Heavy Rain
Games Like Detroit: Become Human
Heavy Rain is the obvious first option for games like Detroit: Become Human. Not only is it one of Quantic Dreams’ (the developers of Detroit) previous games, but it is probably the closest to the new game in terms of style. Heavy Rain is another narrative-focused adventure game that sees you control a few different protagonists and make choices that alter the story.
The main plot line is about the mystery of the Origami Killer, a serial killer who uses ‘Heavy Rain’ to drown his victims. The story is dark, emotional, and full of choices that can completely change the ending of the game. Although it looked phenomenal when it released back in early 2010, it doesn’t look nearly as good as Detroit does on PS4, but you can play the remastered version for the best the game can offer. The story is certainly one worth experiencing, though.
Until Dawn
Games Like Detroit: Become Human
Until Dawn isn’t a Quantic Dream game, but its gameplay style is very much like one of their games. It follows a group of eight teenagers who head off for a night at a spooky cabin in the mountains, where two girls disappeared a year earlier. You control each of the characters at different times as they explore the grounds and try to work out what has been going on there. You talk to the other characters, doing everything you can to keep them all alive.
You can finish the game with none of them alive, all of them alive, or anything in between. It all depends on the choices you make and how accurate you are in the QTE moments. It’s a fun, if often terrifying, game that is perfect if you enjoyed Detroit, don’t mind horror games, and are looking for something that plays similarly.
Beyond: Two Souls
Games Like Detroit: Become Human
Beyond: Two Souls may not have been as well received critically as some of Quantic Dream’s other games, but there’s still much to enjoy for fans of the genre. Starring Willem Defoe and Ellen Page, whose fame made many people more interested in the game, tells the story of a young girl who possesses supernatural powers through her psychic link to an invisible entity called Aiden.
The plot can seem a little muddled at times, but Beyond is played in the same way as the likes of Heavy Rain and Detroit. Many of your actions involve choices that are scattered throughout the many cinematic cutscenes, and those choices can have a huge impact on how the story plays out.
Telltale Games
Games Like Detroit: Become Human
Telltale games are probably what immediately comes to mind when people talk about cinematic, narrative-focused games. Whether it be the first season of The Walking Dead that started it all, the quirky The Wolf Among Us, or the original take on the Dark Knight in the two seasons of Batman, the stories are compelling and your decisions truly matter.
Since they’re also episodic games, you can play them in short bursts, and there will be something for everyone. You might fall in love with Lee and Clem in The Walking Dead, laugh along with Tales From the Borderlands, or spend time with the Guardians of the Galaxy. You can simply sit back and enjoy the stories that are being told, getting involved whenever you’re asked to.
Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy
Games Like Detroit: Become Human
Fahrenheit, which was known as Indigo Prophecy in North America and Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy when it was remastered, is another of Quantic Dream’s cinematic adventures, but it wasn’t as well known as their later titles. It is a paranormal thriller that sees regular folk murder other strangers on the streets of New York City. It introduced the studios’ use of branching storylines and cinematic presentation, telling a compelling story that many called a ‘interactive movie.’
It may not be quite the technical masterpiece that we’ve been treated to by Detroit, but there’s still plenty of gameplay similarities to enjoy and a dark story to watch unravel.
L.A. Noire
Games Like Detroit: Become Human
L.A. Noire is certainly more open than Detroit: Become Human, but it isn’t without its cinematic moments. You play as Cole Phelps, a detective in 1940’s, post-war Los Angeles, who is making his way up the ranks. You’re assigned a number of cases and need to investigate crime scenes, interrogate suspects, and engage in dramatic shootouts. Where the similarities between the games arise is in how important your choices are.
Choosing the right question when speaking to a witness, or interpreting their facial expressions correctly, can be the difference between solving a crime or not, and how you perform affects how Cole is perceived. There are also some impressive facial animations that rival those in Detroit.
Life Is Strange
Games Like Detroit: Become Human
Life Is Strange may be completely different in tone to Detroit Become Human, following a young girl who suddenly gets the power to rewind time, but the gameplay is very similar. You arguably spend more time in control of Max’s movements, walking around and examining objects, than you do those of any character in Detroit, but the story is still cutscene and choice-centric.
Throughout the game, you’re given the choice between two very different actions, either of which could dramatically alter both Max’s life and the world she lives in. There’s real emotion behind the choices, especially the final one, and you come to truly care about Max and Chloe. If you’re after another cinematic adventure game, but one tells a more personal story, Life Is Strange would be a great choice.
Late Shift
Games Like Detroit: Become Human
Some people call the likes of Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human interactive movies in a derogatory way. Calling them ‘interactive movies’ suggests that they lack substantial gameplay, even if that isn’t the case. Late Shift is an interactive movie in a more literal sense. The game is entirely live action, starring Joe Sowerbutts, and sees your character being forced to take part in a dangerous, London set heist.
As the stakes are raised, you need to make the right decisions to keep your character alive, with multiple endings being possible. It may not have the production value of the Hollywood heist movies you’re used to, but it tells a compelling story.
Published: May 25, 2018 03:05 pm