Deus Ex

My first Deus Ex was its first sequel: Invisible War. It’s an entry that’s not terribly popular with enthusiasts of the original game, but it remains a competent immersive sim that likely was my personal introduction to the genre and franchise.

I would eventually go on to play the original (though not to completion, which I really ought to do something about) and came to understand why it was so memorable. Its thick atmosphere of enigmatic conspiracy theories and gripping, unpredictable gameplay of interlocking systems—finding keys and codes for rooms, staying out of sight of enemy patrols—was a perpetual motion machine of espionage and high-concept science fiction themes that I just couldn’t get enough of.

But while Adam Jensen’s pair of imsim adventures were solid, they felt like they were leading to an eventual third release that’d combine the best of Human Revolution and Mankind Divided into an excellent, moody cyberpunk-esque adventure to save the world. Sadly, that’s unlikely to happen. Sure, there was a solid eight-year gap between Invisible War and Human Revolution, and we’re right around eight years since the last game, Mankind Divided. But tumultuous brand management seems destined to keep us from another Deus Ex title for some time yet. Perhaps forever.

It’s a shame because there’s just nothing like Deus Ex and the world is starved of great immersive sim titles. — Claire Jackson