18 Games Like Detroit: Become Human Where Your Choices Really MatterDetroit: Become Human launched in 2018 as a refinement of a style of game that Quantic Dream has become known for--an entangled cast of playable characters, detective-like investigations, nail-biting quick-time events, and a seemingly endlessly branching narrative. The most ambitious take on the format yet, Detroit: Become Human follows a rising android rebellion in a near-future setting where household robots have become commonplace. With its focus on narrative decisions and investigative gameplay over action and combat, Detroit feels like a bit of an anomaly amongst modern adventure games--but there are plenty of games like Detroit: Become Human out there to explore We’ve selected some of the best games like Detroit: Become Human for you to dive into next, with a focus on games where player choices help shape the branching narrative. Many of these games feature gameplay similar to Detroit’s, with mysteries to investigate and quick-time action sequences, while others feature similar themes and atmosphere to Detroit’s looming robot rebellion. For some options with more of a focus on action, check out our favorite games like GTA , or take a crunchier angle on narrative-heavy games with the best RPGs . Heavy Rain Developer: Quantic Dream Platform: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PC Release Date: 18 February, 2010 The title that brought Quantic Dream and its unique style of adventure game into the limelight, Heavy Rain is a must-play for fans of the studio’s later work. With a cast of four playable characters, each investigating a serial killer known as the Origami Killer, Heavy Rain's ambitious story can take many paths to multiple endings. The game's branching choices play out through slow-paced investigation scenes, interactions between characters, and intense action sequences navigated mostly through quick-time events--with potentially fatal outcomes for the characters if a key button press is missed. The game has multiple different endings for each character both bad and good, and the outcome of the central investigation also hinges on the player's actions. Initially released for the PS3, Heavy Rain has since been re-released for the PS4 ( bundled with its successor Beyond: Two Souls) and also ported to PC. Fanatical and GameSpot are both owned by Fanatical. See at Fanatical The Walking Dead Developer: Telltale Games Platform: PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Mobile, Nintendo Switch Release Date: April 24, 2012 Released in Telltale's heyday, The Walking Dead is easily one of the studio's best games. An episodic narrative game based on the comic book series of the same name, The Walking Dead sees players navigating the zombie apocalypse in the role of Lee Everett, a convicted criminal who finds himself looking after a young girl named Clementine. Unlike the majority of video games themed around zombies, The Walking Dead focuses more on the human element of its post-apocalyptic world, with interactions between characters often vital for survival. The game's action scenes are mostly handled through quick-time events in lieu of combat mechanics. See at Fanatical Until Dawn Developer: Supermassive Games Platform: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC Release Date: August 25, 2015 A studio-defining title, Until Dawn was a breakout hit for Supermassive games, telling a trope-twisting teen horror story with many possible outcomes through its “butterfly effect” mechanic. The game follows eight teens on a trip to a mountain lodge, one year after two of their friends went missing on a similar trip. Each of the eight teens is playable at some point, and the choices the player makes for them--or their skill at hitting quick-time events--will determine who survives until dawn. The game feels like an homage to classic teen horror films, with its characters subjected to some good old-fashioned teen bullying alongside Until Dawn's terrifying supernatural threats. Until Dawn was so successful at nailing the feeling of a teen horror movie that it ended up being adapted into an actual film--which even took inspiration from the game’s branching narrative . See at Amazon Life Is Strange Developer: Dontnod Entertainment Platform: PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Mobile Release Date: January 30, 2015 Another iconic game in the genre, Life Is Strange puts its own spin on the concept of the butterfly effect with a protagonist who has the ability to rewind time--allowing players to go back and choose different options almost instantly. Protagonist Max Caulfield has to come to grips with this mysterious new power, while also navigating the complexities high school life, and investigating a larger and darker mystery alongside childhood friend Chloe Price. The time-rewinding mechanic is used for puzzle-solving, and you'll also use exploration, item collecting, and branching dialogues with different characters to advance the story. Dontnod went on to make multiple games in the series, including a prequel Before the Storm and more recent direct sequel Double Exposure . Initially released as an episodic game, more recent re-releases have seen the Life is Strange collected and re-mastered. See at Amazon Disco Elysium Developer: ZA/UM Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch Release Date: October 15, 2019 Don't let the RPG label put you off, Disco Elysium is far heavier on dialogue and player choices than it is on combat. Just like Detroit (and many other games in this list), Disco Elysium focuses on a detective who has been tasked with investigating a murder. The protagonist wakes up at the start of the game with amnesia, and it’s up to the player to then decide what kind of person he will be through a combination of dialogue choices and the game's unique skill tree. The isometric open-world game allows players to move through Elysium and interact with players and objects, with most other events resolved by skill checks based on dice rolls. See at Fanatical Beyond: Two Souls Developer: Quantic Dream Platform: PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 Release Date: October 8, 2013 Another game from Detroit developer Quantic Dream, Beyond: Two Souls is critically polarizing, but still an interesting entry into a unique genre the studio pioneered. The game got a lot of attention for casting Hollywood stars in leading roles--Elliot Page played protagonist Jodie Holmes, and Willem Dafoe appeared as Jodie's father figure Nathan Dawkins. While most of its gameplay follows the classic Quantic Dream formula, Beyond shook things up through the addition of Aiden, an incorporeal soul linked to Jodie through a psychic tether. The player can choose to control Aiden instead of Jodie at times--or the game can be played in a multiplayer mode with a second player controlling Aiden. Unlike other Quantic Dream titles, Beyond: Two Souls only features one playable protagonist (not counting Aiden), and its narrative doesn’t branch quite as much, but players can still make a few major decisions, leading to various endings. See at Fanatical Oxenfree Developer: Night School Studios Platform: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Mobile, Nintendo Switch Release Date: January 15, 2016 This gorgeous indie adventure game follows a group of teens who accidentally unleash a supernatural force on an overnight island trip. Players take control of protagonist Alex as she and her friends explore Edwards Island and try to unravel its mystery. The game's story is told entirely without cutscenes, with conversations happening as the characters walk through Oxenfree’s beautiful 2D environments. Alex can build and break relationships through these conversations, while using her handheld radio to solve puzzles and interact with the island's ghosts. Oxenfree has multiple possible outcomes for its teen characters, and several potential endings, as well as a new game plus mode that can further influence the story's outcome. See at Fanatical L.A. Noire Developer: Team Bondi Platform: PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch Release Date: May 17, 2011 A hard-boiled detective film in the form of a video game, L.A. Noire puts the player in the shoes of Detective Cole Phelps as he investigates crimes in 1947 Los Angeles. The game is split into various cases for the player to investigate, with an overarching conspiracy to be uncovered along the way. Each of the cases can be resolved with varying degrees of success depending on how much evidence the player manages to uncover. The game made big use of motion capture to animate the facial expressions of witnesses and suspects, allowing the player to pass judgement on who is lying and who is telling the truth. L.A. Noire is more action-oriented than others in the genre, involving combat with handguns and melee weapons, as well as action-packed chase scenes both on foot and in vehicles. See at Fanatical King's Quest Developer: The Odd Gentlemen Platform: PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One Release Date: July 28, 2015 This reboot of the classic Sierra point-and-click adventure series was released episodically between 2015 and 2016, charting King Graham's rise to the throne and various adventures throughout his life. In King's Quest , players take control of Graham to explore different locations, solve puzzles, and investigate mysteries. Events both major and minor can be handled with three different approaches--bravery, wisdom, or compassion--with a player's choices throughout the game influencing what kind of person King Graham becomes. While the story is more linear than others in this list, the player still gets to make a handful of major choices that will influence how King's Quest plays out. See at Steam The Quarry Developer: Supermassive Games Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X Release Date: June 10, 2022 A spiritual successor to Until Dawn, The Quarry is Supermassive's return to cliche teen horror, this time taking on the trope of a summer camp haunted by an unknown evil. The Quarry has nine playable characters, who can all live or die depending on the player's choices and skills throughout the game. Though its gameplay is mostly similar to Until Dawn, The Quarry features a multiplayer option where each character can be assigned to different player to control--potentially endangering or dooming their friends through their actions. See at Fanatical Road 96 Developer: DigixArt Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch Release Date: August 16, 2021 In Road 96 , a group of teenagers attempt to flee the fictional authoritarian nation of Petria. The outcome of the story, and the fate of each of Road 96's playable characters, is affected by the decisions the player makes throughout the game. Each playthrough involves multiple characters--once one of the teens has either succeeded or failed to cross the border out of Petria, the player returns to the start of a different character's journey, with Road 96's finale taking place on Petria's tumultuous election day. The various encounters characters have along the road are procedurally generated, and there are multiple different ways to travel--catching buses, stealing cars, hitchhiking, hailing taxis, or simply walking. Like other games with branching narratives, Road 96 is designed to be played through multiple times, with each playthrough taking a different path to a different end. See at Fanatical Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered Developer: Quantic Dream Platform: PC, Mobile, PlayStation 4 Release Date: January 29, 2015 (Original released in 2005) The predecessor to Heavy Rain, this early Quantic Dream title was released as Fahrenheit outside the USA, where it was renamed Indigo Prophecy, and tells the story of a supernaturally possessed serial killer and the two detectives on his trail. Fahrenheit introduced concepts and features that would become fundamental to Quantic Dream's distinctive style of game, including the idea of a changing and evolving narrative based on character choices, and a focus on characters' journeys and mental states over combat or action elements. While Quantic Dreams' more recent games have definitely refined the formula, the original is still well worth a look. See at Fanatical As Dusk Falls Developer: Interior Night Platform: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 Release Date: July 19, 2022 This interactive narrative game was helmed by a developer who previously worked on Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls at Quantic Dream, and plenty of the studio's character-forward, narrative-heavy signature can be seen in As Dusk Falls . The game sees two very different families collide in the small desert town of Two Rock, Arizona following a car accident. Players guide multiple characters through a tense, ever-escalating confrontation between the families that spans two time periods. As Dusk Falls takes a democratic approach to multiplayer, allowing up to eight players to vote on what action should be taken next, with online, offline, and cross-platform multiplayer options available. Each player can also use a limited number of overrides, which will ensure that their option is picked. Binary Domain Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Platform: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Release Date: February 16, 2012 A niche third-person shooter from the creator of the Yakuza series, Binary Domain 's story of a robot uprising and its interrogation of the personhood of humanoid androids covers very similar story beats to Detroit: Become Human. While its combat-heavy gameplay sets it apart from most of the games on this list, Binary Domain also features a unique "consequence system" that has the potential to change elements of the gameplay, story, and even the ending the player will experience. The consequence system tracks how the eight-person Rust Crew feels about player-character Dan Marshall, with the character interactions becoming just as important to Binary Domain as its combat. The game even has an android squadmate, exploring the sometimes uneasy relationship between man and machine. See at Fanatical The Wolf Among Us Developer: Telltale Games Platform: PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Mobile Release Date: October 14, 2013 Another title from Telltale's golden age, The Wolf Among Us was one of the narrative-focused studio's biggest hits. Based on the Fables comic series, The Wolf Among Us follows Bigby Wolf, the sheriff of Fabletown, as he investigates a series of strange murders. The gameplay involves investigating scenes and objects, talking to other characters in branching dialogue trees, and navigating action scenes through quick-time events. The game's dialogue choices run on a timer, forcing players to make quick decisions or let the timer run out and say nothing at all. The Wolf Among Us initially released in five episodes, but has since been collected into a single game and ported to a bunch of different platforms. See at Fanatical Nobody Wants To Die Developer: Critical Hit Games Platform: PC, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5 Release Date: July 17, 2024 Just like Detroit, Nobody Wants To Die sees the player take on the role of detective in a futuristic world, where technology can be used to analyse exactly what happened at the scene of a crime. The game is set in a world where human consciousness can be stored like data and switched between bodies, effectively extending the human lifespan indefinitely. The player character is James Karra, a detective on the trail of a serial killer who appears to be targeting the elites of the game’s futuristic vision of New York City. The branching narrative game features multiple endings based on the player's choices, with gameplay mostly consisting of investigating crime scenes and interrogating witnesses and other NPCs. See at Fanatical Quantum Break Developer: Remedy Entertainment Platform: PC, Xbox One Release Date: April 5, 2016 Originally conceived as a follow-up to Remedy's Alan Wake, Quantum Break instead ended up its own unique beast, featuring a time-manipulating protagonist and a future-sighted antagonist. One of the more action-oriented games on this list, protagonist Jack Joyce uses his time abilities to take on enemies in combat, but he can also use those abilities to investigate scenes and even replay past events. While many of the games on this list take inspiration from film and TV, Quantum Break takes that one step further by incorporating a live-action TV show into the game itself. Quantum Break is split up into five acts--at the end of each, the player is tasked with making a pivotal decision as antagonist Paul Serene, which is followed by an episode of the in-game TV show. Just like the game, the show has the potential to change based on the player's choices, with hidden scenes to unlock through multiple playthroughs. See at Fanatical Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Developer: Don't Nod Montreal Platform: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X Release Date: February 18, 2025 A new game from some of the developers behind the original Life is Strange, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is a two-part adventure game about a group of four girls during two different time periods--as teenagers in 1995, and reunited again 27 years later. Bloom & Rage is played entirely from the perspective of just one of the girls, Swann, who records events and subjects with her camcorder to be edited into her memoir. As adults, the group meets up to reminisce, at times struggling to remember what happened in the summer of 1995 that led them to part ways with no further contact. The events of the game will play out differently depending on what choices the characters make, and can even change depending on how much trust the player has managed to build with the other characters. Bloom & Rage is intended to be more than just a standalone game for Don't Nod, with more games being planned under the Lost Records label. See at Amazon
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