Paris studio Quantic Dream has come out the shadows and showed during Sony’s conference their new narrative-driven title, Detroit: Become Human. As it could not be otherwise, it’s all about choices, consequences and different endings.
On a first glance, the story behind Detroit: Become Human may not be the most original one. We mean, it’s not the first time we see human-looking androids searching for their extra tad of freedom in a world that will not allow it. But what we saw yesterday certainly got us hooked with its sexy realism, variety of outcomes and potential narrative scope.
And that’s because French studio Quantic Dream took the opportunity to showcase a little bit what awaits us in their next game. If you liked their previous creations, Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, then you probably felt hyped all over. Also, like returning back home, to a universe that you somehow already know. Quantic Dream certainly owns a style of their own but they are also keen to explore new angles.
With Detroit: Become Human it seems they are taking interactivity to the next level. The showcase revolves around Connor, an android agent tasked with a heavy negotiation where the life of a little girl is at stake. At first, we see him failing hard. But then the trailer jumps to the narrative tree in which multiple options and outcomes seem possible, even succeeding at the cost of Connor’s own life. In that sense, there seems to be way more far-fetched echoes of our own actions than in previous Quantic Dream games. Which is pretty neat!
From a Short Movie to a Full Videogame
Back in 2012 Quantic Dream teased what seemed to be a short movie project. They called Kara and it told the story of android’s trip into consciousness while at the assembly plant, defying and compromising her creator with her willingness to live. Three years later and during the Paris Games Week of last year, a teaser trailer revealed that this original project had clustered into a full scale videogame, Detroit: Become Human.
So far, we have seen only two characters into play: Kara, representing the faction of the androids who would like to tell a story of their own and Connor, an AI agent fully under the support of the human police department. The sci-fi setting is luring and it certainly takes Quantic Dream fans to a rich universe.
Whether it will outdo its predecessors and will bring something fresh to the genre is still to be seen. They have not committed to any specific release date, on the other hand. So we’ll need to wait a few months more probably before hearing all the stories of Detroit Android City.
