Highlights
- The Deus Ex series, created by Warren Spector, showcases aesthetics and technology similar to the real world, incorporating shooter and role-play elements with a story of secretive organizations vying for global domination.
- Some games in the series, like Deus Ex: Breach and Deus Ex: The Fall , have been poorly received due to issues like microtransactions and underwhelming gameplay, leading to their unpopularity among players.
- However, other games in the series, such as Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the original Deus Ex , are highly regarded for their innovative gameplay, visually appealing worlds, and their status as influential titles in the gaming industry.
Created by Warren Spector as a rejection of straight fantasy or science fiction games, the Deus Ex series has evolved into a timely showcase of aesthetics and technology eerily similar to the real world. The gameplay focuses on shooter and role-play elements, whilst the story concerns secretive organizations competing with each other for global domination.
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Deus Ex quickly branched out from its humble PC-only beginnings, creating nearly two decades' worth of games since the original in 2000. Whilst the main entries in the series have received positive feedback that occasionally reaches great acclaim, there have also been several games that have gone under the radar, or been rejected intensely by players.
7 Deus Ex: Breach
Metascore: N/A (44% On Steam)
Deus Ex: Breach
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Released
- January 24, 2017
- Developer(s)
- Eidos Montreal
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Microtransactions have always been a sore spot for the Deus Ex franchise, though none have been quite as insulting as Deus Ex: Breach's request for money. The game paywalls players constantly like the true villain, and this remains a serious issue when it comes to ammunition. Gamers are expected to pay real currency just for some bullets, a contributing factor to the game's overwhelming unpopularity.
On top of this, Breach's gameplay is simply a port of a game mode from a later Deus Ex game, Mankind Divided, so it doesn't really offer anything new at all except microtransactions. To say Breach is a miss for the Deus Ex franchise is a huge understatement.
6 Deus Ex: The Fall
Metascore: 69
Credit can be given to Deus Ex: The Fall for attempting to move the franchise into the world of mobile devices, but a combination of porting issues and underwhelming gameplay means this spin-off is usually disregarded by fans of the series.
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The misfire that is The Fall is made even more frustrating with the status of its story, which was intended as the first in a series of episodic games concerning morality and fugitives Ben Saxon and Anna Kelso. The main problem that lies with The Fall is its underwhelming story, which most gamers are all too happy to miss.
5 Deus Ex Go
Metascore: 81
An unusual choice for the first-person shooter franchise that nonetheless has some merit, Deus Ex Go followed in the footsteps of the other puzzle-based isometric Go games, giving Adam Jensen a compact story as well as new and interesting mechanics that captured the core feel of the cyberpunk series.
Although the translation from gunplay to puzzle worked well, many features in the game, including the aesthetic and campaign length, felt lackluster and half-done, and combined with the fact this game is no longer playable given its removal from storefronts in January 2023, there are a lot of shortcomings to consider.
4 Deus Ex: Invisible War
Metascore: 84
Deus Ex: Invisible War
- Franchise
- Deus Ex
- Platform(s)
- PC , Xbox (Original)
- Released
- December 2, 2003
- Developer(s)
- Ion Storm
The sequel to the original 2000 game aimed to be more accessible, and have greater player freedom regarding gameplay and narrative choices. In most cases, these objectives were delivered; players are given a diverse collection of factions to pledge allegiance to, whilst weapon customization is expanded from the previous game.
The main problem with Invisible War is its entire make-up. The increased quality of some areas of the game means others have diminished, and the core experience from the original DeusEx seems to have been abandoned for something less distinctive. Combined with poor enemy AI and a problematic PC port, Invisible War is wholly inferior to other mainline entries.
3 Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Metascore: 84
The sequel to Human Revolution, initially received with suspicion due to a swathe of controversies surrounding the marketing campaign and 'tiered' pre-order scheme, delivers excellent gameplay that builds on its predecessors. Focus is given to the themes of transhumanism and cybernetics, which complement the augmentation upgrade system that Adam Jensen can utilize.
The main issue with Mankind Divided is its rushed and inconclusive ending, and the campaign finishes abruptly without addressing many major points. This critical mishap, combined with the disastrous marketing and other controversies, caused Mankind Divided to have underwhelming sales and by extension, a lukewarm reception.
2 Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Metascore: 89
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Franchise
- Deus Ex
- Platform(s)
- PS3 , Xbox 360 , Nintendo Wii U , PC
- Released
- August 23, 2011
- Developer(s)
- Eidos Montreal
A prequel to the original game, Human Revolution arrived eight years after Invisible War to offer a freshly revitalized formula for the cyberpunk series. With an artistically distinct style of blacks, grays, golds, and oranges, Human Revolution succeeds in modernizing the gunplay and crafting a visually appealing futuristic world at the same time.
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In recent years, Human Revolution has been bettered by the release of a director's cut, which ironed out mishaps identified with the original release. Combining these features with the new and popular protagonist Adam Jensen, who serves as a blank slate for players to imprint on, Human Revolution is not just one of the best Deus Ex games, but one of the best from the early 2010s.
1 Deus Ex
Metascore: 90
The game that launched it all, Deus Ex is highly innovative, combining multiple genres to create a refreshing cyberpunk tale of secret societies and dystopian government intervention. In recent years, Deus Ex has started to show its age, and the once-distant future of 2052 increasingly draws near.
However, the inspiration Deus Ex served to countless other games in multiple genres proves that it's still worth getting out in the modern world, for an ever-so-slightly dated take on conspiracy and technology. JC Denton might be a forgotten protagonist next to Adam Jensen, but he's still worthy of being a player's introduction into the world of Deus Ex.
