builds towards a cross-cutting finale which is fairly satisfying. Its ending is based upon a number of choices made during this segment, which is better than it being based on one major choice right at the end. Some of the climaxes feel slightly unsatisfying because of the every specific things you have to do to achieve them, which aren't always obvious enough. Regardless of its issues, though, the game is fun and, generally, well-crafted. Its story is a bit hit-and-miss but that doesn't stop it from being a generally entertaining time. 7/10
Review of Detroit: Become Human
