Detroit: Become Human Review

Detroit in 2038 runs on androids, and David Cage's drama follows three of them as they begin to wake up. Kara, a housekeeper, flees an abusive home with a young girl in her care. Connor, a police prototype, hunts deviant machines alongside a burned out detective. Markus, a caretaker, rises to lead an uprising. Valorie Curry, Bryan Dechart and Jesse Williams give motion captured performances of real warmth, and the city around them is among the best looking of its generation.

The branching is the achievement. Any of the three can die and the story carries on without them; after each chapter a flowchart shows the paths you took and the many you did not, and replays reveal how much of the plot bends. Connor's investigations, which rebuild crime scenes step by step, and his uneasy partnership with Hank are widely considered the high point.

The writing is where opinion turns. The game borrows imagery from slavery and the civil rights movement for its android struggle, and many critics find that heavy handed rather than profound, with some judging the domestic abuse scenes exploitative. Much of the playing is walking, examining and quick time events. It is a lavish, compelling drama of choice whose ideas are bigger than its subtlety.