I have an ex that absolutely loved that line in the intro where Adam sarcastically says “I like everyone Dr Reed.” She thought it was the funniest thing ever and that was my benchmark for this game. That, and the sick trailer where Adam is being dissected in his dreams by Renaissance dudes.
I pretty much got what I expected, looking back on my experience with the game. Except now I’m really great at finding vents behind vending machines… on with the review then!
[h2] THE VIBE [/h2]
This is the game’s biggest strength. You might find the gunplay boring, the narrative confusing, or the upgrades meaningless, but the vibe [b]is[/b] immaculate. I’ve been listening to ambient DXHR videos on YouTube constantly since playing the game, and I recommend you do too if you need background music to get some work done.
In each new location, I spent ages absorbing everything the level designers had left for me; in-universe print ads, office cubicles littered with notepads and teacups, plants in lobbies and up-town apartments, and so on. I simply couldn’t help myself. There’s always something cool to examine, like weird light fixtures or needlessly detailed scientific equipment that you can’t even interact with.
And all of it is coated in a gold glow that reminds me this is the future (and piss-filter era of gaming). I feel like every manufacturer on the planet decided to use those dreamy, old, yellow halogen bulbs instead of LEDs, which is yet another layer of juxtaposition that goes with the dirt and grime present everywhere in this sleek, cutting-edge future. Wow, I can’t believe I wrote that sentence without any help.
I also felt really cozy when I recognised the influences of what’s now called the ‘Frutiger Aero’ aesthetic. This game was produced at the height of Frutiger Aero’s power in the late 2000s and so, there’s corporate branding everywhere with thin, sans-sarif (oops, I mean serif :P) fonts that invoke the aesthetic. They use harsh whites on distinct oranges for the LIMB clinic too, and I wonder if any new near-future games have these Frutiger Aero traces sprinkled into their gritty technoscapes (I’ve not played Cyberpunk.)
It’s clear I’m becoming more of a vibes-based gamer as I get older, since I’m less obsessed with chasing achievements and action setpieces. Instead, I enjoy strolling, looking, and enjoying my time. It’s such a special thing for storytelling that we, as a human race, can create these worlds and make them interactable. It’s what can elevate games above films or TV for me, and although the ‘interactivity’ of DXHR’s world seems pretty shallow compared to today's standards, it’s awfully magnetic. Just look up once and a while when you’re walking around Hengsha. So awesome.
[h2] THE PERFORMANCES [/h2]
Corr, Adam is cool isn’t he? Sunglasses that retract into his skull, aggressively shaped haircut, and a gravelly voice to tie it all together. On paper, that sounds like a lame OC but Elias Toufexis brings it home with every line read. It can be snarky back and forths on the comms with Prichard or philosophical debates with any named NPC, I don’t care, I just love hearing him talk. Perhaps 15 years of “I never asked for this” memes warped my brain.
I won’t pretend like nostalgia isn’t a factor. Adam is such a noughties protagonist, there was probably a big Minority Report poster in the writing room. He’s mean, he’s edgy, he cares a lot about his dead/alive girlfriend/wife/kid, and this messed up sci-fi world is gonna have to get outta his way. It’s comforting to see characters like this brought to life so passionately. I never feel that the game is ashamed to have this edgelord leading the narrative and, again, Elias makes it work so well.
I could go on about Sarif, Prichard, Malik and the rest of the cast who make me feel things, but I want to highlight a special someone - Eliza, played by Kim Bubbs. It’s currently 2026 and I can easily see future games using a real generative AI text-to-speech model for an AI character like her. Fortunately, this game released in 2011 and so, Eidos-Montréal had to find someone that could believably perform an emotionless, yet iconic news bot. Yeah, Kim smashed it.
There’s something about Eliza that keeps me glued to the screen. Which is good because she’s a news reader in-universe, she has to be presentable, interesting, and not-annoying by default. I feel she speaks intimately (it’s obvious Eliza [b]really[/b] likes Adam) but still coldly. How do you achieve that when you’re playing a lady made of code? I have no idea but Kim did it. She’s on this exact 50/50 precipice where you can feel care and longing, without any feelings going on behind the scenes. I’m sure these two are developed more in Mankind Divided. They better be.
[h2] GAMEPLAY [/h2]
I opted for a stealth-focused playthrough, mainly because I expected some kind of guilt trip down the line if I started piling up bodies. Games like Bioshock 2, Metal Gear Solid 3 and Dishonoured have trained me well.
I don’t think I killed anyone (sans bosses) until about halfway through the game when I punched through a weak wall that had an enemy standing on the other side. Adam automatically snapped the poor bugger's neck and that told me all I needed to know about the weight of NPC’s lives. Despite there being an achievement for completing the whole game without killing anyone (sans bosses), this isn’t MGSV or Dishonoured or Undertale. There’s no adaptive enemies or chaos score or fourth wall guilt trip waiting for you.
Prichard called me Gandhi for doing the first level without any kills and I think that’s as far as the game goes when it comes to your choice of lethal/non-lethal methods. You can kill every civilian you see if you want, the game will still play out the same way. Fortunately, I had no expectations going in so this didn’t bother me too much. I still appreciated the different paths when it came to navigating these levels. Mind you, I’m an immersive sim layman so every discoverable, re-used ladder shaft to air vent secret entrance made me feel much smarter than it would to a normal gamer.
All in all though, I had a fun time. I played on the hardest difficulty so getting caught meant instant death (I didn’t have any armour upgrades). This had me reloading saves, completing most levels as stealthily as possible. I defeated a fair few mini-bosses with an invisible punch to the face, even though I was given epic weapon after weapon. I never used the laser rifle or grenade launcher. Man I suck.
[h2] WRAP UP [/h2]
I watched the Hbomberguy video and I essentially feel the same way all the comments do. I agree with everything he says, but I just generally liked the game more than he did. Probably because I never played the original Deus Ex.
You’ll notice I forgot to mention the narrative in this review even though it’s, like, one of the main marketing points of the game. I’d have to play the game again before I could give it the analysis it deserves. I’m a bit of an idiot and feel like I missed a lot of nuance and clever setup in the story (or maybe I didn’t and the story sucks!) That’s probably not a satisfying thing to read in a review but oh well.
I chose the truth ending, letting the broadcast go out into the world with the full, unedited confession from Darrow. I have faith we can rebuild, knowing the mistakes of our past, but I doubt this is the canon ending for the sequel. Oh and that last level introducing what were essentially zombies was very fun. Made me want to play The Last of Us 2 again. Even if the final boss was a 5/10 in my books.
For one of the huge 7th-gen releases that I missed, Deus Ex is alright. The humans look just as I’d expect from 2011, if not a bit better, and the atmosphere really is lovely. A great gem that I’m glad I missed as a kid. Child me would not have liked how much talking there was.
I wanna have another go round with a rude, gun-toting Adam now. Brb.
