A Redemption Story: The Android Sent By Cyberlife

Connor looking up to Hank as a father figure like:

A Redemption Story: The Android Sent By Cyberlife

Why My First Playthrough of DBH Was the Most Powerful, Despite The Suicide of a Beloved Character

Warning: This essay contains many spoilers for the game Detroit: Become Human, but I highly recommend giving it a read if you’ve already played the game at least once. It also mentions suicide.

Detroit: Become Human is an impactful, choice-based story crafted by the player. Every decision made by the player directly affects the relationships between protagonists and other characters, the likelihood of survival, and the way the story will end. This Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style of video game isn’t new. We’ve seen this idea put to work in popular games such as Heavy Rain, Until Dawn, Beyond Two Souls, Life Is Strange, and others. In these games, not only are the reactions of characters altered by the player’s choices, but the entire plot and outcome of the game is affected. Despite existing in independent fictional universes, they are related by the power players are given over exactly how the story unfolds, but Detroit: Become Human is the most recent and arguably the most creative and thorough application of this concept to ever be released into the video game industry.

This article will not be summarizing the plot of the game or how it works. One important thing to note, however, is that this game is likely the most thorough application of “the butterfly effect,” “chaos theory,” (which will be familiar to you if you’ve played Until Dawn or Life Is Strange) or any title for the concept that every individual choice, big or small, causes a chain of events all on its own. Every action has many reactions. This game has compensated for every difference in choices. Every convoluted ending, every complex combination of living and deceased characters; every cause of consistent or inconsistent dialogue options; every situation where a character could die; they are all accounted for. They all have resolutions and outcomes. There is estimated to be over 100 endings if you count early main character deaths, and 45 unique endings if all the protagonists make it close to the end! Trust me, the variety is a little unbelievable.

This game is clearly very thorough in making sure no ending leaves the player saying, “Whoops, I chose for this character to make a bad decision (perhaps resulting in death) and now I have to retry.” There is no re-trying in DBH. No game overs. Every decision you make is final (unless you decide to exit to the main menu and selectively re-play the chapter to change your choices. And BOY is it fun when you accidentally kill a protagonist and Chloe is devastated...). Can you make a wrong move and kill off side characters? Oh, absolutely. Can you do that and kill off main characters? Hell yeah you can.

It is intense, fascinating, and overwhelmingly similar to the impact our choices make in the real world.

You can’t rewind time to change your approach to situations (*cough* Life Is Strange, I’m looking at you! I love you though; don’t get me wrong).

But while Detroit accounts for pretty much every move you make, it also leaves a surprising number of plot elements to interpretation and theory,

which is another reason why I love it so dearly. For example: Do some of the smaller choices actually point to deviancy early on, or just signs leading to deviancy? Who is RA9? How does Kara simply forget that Alice is actually an android? What the hell is Amanda’s actual deal? Why is Luther such a martyr of a character?? (I have my own theories for all of these, by the way, but that’s for another time).

There are many ways to calculate your choices in order to achieve the ending you want. Machine Connor or Deviant Connor? Violent Markus or Pacifist Markus? Empathetic-to-everyone Kara or put-Alice’s-well-being-above-all-else Kara? Or of course, go with your gut; wing it; do whatever feels best in the moment; don’t worry about the specific pathways; however you want to go about it really.

The first point that I want to establish is that the bromance of an ending between Hank and Connor is one cherished by me and many other players.

Hank is a big softie with a hard spiky shell and a dark past, and everytime you see that little blue up arrow, your relationship with him becomes a little warmer and so does your gosh dang wee little heart. Their father-son type relationship holds a very comfy place in my heart complete with pillows and hot cocoa and fuzzy socks. I achieved it on my second playthrough. I mean that last cutscene where the two meet back up at the ChickenFeed stand and Hank pulls him in for a hug?? Aaaaaarghghhh!! We were all just waiting for that relationship status to tick from “Friend” to “DAD”, weren’t we? How special it all is.

But while the “Green Connor” ending with the living and breathing (and undoubtedly still constantly cursing) “Friend” Hank is my favorite, it is not the ending that I think is the best.

The ending I achieved my first time playing is the one that takes the cinematic, heart-wrenching, impactful, chapter-closing cake, and I will explain exactly why.

It goes much further than just being the outcome I experienced initially, when I was seeing it all for the first time.

Going into the game without spoilers leaves you wondering exactly what the climax will hold. The game is clear in communicating the missions of all of our main characters: Connor is to hunt down deviancy and stop it from spreading; Markus is fighting for the freedom of androids; Kara seeks a safe, new life with Alice. This leads us to believe that the climax will have to do with Connor’s success or failure, Markus’s people’s freedom or suffering, and Kara and Alice’s safety or lack thereof.

One balance in Connor’s story that becomes more intense as the game progresses is between empathy and professional objective.

How far can you afford to let your relationship with Hank grow without falling behind on putting a stop to deviancy? Do you even want to bother? Do you show remorse to the deviants, or do you stop at nothing to accomplish your mission? How do you even view deviants? Are they machines that have woken up and developed into a new intelligent life form? Or  are they simply malfunctioning and rebelling pieces of hardware that need to be eradicated?

These are the big decisions I made as Connor in playthrough number one:

• I chased Rupert instead of saving Hank.

I mean… Need I explain this one? 89% chance of survival is an odd I will count on. I believe you can actually get away with this one and still get the good Hank ending, as long as it is the only choice you make against Hank. As the first BIG Connor decision, I think the game subtly demonstrates through this example what it might mean when you defy his preferences, giving you an out if you decide to prioritize Hank’s friendship after getting a taste of the effects of a big choice.

• I shot the Traci girls instead of sparing them.

I’m heartless, I know, but I wanted to figure out what was going on with this deviancy thing! I’m sorry Amelia Rose Blaire, but you can be my Woman Crush Wednesday any week of the year.

• I spared Chloe instead of shooting her for Kamski’s information.

Okay at this point I really wanted my boy to turn deviant and I did not have the heart to shoot my wholesome hostess girl for info (who I freed, by the way). And it's a good thing I didn't shoot. I wouldn't have had the option to become a deviant with my track record if I did. 

• I turned Deviant when Markus spoke to me.

“Yesssss this is the button I have been waiting to press!” I thought. Seeing that line “ [o][Become A Deviant] ” is just so special to me, personally, as I got to watch and contribute to the growth of my favorite character.

Other important things to note include:

• Connor also died in “Hostage” (sacrificed self, mission successful).

• I spoke in a friendly manner pretty consistently with Hank except for when he was pissing me off. (I wanted to play genuinely)

• The interrogation with Carlos Ortiz’s android was successful, but he ended up grabbing a gun, shooting me, and then shooting himself (oopsie). This is because I unnecessarily probed his memory, making him too stressed.

• I didn’t even chase Kara because we stayed in the squat with Ralph, and when I played as Connor I didn’t even find them because I’m a big dumb-dumb and didn’t check under the stairs. (It meant two extra minutes of just walking around, asking Ralph questions, running out of questions, and overall feeling very confused.)

• Hank shot me on the bridge, as you could have guessed from my choices.

• Connor was “traumatized” because he found Simon on the roof (just a detail I like to add because it is the first time Connor feels fear, and I love that scene a lot).

To sum up, by deviating time, Hank was not my biggest fan.

It sucked because I really liked the character and wanted to be his son- uh I mean friend. Yeah, I wanted to be his friend... It surprised me that my partner was disturbed and angered when I chose to pursue the suspects. Didn’t we share the same objective? In turn, he became warmer whenever I chose to spare and empathize with deviants, which is completely against his professional goal.

I should have realized that Hank doesn’t give two hoots about his job. It was through this process that I actually learned about Hank. A man that is isolated, broken, and absolutely hopeless, craves to see reflections of the positive elements of humanity within this new part of his reality- androids. He plays Russian roulette on a regular basis; he doesn’t have any hope left to cling to. Seeing Connor empathize with creatures that just want to be free to love, to live, and to be themselves gives Hank a small amount of hope. So does giving Hank a friend who cares. I didn’t realize how much my actions would actually impact Hank’s will to live, but it makes sense. If that’s not a heavy weight on your choices, I don’t know what is.

With the combination of choices above, Hank committed suicide. Experiencing this for the first time was so painful and difficult for me. I didn’t grasp that Connor’s choices meant the difference between obtaining information successfully and actually losing a friend.

(On an even more serious note, I think it can go to show how much a person can cry for help without anyone taking them seriously enough to get them real help and support before it’s too late. When I heard the gunshot, I found myself thinking, “Oh my god, I didn’t think he’d actually do it,” despite all of his hopelessness, bitterness, and suicidal tendencies.)

But see, letting Connor become deviant after all of this is what made the choice meaningful. It didn’t feel like the next step; it was a conscious change. It felt like Connor was emotionally impacted by his own choices. As Hank explains, if you choose not to shoot Chloe, “You put yourself in her shoes. You showed empathy. Empathy is a human emotion, Connor.”

So, Connor becomes deviant. He has spent all of his time, hunting and killing these free-thinking machines. He has lost his best friend to suicide. He is filled with confusion and doubt and remorse. Connor decides to make things right, to save his people, to redeem himself and do what his heart says before it’s too late.

And that is the best Connor ending- when he changes the game from just a story about becoming deviant to a story about personal redemption.

After all of the pain and death he has caused, he wakes up. Connor decides to risk his life by devoting himself to the cause and saving as many of his own people from perishing as possible. He does it for the sake of his species, and, in a way, he does it for Hank.

On my second playthrough, I went for Green Connor. I did everything Hank wanted to do; I showed empathy in every situation; I died as little as possible; I was always friendly and patient in my dialogue; I showed concern for Hank’s well-being; and Hank helped me convert thousands of androids at the Cyberlife tower. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is an awesome way to approach the game! Developing a stable friendship with Hank feels great, and his reaction to your empathetic choices are similar to those of a proud father. It’s wonderful especially to know that you helped keep Hank from ending it all, and, like I said before, the ending is a great one.

The thing that makes it inferior, though, is the friendly behavior of Connor from beginning to end. Even though this type of playthrough still gives Connor gradual doubts and deviant tendencies, he seems open to them from the beginning. It’s unrealistic to the programming of his model! The RK800 is referred to as the “most advanced prototype” that Cyberlife has created. It’s possible that this is exclusively a manipulative statement that Amanda uses in order to keep Connor obedient, but it is evident from his many investigative skills that he was programmed for a specific purpose: Accomplish the mission. Investigate. Do whatever it takes.

Here are some examples of Connor’s high-tech investigative skills:

• Analyzing samples in real time, such as human blood or blue blood

• Reconstructing crimes based on objects in a crime scene

• Imitating interrogation techniques like sympathy and intimidation

• Analyzing evidence, such as identifying fingerprints, scanning faces, determining the ages of physical wounds

• Firearm training

• Persuading criminals, such as Daniel in “Hostage”

• Analyzing substances like drugs, food, hair, blood, etc

The idea that Connor could overcome these ingrained priorities just by choosing to approach his partnership with Hank in a diplomatic way is unrealistic. Friendliness alone surely can’t break his programming.

But do you know what can, according to almost every example throughout the game? Emotional shock! It could be due to any death Connor witnesses that he starts to truly deviate! Kara, Rupert, Tracis, Simon, Chloe, Hank- These are the things capable of influencing a professionally programmed machine to think for themselves and develop personal morals.

We can keep track of Connor’s instability level as we play. Every time Connor empathizes, we see a blue upward-pointing arrow, and he becomes less stable (and more deviant) by making choices for himself that go against his programmed priorities. So yes, Connor deviates more and more, quite constantly, in a Green playthrough, dependant also on dialogue choices.

But is that transformation meaningful?

I find that the loss of Hank to suicide is a crucial piece of Connor’s most impactful and genuine journey. His change from the incessant deviant-hunter to a redeemed hero relies upon the pressure and lessons of a real-life, soul-crushing consequence. That way, his choices carry the weight necessary to cause that big of an internal change. When you play as always friendly and submissive Connor, he slides into deviancy like it’s the dm’s! Think about how early on you make those empathetic choices. Does a transformation really even happen? He is able to stop denying his empathetic behavior, but does that hold weight? Did our hero experience adversity? Was his big change of heart a result of the consequences of his own actions, or the result of you pushing the button you wanted to see pushed?

In conclusion, when making friendly, generous, and forgiving decisions as Connor throughout the story, it really doesn’t feel like his decision to become a deviant is as insane and important as it logically should be. On the contrary, it’s as if he’s been asking to become deviant all along. If you ask me, Connor deviates throughout the game, no matter how you play it; he just denies his doubts more in some playthroughs than others.

Nonetheless, the evolution of his character has more meaning if Connor has to realize that some of his actions take lives, rather than just getting rid of machines. It’s these realizations that allow him to become more empathetic, and in turn, deviant.

However the game is played, Connor is an interesting character that I hold near and dear to my heart, and I hope you had a fantastic experience with the game or might have one if you play it one day!

Thank you so much for reading my first blog post! I hope to post more content soon! ^.^