It’s always exciting to me when a game goes gold. After four years in development, this week Detroit: Become Human went gold.
Whatever you may think of David Cage, he makes unique games, as divisive as they tend to be. I think he relies too heavily on various tropes (cue the David Cage bingo card), but I’m always interested in the experiences he helms.
I wasn’t terribly excited for Detroit: Become Human until PSX late last year. Watching the developers play through a tense sequence in real-time while the audience shouted suggestions was exhilarating. I’m sure part of my interest stems from the energy in the room while that was taking place, but I also found the choices and risk/reward structure fascinating. As wary as I feel of David Cage tackling the subject matters in the game, I’m cautiously optimistic. I can’t wait to play it for myself next month.
Yesterday on the PlayStation Store, that very same sequence from PSX was released as a demo and, as excited as I am to play it for myself, I’m going to force myself to wait until the retail release of the game on May 25th.
Below, you can find IGN’s video of the live demo from PSX:
I’ve deliberately not read much about the game beyond the general premise. I want to go into it with as little expectation as possible. Earlier today, as I was looking at some screenshots for this piece, I noticed the AI character of Kara looked awfully familiar. It hit me that she resembled an actress from the 2016 Blair Witch. Turns out, I was right! Actress Valorie Curry plays Kara.
Curry as Kara in Detroit: Become Human:
Curry as Talia in Blair Witch:
One thing I have to hand to David Cage is that he has the uncanny valley thing down. The likeness of the actress to her Detroit character is striking. Looking back at Heavy Rain and Beyond Two Souls, the graphics aren’t quite as good as I remember them being when they released. Quantic Dream seems to push the envelope graphically with each subsequent game they create, and with this being a game about artificial intelligence, I think the uncanny valley effect will only add to the experience.
I may be cautiously optimistic, but I’m still excited to play Detroit when it releases next month.
How do you feel about David Cage and Quantic Dream? Did you like Heavy Rain or Beyond Two Souls? Or, going back even further, did you like Indigo Prophecy? Are you looking forward to Detroit: Become Human? Will you be picking it up at release?
I’m looking forward to being nice to robots next month.
.
P.S. David Cage bingo.
Categories: games
Rebekah Lang 
LMAO XD That bingo card is hilarious! I did enjoy Heavy Rain, but I had to look past all the “cheapy stuff” to enjoy it. By that I mean many of the things on that bingo card… basically the stuff that means if Heavy Rain were a film, it would be an utterly awful misogynistic hackneyed convoluted whodunnit. As for Detroit… this wasn’t even on my radar until last night when the demo was released. I played though it a couple of times and really enjoyed it :) I’m not sure I’ll fork out for it at launch but would definitely pick it up on sale. It looks and sounds beautiful and it’s been years since I played HR. I’m about ready for another game like that :)
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Isn’t it funny? I didn’t create it, but I do love it.
Oh I hear you on Heavy Rain. In part, I think the game was really interesting, but good gracious he really hits those tropes hard. I’ve written a piece before about his penchant for awkward sex, birthday parties, and teeth brushing. He’s nothing if not predictable.
But you are entirely correct: if those games had been movies, oof.
I’m glad you enjoyed the demo! And I’m guessing there will be decent sales on it after a couple of months. :)
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I’ve enjoyed all the past Quantic Dream games but something about Detroit isn’t grabbing me, which is weird because I love sci-fi futurist stuff. But, I think knowing that Cage’s writing is so heavy handed that I don’t think he’ll be able to do the topics justice and the recent controversy inside the studio culture has me a little on edge. I’ll probably play it but not until its dropped a bit in price.
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Interesting, really? I certainly can’t dispute the nature of his writing; he couldn’t BE more heavy handed. I’m also worried he won’t do the topics justice. But I have to admit his games can sometimes be a train wreck that is too ridiculous to miss.
I am also worried due to the allegations against the studio. What a situation. I don’t blame you for waiting for a price drop.
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I’ve never played a David Cage game. The demo for Detroit: Become Human was a lot of fun. The uncanny valley nature of the realistic graphics seems well suited to androids. Yet, I’m wary about the game given one of that it has a particularly sensitive story line and the recent stories about the developer’s toxic work culture. I’ll probably play Beyond: Two Souls next month since it’ll be free to get that “David Cage experience” while eyeing Detroit: Become Human’s reception.
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I’m glad you liked the demo! But, yes, I’m wary in the same ways you are. I’m not sure what to make of the claims against Quantic Dream (they are currently suing the outlet that published those claims). Part of me can completely see how the claims could be true, so I don’t know.
Oh my goodness. Beyond Two Souls is LONG and very odd. I heard with the PS4 release you could play it in chronological order and if I were to go and play it now, I’d definitely do it that way. I didn’t find the jumping around the timeline to be worthwhile at all. It just seemed like a thing to do.
It’s a very weird game.
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