Sony’s E3 pre-show
A few hours before the start of the PlayStation conference, Sony invited the press to come check out the latest PS4 and PS VR titles. There were tons of anticipated games playable, ranging from Ni No Kuni 2, to Farcry 5, to Knack 2. Then of course there was Detroit: Become Human the latest story-driven game by the talented team at Quantic Dream. This is the French studio behind such heavy-hitters as Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls. I made a bee-line to go play it!
Save a girl held hostage
For this demo, you assume the role of an Android FBI agent that has the special ability to scan crime scenes and reconstruction the incident. In this particular case, it’s a murder scene with a rogue Android threatening to throw a child off the roof as his next victim.
Before confronting the Android, you can search the crime scene to gather clues. This includes things like examining a dead body to reconstruct what happened. You can then replay a holographic version of the incident, very similar to what you’d see in the latest Batman games. By reconstruction the circumstances leading up to his death, you’ll gather vital information to help you when confronting the criminal.
Familiar game mechanics
The one question that always comes up when playing a new Quantic Dream game is “how does it play?” Detroit is very reminiscent of Heavy Rain, and that’s great news. You control a character and need to interact with the environment to gather clues which can help you later on.
As expected, the game offers plenty of player choice. During crucial scenes you can respond to situations in various ways. For example, when confronting the Android you can be sympathetic, deceptive, or outright hostile. Every choice you make impacts the story, good or bad. In the particular scene I played, a few outcomes seems are possible. The best scenario is to diffuse the situation and save the girl, a middle-of-the-road outcome is to save the girl but not the Android, and well, I never did see the worst-case route.
During the PlayStation conference we got to see even more of Detroit: Become Human. It appears there’s an Android uprising happening, with you playing a leadership type role. Androids are seem being angered by being mere human slaves and want to be more integrated into society. To achieve that, you can take a pacifist approach to situations, or outright riot and revolt. The sheer variety of outcomes seems mind-boggling!
Detroit: Become Human does not yet have a release date, but as the game is playable I expect more information to come soon!
Stay tuned for non-stop E3 news!
Check out Best Buy’s coverage of E3 2017 for more great articles, links to preorder games and more
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I like that there is an option to play this game as a pacifist. I don’t object to shooters, but I like that this feels like a new way to play a game.
Totally agree, and on my first play through I plan on being a pacifist. It’s going to be exciting!
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