Detroit: Become Human - Blog #3: Is the Uncanny Valley on Purpose?

            When we first got into this game, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the hyper realistic details of the characters. They obviously didn’t look human, and even though the graphics were just imperfect enough to kind of strike that into that uncanny valley line, I thought it worked for the androids, who purposely mimic human behaviour. Unfortunately, minus their mannerisms, the humans and androids are basically indistinguishable, which does not bode well for the equally uncanny valley human beings. It’s almost perfect, but not quite. Although I typically prefer stylized graphics (since I think in general they age better [see: cartoony Legend of Zelda Wind Waker vs dated Twilight Princess, which both came out on GameCube around the same time]) I feel like they would clash with the grittier realism that the story tries to portray. It’s also harder to be scary (see Zlatik from Toy Story and his monstrosity machines) with stylized graphics. In a way, I think it’s similar to Toy Story and its 3D animation, since due to technical limitations Pixar chose to make a story about plastic looking toys instead of their especially uncanny valley humans. The almost-realism works great for the androids, but I still don’t think the humans will age well. Overall, I’m conflicted about the graphics of this game. While stunning, I don’t think they’re quite there yet, but at the same time I can’t imagine the graphics any other way.