Who says video games can’t handle social commentary? Just look at Detroit: Become Human. It addresses a question most sci-fi only asks in passing. Quantic Dream deliberately built a game that’s shaped by a narrative-driven experience. And it’s not just there for show. It actually serves the story so well that Detroit: Become Human took home a Best Narrative award in 2019. And almost all the heaviest emotional beats rest on its dialogue. Every choice, conflict, and consequence comes down to the raw, vulnerable, and terrifying words the characters say to each other.
Speaking of dialogue, let’s take a look back at the best quotes from the 2018 interactive drama adventure game.
The Story of Detroit: Become Human
Detroit: Become Human is set in 2038, where the city is filled with androids. It follows three androids living through it in completely different ways. As they start wanting something for themselves instead of just serving others, things quickly get out of hand. They must pursue a journey where they find a way forward in their new lives.
Playing Detroit: Become Human can initially feel like experiencing three separate character studies stitched into one game. This structure lets you scan for clues, chase down targets, and engage in interactions. But it’s also the same narrative-driven experience that brings out what makes the game truly special. You make different choices and face different consequences. Things that make you wonder what makes someone human. It even taps into what freedom, survival, and systemic oppression mean. The game spends most of its story asking these questions. Yet it never gives you an easy answer. But its characters come surprisingly close through their exchanges, especially when they begin to question the lives they were built to live.
Quotes from Detroit: Become Human
The characters in Detroit: Become Human can sound very different from one playthrough to another. So here are the hard-hitting lines most players will recognize.
Connor
Connor appears as an android sent by CyberLife to hunt down androids who’ve broken their programming. Depending on your choices, his personality may change when he talks. He can be analytical, obedient, sarcastic, sympathetic, or downright cruel. But overall, his dry delivery makes even simple lines memorable or personal.
- “My name is Connor. I’m the android sent by CyberLife.”
- “I like dogs.”
- “28 STABWOUNDS!”
- “You can’t kill me. I’m not alive.”
- “He really liked you, Lieutenant. That’s what killed him.”
- “Nice try, but I’m no deviant.”
- “You’re a machine, you were designed to obey, so obey!”
- “Moment of truth Hank. Am I a living being, or just a machine.”
- “I’ve been ordered to take you alive, but I won’t hesitate to shoot if you give me no choice.”
- “Machines don’t feel anything.”
Kara
Kara is a general-purpose household android assistant in Detroit: Become Human. That said, her dialogue mirrors a kind, caring, compassionate, and all-round pleasant personality.
- “I wanted to live. I fought for that.”
- “She needs me. And I need her. It’s as simple as that.”
- “Please. We just wanna be free.”
- “I know I’m just… a machine… But, I feel as if something ties us together… I want you to know, no matter what happens… nothing will ever separate us.“
- “I don’t care whether she’s human or android. She’s just someone who matters to me.”
- “I care for her, I fear for her, I can’t be happy if she’s not.”
- “We’re going to pull through this, Alice. As long as we’re together, nothing can hurt us.”
- “I only have you… and you only have me… and I’m going to do everything I can to make you happy again.”
Markus
Markus serves as a caretaker and an android companion to Carl Manfred. He’s the leader of the deviants. He’s self-aware and observant. His speeches therefore carry some of the game’s biggest moral questions.
- “I… Am Markus.”
- “An eye for an eye and the world goes blind…”
- “I am not going to beg for the right to smile or love or stand tall.”
- “We won’t punish a crime with another crime.”
- “I am alive. And they’re not gonna take that from me anymore.”
- “What they don’t wanna give, we take. We are people, we are alive, WE ARE FREE!”
- “We are no longer machines, we are a new intelligent species, and the time has come for you to accept who we really are.”
- “You gave us life. And now the time has come for you to give us freedom.”
The Rest of the Characters in Detroit: Become Human
- “If a man has not discovered something he will die for, he’s not fit to live.” – Chloe
- “Wow! A deviant that wants to be a mother… That’s… that’s so sweet! And so deluded… I think it’s time we put you outta your misery.” – Zlatko Andronikov
- “I don’t have the guts to pull the trigger, so I kill myself a little everyday.” – Hank Anderson
- “Our blood isn’t the same color, but I know a part of me is in you.” – Carl Manfred
- “Decide who you are. An obedient machine… Or a living being endowed with free will…” – Elijah Kamski
- “Welcome to Pirate Island, me hearties! You’re gonna have a whale of a time!” – Jerry
Lighter moments in Detroit: Become Human
- “ You’re right… She’s really pretty…”
- “I’ve never seen snow before. It’s pretty.”
- “We’ll be together forever, won’t we Kara?”
These quotes from Detroit: Become Human perfectly encapsulate the premise of an android developing a sense of personhood. Each line works because it shows a different side of the characters. That’s what ultimately makes the game’s dialogue so striking.
