Deus Ex™ GOTY Edition

.... I mean, I don't think a review of the actual Deus Ex is necessary (if you never heard of it... man, where the heck did you live?) since it is, simply put, one of the best videogames of all time AND the finest example of ''Immersive Sim'', although not being the very first (that honour goes to System Shock... or Ultima Underworld, which is more of a proto-immersive sim, really). (P.S. Immersive Sim has always been quite a difficult genre to pin down, but I think that Deus Ex represent its very definition.) So, I prefer to be focusing on the Revision Mod that comes with the game (which I admit, although I've played this game for, like, ten times?... I never tried, or heard, of the Revision Mod), so this review is for those who already played the OG game and wanted to try something different (which, again, should be everybody, people!... Yes, Immersive Sim are not for everybody, but c'mon! It's Deus Ex). And... it's still Deus Ex: beautifully and masterfully crafted, and now there's simply more of it! (there's only the new soundtrack problem, which I consider to put, for the most part, weaker than the OG... but you can deactivate it and restore the OG one in the menu). Now, time to put the ''conspiracy'' glasses and to... ''Page'' this game to your friends! (...I know, that was weak... man, what a Shame.... What a rotten way to pun!)

The game is excellent. Top, top drawer cyberpunk themed game with options to take various approaches and decisions. This GOG version contains the GOTY edition, which does run on my Windows 11 machine, and also the Revision mod with updated textures and high resolution compatibility. The GOTY edition is fine except that it keeps cutting off the final 1 or 2 seconds of dialog in the conversations. That gets very annoying, particularly when the characters are each speaking every few seconds - you miss most of it. I have looked at suggestions online and they seem to mostly be patches or fiddles with the ini file (which did nothing to help me). The Revision mod looks like the answer. It is included in this GOG release, and has graphical improvements as well. It might not be "pure", which was probably my preference, but it is a good way to enjoy a slightly updated version of the old classic. I don't expect the differences from the original to be too significant. The only bummer is that is doesn't seem to be able to do cloud saves with Revision, only with GOTY.

This game has a place in my heart for a reason, it's one of the best crafted games in one of the most difficult genres. The freedom allowed in Deus Ex and how the world reacts to your actions is incomparable. This isn't some kind of detail that barely affects the gameplay, it enhances it. The story is intriguing with likeable characters (one time I tried to do a genocide run, but after killing too many people after the first mission, I stopped playing and felt awful for the rest of the day). It's cheap, will run on any machine (I play it on school computer when I have free time), very inspiring and fun. Sseth made an amazing review on it, go check it out.

One of the greatest games ever

Over the years, the Deus Ex approach to game design has lost out. While the game still has the player chasing objectives, the sheer breadth of choice in how they are tackled and how you act on that particular objective has not been matched often (and certainly not by its new prequel, Human Revolution). Arguably, this depth is only really appreciated on second, third, or further playthroughs of the game. The common line that you'll always discover something new is no lie. The game is in fact deeply flawed, with combat that feels clunky, bad voice acting and terrible graphics (among other problems) but it ultimately succeeds on so many levels as a pure game experience because of its character customization, strong narrative drive, and the aforementioned depth of choice in how to move forward. What most reviewers and publicity of this game fail to mention, however, and what gripped me the most when I first played this game, is the philosophy this game is built upon. Relevant now more than ever in its grim predictions (to the point of even blaming the absence in New York of the World Trade Center towers on terrorist attacks, BEFORE that attack even took place), the game deals in the politics of corruption, greed, and it deals in the philosophies of power, ethics, and the inevitable paradigm shift that new and revolutionary technologies impose upon all of these things. If you take the time to read the public terminals, read the newspapers lying around in-game hotel rooms, listen to the complaints of the bums on the street, etc, you really get not just a depth of gameplay but also a depth of political motivation and inspiration. The developers were clearly well-read. This all lends to a feeling of truly being a part of something HUGE, and scarily real, while playing. Games this smart don't come along often, and it's sad how dumbed-down the actual intellectual content of new titles can be (once again as example, prequel Human Revolution has completely watered down its intellectual content as well to be comprehensible to any audience). In today's world it seems as if the Deus Ex events are coming true - freedoms removed in the name of "security," technological advances that allow extreme degrees of control, grey moral ground that never seems clear. And you get all this in a sci-fi game world that still looks like the world we know today, not some far-removed cloud city with flying cars. You have an amazing game experience, and if you're not particularly politically aware you will learn something too. For $10 you'd be stupid to miss it. This is the gold standard that games born on the PC must always compare themselves to.