Deus Ex
2000
- shooter
- role-playing (rpg)
- adventure
- action
- science fiction
- thriller
- stealth
- mystery
- single player
- multiplayer
The story
A philosophical first-person WRPG set in a dystopian 2052 in which JC Denton, a nano-augmented agent for the anti-terrorist organization UNATCO, is tasked with stopping the invasion of Liberty Island by the terrorist group NSF. As events unfold, Denton finds that he plays a large part in a world-spanning conspiracy which forces him to ponder his allegiances, beliefs, morality, and view of right and wrong.
What it’s like
Rain-slick streets under sodium and neon light, with the cold blue glow of augmented HUDs and grimy hub corridors of concrete and steel; the palette is murky teal, rust and sickly green, and the 2052 world feels lived-in and overcrowded, with posters, vending machines and gutter puddles. Between firefights the game hangs on quiet interiors: a dim bar, a ventilated apartment, a rooftop at dusk. Its soundtrack is a moody, synth-tinged ambient score that drops away into long pauses, and the chatter of radio transmissions and NPC dialogue does much of the storytelling. The vibe is melancholy, paranoid and contemplative, a brooding cyberpunk conspiracy that rewards slow, patient exploration and talk-heavy investigation over twitchy reflexes. Combat is frequent and can be lethal, with gunfire, explosions and some blood, plus drug use, disease and a grim, bleak tone throughout, but nothing graphic beyond stylised game violence. It suits late-night sessions alone and players who like sprawling, choice-driven stories about loyalty, moral ambiguity and the cost of power, and who enjoy stealth or a non-linear approach to problems.
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