Detroit: Become Human is the pinnacle of Quantic Dream’s career

Game developer Quantic Dream's critically acclaimed cinematic psychological thriller, Heavy Rain, is the reason I bought a PlayStation 3 in 2010 after exclusively owning Nintendo consoles my whole life. Even with its flaws, I thought it was brilliant and it completely consumed my world. Even when I wasn't playing the game, I was thinking about it and about how all my choices affected the outcome. I had never played anything like it, and I became obsessed. I went on to get the Platinum trophy, and then bought the remastered version on PlayStation 4 in 2016 and platinumed that, too. I can only think of a handful of games that I have been completely consumed by, and Detroit: Become Human just made that list.

As I was playing through Detroit, I kept seeing little moments that reminded me of Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, two games I love dearly. I know a lot of people hated Beyond: Two Souls, but I really enjoyed it. It was definitely not without its flaws, but there isn't another game like it. That's something I love about Quantic Dream's games; they are truly unique experiences. Sure, maybe the gameplay isn't the most challenging in the world, but it's challenging enough to keep you engaged with the characters and the story. Detroit wouldn't exist without Heavy Rain and Beyond; they were the building blocks Quantic Dream needed to achieve something as great at Detroit. It reminds me of that famous saying from another video game I love: "Greatness from small beginnings."

Detroit feels like everything Heavy Rain and Beyond wanted to be. David Cage and the whole team at Quantic Dream always had a clear vision of what they wanted their games to be; they just never had the tools to fully realize that vision. As a fan of narrative, single-player experiences, I am thrilled that development teams like Quantic Dream exist. As I plugged away at my first playthrough, I couldn't help but get emotional; this game is everything I've ever wanted for a game in this genre. I feel blessed to be a gamer.

If you enjoyed Heavy Rain or Beyond, you absolutely have to play Detroit. Not only are all the characters interesting and well-developed, but the voice acting, the graphics, the music ... everything is outstanding. The narrative about androids and humans is a metaphor for some real-world issues happening around the globe today, and I was really moved by it. This game changed the way I think throughout the course of the story, and I encourage everyone to play it.