David Cage's latest effort is finally with us. Will he finally be free or still a slave to the criticisms of hardcore gamers?
Progetto “Kara”
It was back in 2012 when the “Kara” teaser was shown. The tech demo ran on Playstation 3 and showed the assembly of a female-like android becoming sentient. The robot felt emotions and was "afraid" of being dismantled because it was considered "anomalous".
The draft Quantic Dream was overshadowed in view of the release of Beyond: Two Souls in 2013 which proved to be exceptional from a technical point of view but bankruptcy in the narrative one. Which was quite disappointing if we think that the titles of the French house are the direct heirs of graphic adventures, hybrids between video games and films. Two years later, at E3 it was announced Detroit: Become Human, definitive name of the "Kara" project, as an exclusive for Ps4.
The focus of David Cage's game would have been the same as the teaser: the artificial being that acquires awareness of itself and the socio-political implications that follow, a theme already abused in books, films, comics and video games. Just think of Terminator, Blade Runner, the recent Westworld or even Metal Gear Solid's AI GW. We therefore expect a careful and original work regarding storytelling in order to deal with a basic theme that is now quite banal in the best possible way.
A "hybrid" product
Pad in hand, we find ourselves in a prologue (the same sequence as the demo) that serves as a tutorial. The control system is the same as the (spiritual) predecessors Heavy Rain and Beyond: you move with the analogs but there are no predefined actions to jump, shoot or whatever: the various keys will assume different functions for each context. In a nutshell, the gameplay consists of a linked series of quick time events and puzzles to solve.
The real playful component relates to the possibility of making events continue in a different way based on the actions and choices made. Whether these are success or failure there will be no victory or game over but simply different narrative lines. Ramifications that are, at the end of each chapter, reported in a tree diagram that shows how many other ways the story could have gone. Furthermore, Different roads do not necessarily lead to different destinations. The outcome of a choice can be "corrected" and returned to the original timeline or to a very similar one with small different nuances.
Among the many variables there are also to consider the relationships between the three protagonists androids Connor, Kara and Marcus with the other characters. Being a friend or hostile to a particular person (or robot) will open up different possibilities for the development of the plot. Fortunately, the same mistakes were not made in Detroit as Beyond: the story in all its branches proceeds in a coherent way and is devoid of plot holes. The theme of robots rebelling from slavery is treated in an original way, perhaps even better than many modern films. We will grow fond of each character and it is easy to empathize with their situation. Although there are no particular twists, many scenes are quite suggestive, also thanks to the direction, flawless as in every Cage title.
It looks like he's really alive
Graphics are another strong point of the game. The graphics engine is best optimized on both Ps4 and Ps4 Pro, although there is some sporadic slowdown on the former. The render is almost photorealistic and dynamic (in some scenes the difference with reality is really imperceptible). This is possible thanks to the skill of the developers who have managed to give the impression of being in large and open environments while in reality the areas are very small.
The only negative note is the pop-up of some textures that you notice every now and then but in a game with no uploads (except the initial one), this can be forgiven. The audio sector is not far behind: the soundtrack is very pleasant and adapts to every moment. The dubbing in Español is good, except for a few characters. The lipsync occasionally misfires but in the end nothing too serious. The game lasts between 10 and 12 hours but the replay value is very high. Several times I have been curious to see what would have happened if I had made a different choice. If you don't want to replay the adventure, you can select individual chapters and play them separately. The presence of two difficulty levels is quite useless since the differences concern only the reaction to quick time events, but it is really minimal.
A new "evolutionary line"
After Havy Rain, cute but not perfect and Beyond to forget, I am more than satisfied with Detroit. We see that the team has learned from its mistakes and has managed to churn out a great product without resorting to risky game design revolutions. Yes, because in the end with Become Human compared to previous works we did not have a revolution but an evolution of the mechanics.
Conclusion
This hybrid of game and movie is an experience I would recommend everyone try. Both hardcore and casual and why not, even to those who are strangers to the world of gaming. As for Havy Rain, which for Beyond the most common criticism is precisely limited interactivity: “It's a film, not a game” many say. The videogame market is getting wider and it is necessary to create products that are attractive to a wide audience. Personally I am of the opinion that it is not a bad thing if we manage to preserve both the "classic" games and this new "evolutionary line of gaming".
