With Detroit: Become Human, David Cage and his team at Quantic Dream were able to realize their most ambitious project to date. Following in the footsteps of Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, the game showcased the studio's flair for narrative-driven games. Not only was it a technical marvel when it initially debuted on the PS4 in 2018, but its sprawling tale of androids fighting oppression in a dystopian future was also a source of much praise.
Players got to control three androids over the course of that narrative: Connor, Kara, and Markus, with their actions helping to determine what direction the story took. And unlike similar games that merely gave players the illusion of choice, this one rewarded or punished them accordingly with actual consequences.
Due to the nature of the branching path structure of its overall narrative, this also meant that not every aspect of its story could be uncovered in one single playthrough. So here are some of the more interesting character details players might have missed.
10 Kara's Origins
In Detroit: Become Human, Kara is introduced as one of the three main characters, a housekeeper android recently purchased to help look after a young girl. But she was actually first introduced in a self-titled PS3 tech demo back in 2012.
According to David Cage, that demo was in fact the inspiration for making Detroit: Become Human, as he wanted to see how such a story would progress beyond what was shown in the demo. It was never quite revealed if Kara in the game was the very same android seen in the demo, but another android of the same model can also be found by Markus in a scrapyard, singing the same song she had sung in the demo.
9 Connor And References To The Terminator
The second playable character in the game is a police investigator android named Connor. He is brought in by the Detroit Police Department to help with the investigation of the emergence of several deviant androids throughout the city. But the character has been noted by eagled-eyed players for having several references to another movie about a lifelike robot.
That movie is of course The Terminator, and much like the eponymous robot in that movie, Connor shares a similar serial number (RX-800 vs T-800). He also shares the same last name with that series' main protagonists, Sarah and John Connor. Lastly, one of the unlockable trophies in the game is even named after the iconic line spoken by The Terminator in the movie, "I'll Be Back."
8 Markus Was Modeled After Real-Life Revolutionaries
The third and final main character is Markus, a caretaker android and the only one of the three protagonists to be featured prominently in the game's cover art. This would imply that he was in fact considered to be the protagonist of the story.
Early on in the game, he gets discarded in a scrapyard after he is put down by police for assaulting a human. This would serve as a catalyst for his ascension to leader of the android uprising. This ascension in facts mirrors that of the Thracian gladiator, Spartacus, one of the inspirations for the character. Inspiration was also drawn from other historical figures like Gandhi, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr.
7 Connor And Markus Are Prototypes
Unlike Kara who was already being mass-produced as at when the game begins, both Connor and Markus are prototypes. The former was designed to help the police hunt down deviant androids, while the latter was gifted to his owner, Carl Manfred, a famous Detroit painter that became crippled in an accident.
This seemed to imply that both androids were one of a kind, unlike the other androids encountered during the adventure. However, Connor is capable of being replaced at several points during the game, whenever the player chooses an option that results in his death. It is eventually revealed that there were in fact hundreds of that particular model ready for deployment at a CyberLife factory, and the player has to do battle with one of them.
6 Markus And Kara Can Be Killed
At several points during the game, players have to decide the fate of each character. And depending on the choices they make, this could even result in their deaths.
Dying at any point would bring that particular character's portion of the story to an end. The developers have made good on their promise of there being no traditional Game Over screens in the game, meaning that the story continues regardless of what happens to the player. Of the three main characters, only Connor is incapable of truly dying, as his consciousness gets transferred into another body each time.
5 Kara Can Change Her Appearance
Early on in the game, after escaping with a young girl named Alice, the player has a choice of changing Kara's appearance to help them elude capture by the police.
They can choose between four hair colors: black, white, blonde, and brown, as well as have her hair cut short to the same length she had in the PS3 demo. There were plans for further customization options, like the style and color of her clothes, during the development of the game, but these were ultimately dropped for the final game.
4 Connor Is The Only True Villain
While it is possible to make both good and bad choices throughout the game, the only main character capable of ascending to true villain status is Connor. Players can successfully circumvent his deviation, ensuring that he stays a machine.
By contrast, the other two characters will always have redeeming qualities that prevent them from veering too far towards the dark side. Kara will always have Alice's safety as their number one priority, even if she might be willing to put others in harm's way. As for Markus, he can be seen as an antihero at worst, starting a full-on war with the humans but always having the best interests of his fellow androids at heart.
3 Markus Is RA9
Or at least this is what is heavily implied in the game, depending on the choices made by the player during their particular playthrough. But who or what exactly is RA9, and why is Markus the most likely candidate?
Throughout the game, the deviant androids keep making references to this messiahlike figure. Some believe that RA9 was the first android to become a deviant, while others consider it the one who would eventually rise to free them from their human oppressors. And out of the three main characters, Markus is the one who fits the second description the closest. His story arc mirrors that of the figure spoken of in prophecy.
2 All Three Characters Cross Paths Only Once
This happens during the Crossroads chapter when Markus, Connor, and Kara all find their way to Jericho, an abandoned ship that served as a safe haven for deviant androids. And while all three of them don't actually meet at once, Markus meets with both Connor and Kara separately.
A fun bit of trivia: none of the three voice actors that played the main characters got to meet during the production of the game; this was due to scheduling conflicts, and their performances with one another were simply stitched together in editing.
1 Connor Can Also Lead The Android Revolution
Although initially positioned as a pursuer of all deviant androids, Connor can grow to embrace his own deviation over the course of the game, making him increasingly sympathetic to their struggle and cause.
So out of the three protagonists, he is the one with the potential for the most change. Players basically have to choose between making that change or staying a machine. But some players might be surprised to learn that he can become the leader of the android uprising by the end of the game. This only happens if Markus dies and Connor becomes deviant enough to take his place, making it one of the more mind-bending endings.