5 Best Video Games Like Detroit: Become Human

French game development studio Quantic Dream has been making narrative-driven video games for over 20 years. Among the studio's most popular titles is the 2018 science fiction game "Detroit: Become Human," released for PlayStation 4 and PC. Set in a near-future where lifelike androids serve humanity, the game follows three different playable synthetic characters as tension between androids and humans escalates. One of the best interactive story games of all time, "Detroit: Become Human" stands as the perfect showcase for Quantic Dream's talents.

Of course, interactive story games didn't start with Quantic Dream, nor are they the only studio making them in the industry today. We're rounding up some of our favorite games that are similar to "Detroit: Become Human," each of which invites gamers to try multiple playthroughs and see the full scope of the story. Some of these games are also made by Quantic Dream, while others share similar sensibilities in storytelling and gameplay. Here are the five best video games like "Detroit: Become Human" that fans of engrossing interactive stories should try out next.

The game that introduced Quantic Dream to wider audiences was the 2010 PlayStation 3 title "Heavy Rain." A neo-noir mystery thriller, the game revolves around a serial killer known as the Origami Killer who targets young boys. When protagonist Ethan Mars' son is kidnapped by the Origami Killer, he is prepared to do anything to save his child. Gamers alternate between four different playable characters, each offering varying perspectives on the story before their paths inevitably collide.

"Heavy Rain" is the darkest and grimmest title that Quantic Dream has published to date, featuring a foreboding setting and gruesome stakes. With its multifaceted approach, this is a game that pressures players to do terrible things to advance the story as the full scope of the tale comes to light. And yet, as bleak as things get, we can't help but keep coming back to see different ways for the story to unfold. Still one of the best games that Quantic Dream has ever made, "Heavy Rain" is an atmospheric gem.

Honestly, we could've included all of Quantic Dream's games but, for the sake of variety, we're keeping it to two for this list. The other title is the studio's follow-up to "Heavy Rain": the 2013 interactive story game "Beyond: Two Souls," initially released for the PlayStation 3. The game follows protagonist Jodie Holmes, a telepath who is connected to an ethereal psychic entity known as Aiden. Players can alternate between controlling Jodie and Aiden as they progress through the story, with Jodie's abilities attracting unwanted attention from the CIA.

"Beyond: Two Souls" is one of the more peculiar Quantic Dream games, certainly since gaining mainstream attention with "Heavy Rain." The technical presentation is much more sophisticated than the studio's prior work, and Elliot Page and Willem Dafoe provide reliably good performances as their respective characters. Like "Heavy Rain," the narrative is framed like a mystery, as Jodie discovers the true nature of her backstory and Aiden's identity. This fuels the engaging nature of "Beyond: Two Souls," leading players on a twist-filled story all about human connection.

Of course, Quantic Dream isn't the only French studio putting out popular video games, including popular interactive story games. Don't Nod Entertainment  made a name for itself with its 2015 episodic title "Life Is Strange," spawning an entire franchise for publisher Square Enix. The original game's story centers on teenager Max Caulfield, who discovers that she has the ability to rewind time and that her small town is destined to endure a cataclysmic incident. Max decides to use her newfound ability to prevent tragedies around her community while reuniting with her childhood friend Chloe Price.

"Life Is Strange" starts out as a small-town coming-of-age story with a magical twist, complete with all the cringeworthy moments of being an overly earnest teenager. This quickly escalates as the ramifications of Max's tampering with time become more apparent, building to the game's heartbreaking climax. This is a story that forces gamers to make difficult choices and will have them doing repeat playthroughs to see how things could've happened differently. Launching a series for Square Enix and leading Don't Nod Entertainment to make their own separate interactive story games, "Life Is Strange" is another huge success story for the genre.

British studio Supermassive Games also has a prolific history of making popular interactive story games, mostly within the horror genre. Over a decade later, the standout project from Supermassive Games is still "Until Dawn," a scary story set at a remote mountain lodge. The game follows a group of friends who reunite for a weekend getaway, only to find themselves stalked by supernatural monsters lurking in the mountain. The game is divided into 10 chapters, with players taking control of different characters and making pivotal decisions, resulting in different (and often gruesome) outcomes.

"Until Dawn" set the template for Supermassive Games and for horror-tinged interactive story games oin general, for good and enduring reasons. From its sharp writing and strong cast to decisions that actually matter, the game dares players to do better with every playthrough. A remake of "Until Dawn" was released in 2024, adding even more to the story while improving its technical presentation on the more advanced hardware. While there are many subsequent video games like "Until Dawn," there really is no substitute for Supermassive's original classic.

After developing "Until Dawn," Supermassive Games has regularly worked on a standalone set of similar horror games under the banner "The Dark Pictures Anthology." The installment within this series that aligns the closest with "Detroit: Become Human" is the 2026 title "Directive 8020," which goes full tilt into sci-fi horror. The game follows a spaceship sent to survey a planet to serve as a potential human colony, only for the vessel to be infiltrated by a shape-shifting extraterrestrial predator. This leads to a paranoia-fueled tale as the crew tries to determine who among them is actually the otherworldly intruder.

Having made four games in the "Dark Pictures Anthology" series before it, Supermassive Games is very much in its groove with "Directive 8020." The game is the most ambitious by Supermassive yet, with its gameplay mixing the usual quick-time events and narrative choices alongside real-time combat. The sci-fi setting and paranoid mystery overtones to the premise also go a long way in elevating the experience as players race to figure out who they can trust. Reinventing what a "Dark Pictures Anthology" game can be, "Directive 8020" keeps players on edge as they try to stay one step ahead of their extraterrestrial stalker.