GSY Review PS4

Eight years after my first coverage of a Quantic Dream game on Gamersyde, I can share with you our verdict on Detroit: Become Human, David Cage's new interactive story. Inside, you will also find a series of (4K) videos which contain no story related spoilers.
Gamersyde Live: Because it has become a tradition with every big release, we will be live this evening at 8:45 CEST for a one hour livestream in which we'll be happy to answer all your questions.

Verdict


As you may or may not know, the Gamersyde's team has always been quite fond of Quantic Dream's approach to games. Aside from the useless debate over the fact that their productions should be called video games or not (remember Space Ace, Dragon's Lair or interactive fictions back in the 80s?), we've always enjoyed their titles but we have also been very aware of their shortcomings. Detroit: Become Human has been built for fans from the ground up. It contains all the gameplay mechanics some people complain about, it does its best to convey emotion and it has a cinematic feel. From the first minute to the end, we were hooked, but if you've never liked David Cage's games because of how they play, this one isn't going to make a big difference. That being said, if you preferred Heavy Rain over Beyond: Two Souls, then there is a good chance Detroit will appeal to you more. The theme the game tackles may not be all new, but the way it's treated is very effective in that it makes the player connect to the characters and relate to them. The future presented is well-crafted, and in our case, the story that revolved around it was more humanist than alarmist. The game made us care about its characters, it made us empathize with them, which is why we will say that the guys at Quantic Dream achieved their purpose with Detroit: Become Human, which is quite clearly their best achievement so far.
  • On the plus side
  • A visual treat, both in terms of graphics and staging
  • Believable and human chracters
  • The emotional implication keeps rising
  • Multiple consequences to choices and good replayability
  • The player in charge of his own story
  • Perfect cast
  • Probably the best Quantic Dream game to date
  • The plot may be simple but it's efficient
  • The characters are at the core of the player's preoccupations
  • On the downside
  • The parallel with the US Civil Rights Movement is a bit too obvious
  • Depth of field and grain effects are too exaggerated
  • Some framerate issues in some of the most demanding scenes
  • There is nothing too original about the story
  • Minor navigation and camera problems
aphex187
aphex187
Commented on 2018-05-24 14:09:07
Really want this game! Loved the demo so will pick it up in the next week or so.
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This message and account have been deleted at the user's request
Driftwood - Dictateur en chef
Driftwood
Commented on 2018-05-24 14:18:24
It's much closer to HR so you should enjoy it. I'll ask John "DF" about super-sampling and will let you know.
In reply to
KORNdog
KORNdog
Commented on 2018-05-24 14:26:59
+ Probably the best Quantic Dream game to date

that's all i needed to know. already loved heavy rain and can't wait to play this.
In reply to
AndreasZ94
AndreasZ94
Commented on 2018-05-24 14:55:37 In reply to Driftwood
The demo had supersampling so i would guess yes. Also isn't this issue fixed? There is a specific supersumpling option in the ps4 menus now.
In reply to
Driftwood - Dictateur en chef
Driftwood
Commented on 2018-05-24 14:57:01 In reply to AndreasZ94
I woulnd't know, I don't own a 1080p TV. As far as I know, it doesn't show in the menu when playing on a 4K set.

Edit: John tells me there is always super-sampling on Pro since you can now force it, so it doesn't matter whether or not it is supported natively.
In reply to
AndreasZ94
AndreasZ94
Commented on 2018-05-24 15:01:36
I'm really excited for this. It's been a while since i played a narrative focused choice based game. Last one i played was until dawn, didn't play life is strange or any recent telltale game.
In reply to
unknownuser0001
unknownuser0001
Commented on 2018-05-24 19:28:24
I may skip the stream, I expect spoilers there
In reply to
Driftwood - Dictateur en chef
Driftwood
Commented on 2018-05-24 19:30:59 In reply to unknownuser0001
Not more than in our videos here. I mean, I plan to focus on the very beginning of the game anyway and avoid the chapters in which important plot elements are revealed.
In reply to
unknownuser0001
unknownuser0001
Commented on 2018-05-24 19:33:03 In reply to Driftwood
Dammit then I'll be there :D
In reply to
Tinks
Tinks
Commented on 2018-05-24 20:54:35
Looks like you guys forgot to translate one of the negatives? ;)

Also what's bad if it parallels the civil rights movement?
In reply to
Driftwood - Dictateur en chef
Driftwood
Commented on 2018-05-24 23:03:49 In reply to Tinks
It's not very subtle. I mean, that's a period I've always been interested in and I wish the game had not tried to mimic what happened so much at times. But maybe that's just me. :)
In reply to
Tinks
Tinks
Commented on 2018-05-24 23:27:27
I can understand the complaint since there's so much room and so many good stories on AI right now (Westworld, Ex Machina, etc), but it's also an unfortunate part of our history that we sort of just repeat our mistakes. There's many prime examples right now

It's believable that AI could head in that direction too
In reply to
Driftwood - Dictateur en chef
Driftwood
Commented on 2018-05-24 23:31:16 In reply to Tinks
Absolutely, it's not the problem I have with the analogy, it actually makes sense. It's just that I think they didn't need to mimic the iconic figures of the time.
In reply to
Tinks
Tinks
Commented on 2018-05-25 15:09:27
You have played it and I haven't tbh though :)

It might be more egregious than I'm even aware of
In reply to
LEBATO - IS WRONG
LEBATO
Commented on 2018-05-26 07:23:56
Hey guys, your keyboard broke, posted some gibberish :)

"Fondamentalement l’histoire n’a rien de très original"
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This message and account have been deleted at the user's request
AndreasZ94
AndreasZ94
Commented on 2018-05-27 19:12:24
What do you mean they should give this type of game to a fresh team? Who? Sony? The only other aaa studio that has made a game like this was Supermassive with until dawn and the only thing new they brought was the relationship stats but mechanically it was way worse than QD's games. The action sequences in until dawn were just press one button here and there a few times with a lot less choices compared to Detroit. I agree mechanically detroit doesn't bring a lot of new stuff to the genre but they have expanded choices a lot though. One mechanic that i noticed Detroit doesn't have but heavy rain did is the move slow type qte. There were a few scenes i wish they had that
In reply to
AndreasZ94
AndreasZ94
Commented on 2018-05-27 19:21:27
It would be great if in the next game they mix in some traditional mechanics with the qtes. Like some actual 3rd person shooting or driving sections. I definitely want some more involved detective stuff
In reply to
KORNdog
KORNdog
Commented on 2018-05-27 21:23:38
Posted by droezelke
I'm a couple of hours in now. Positives: graphics, facial animation, well defined characters, great acting, flow chart.
Negatives; Not an original story, not subtle enough, limited freedom (you notice being pushed), still no good controls (why don't they make it like a real third person game?).
In general: it's a way better game than Beyond. I'm enjoying it and I'm looking forward to the consequences of my choices. The most interesting character to me is Marcus. I do think they should give this type of game to a fresh team. David Cage is not evolving enough and it could use some fresh air and a willingness to make changes. A diffrent writer could lift it up to something great; different approach to the control scheme could make it feel less 'directed'.
If you liked Heavy Rain, this game shouldn't be missed though.
Detroit had something along the lines of 6 writers and from what I understand David Cage wasn't as involved as you may think. He stuck predominantly to driecting instead.
In reply to
This message and account have been deleted at the user's request
Driftwood - Dictateur en chef
Driftwood
Commented on 2018-05-27 23:28:16 In reply to KORNdog
The opening credits still say "written by David Cage" only.
In reply to
AndreasZ94
AndreasZ94
Commented on 2018-05-27 23:47:05 In reply to Driftwood
Yeah i don't recall Cage saying that he wasn't as involved as before but yet i ve seen a lot of people think that. I think the only difference is that he's not the only writer on Detroit
In reply to
AndreasZ94
AndreasZ94
Commented on 2018-05-27 23:55:25
Still haven't finished the game and yes the story is not something original but why is that such a problem? Between books, tv shows, movies etc very very few subjects haven't been covered. The story in Detroit is basically about AI and what makes a human. This subject has been done before and better too but the game/choice aspect is what still makes it interesting. Also the characters are done well which is what i care most
In reply to
AndreasZ94
AndreasZ94
Commented on 2018-05-28 00:18:53
I ve seen some yt playthroughs where they made different choices than me and it confirmed my suspicion. Even if it's done a lot better than previous games there are still choice combinations that just don't work as well as others. I had scenes that were amazing for me but not so good for others and vice versa. Still impressed with how its done though. Thinking about how this game works sounds like a nightmare to make, no wonder it took them almost 5 years to make
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About the game
Platform
PS4
Published by
Sony Computer En...
Developed by
Quantic Dream
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