Detroit: Become Human is a thoughtful, inspiring, and to a certain extent, terrifying game that is sure to cause anyone an existential crisis. This is one of the richest experiences I've had and I cannot recommend it enough. The game's world is perhaps the most realistic depiction of the following decades that I have seen in any media. As I was playing, there were a million questions that popped into my head. Everything from the new technologies I was observing to the way society restructured in order to accommodate these. By far, the biggest impact in the world will be the improvement and adoption of A.I. by humanity. Detroit: Become Human does a great job of showing us how that world will look like.

From my initial impressions, I realized that this was going to be a very profound and well detailed game. This is my first Quantic Dream title and I can already tell that it is a studio full of passionate people who put a lot of care into telling a compelling story with an interesting premise. One can see that they did their research before producing a game that takes on the important topics of A.I. and futurism. Some of the themes most present in the game are: meaning, purpose, identity and civil rights. This is the most philosophical and political game I have played and I loved every second of it. The scenes where the androids questioned their very programming resonated with me. It made me realize that us organic beings will not be so different from them after all.

By far my favorite character out of the three robots was Kara. Her story made me think the most and I adored her relationship with Alice. The philosophical question on whether artificial beings can love, hate or care about something or someone is best reflected through Kara. Throughout her journey, she risks her life to save Alice and feels stress when facing danger. I truly believe it is possible for A.I. to develop feelings (or an equivalent of them). These thoughts raise a lot of questions about the meanings of love, parenthood and relationships. These are all ideas that will be challenged and questioned in the next few decades, and we must be ready for them.

Markus' story has a lot of important lessons and questions we must ask ourselves in the future when A.I. arrives. Is it a matter of principle to treat everything with respect, wether it is artificial or not? What really constitutes consciousness and personhood? I also sensed a lot of messages against the threat of government and corporate tyranny in our future. The characters' stories all share the themes of preserving liberty against those who try to take them from us.

The magazines you find throughout the game are some of the best collectibles I've seen in a game. They paint a very interesting picture of our future. These magazines contain news articles reporting on topics like technological advances, politics, climate change, entertainment, etc. Some of them will fill you with existential horror, optimism or food for debate. Reading them feels like taking a peek into our future, something a lot of people will be looking forward to. but also making us have more consciousness in the present.

I loved Detroit: Become Human and I think everyone should give it a go. The story is well paced and impactful, the characters are very interesting and likeable, making you think carefully every decision you make in order to protect them. This is truly an experience that will always be a part of my life.

Reviewed on Feb 07, 2021


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