Deus Ex is Heading in the Wrong Direction
Recently I had the chance to wrap up the latest in the Deus Ex franchise, Mankind Divided, opting to take down the ringmaster of the final terrorist attack with enough time to save the day of those in jeopardy (see how I dodge spoiler territory?). The finale was compelling as I was in a confined space forced to improvise quickly with my abilities to pull victory from the jaws of defeat; an experience that was largely absent for most of the 10 hour runtime of the rest of the game. Just as the game was getting good, it was over. This isn’t about being OP as many reviewers suggested, it’s the Deux Ex experience flourishes when there’s pressure which is unfortunate because so much of Mankind Divided is designed to let you wander a penalty-free sandbox. Square Enix is fundamentally going the wrong way with this franchise.
To be clear I would still recommend the game to play. It is a largely enjoyable, albeit forgettable, neo-noir adventure set in meticulously designed bleak future that provides a few fun contained action sequences. It’s not a surprise hit the way its predecessor, Human Revolution, was primarily because it fears to innovate really at all. You’ll upgrade the same ability tree (with a handful of new but largely unnecessary options minus perhaps the remote hacking ability). You’ll punch holes to open up pathways same as you’ve done before. You’ll take down enemies with the same animations and hack so many computers the exact same way. They developed the engine with Human Revolution and now they’re back to cash in on that investment with an impressive but instantly familiar follow up.
What’s troubling is that so much of this game hinges on the hub world. Prague is visually impressive (as is just about every other location you visit) and the music is once again appropriately a downbeat synth heavy experience that never grows old. The city however never feels immersive because you exist outside of it. You’ll be able to hack anyone’s email you care to read (and you won’t care after a while). You’ll sneak into a shopkeeper’s inventory and sell his merchandise back to him. It’s entirely possible to simply knock out or kill literally everyone in the city without penalty (no accumulating star system like GTA or lasting penalty like the Elder Scrolls series to pull you back into line).
Sadly the only NPCs safe from my wrath were those lonely saps left to endlessly ride the metro during load times
Yes, part of the blame goes to being OP out of the gate but the larger problem is that Square Enix actively rewards you for this experience-breaking behavior. Vents you traverse will regularly net a few experience points. Hacking every PC you find no matter how innocuous the emails within still is in your interests. Even clean takedowns of passive police officers nets you more XP.
The more you try to become an omnipotent being in this world, the more Square Enix rewards you for doing so.
Perhaps this wouldn’t be a problem in a game like GTA or Witcher 3 where the world will rebuild behind you. Sure you may blow up a street corner with a tank but the world will fix it when your back is turned. In Deus Ex, I was conditioned to extract any value from any NPC I saw then somehow rag doll them before stuffing them behind a couch or into a convenient vent permanently removing that character from my game. Knocking everyone into a coma or stealing everything in sight in other open world games usually penalizes you somehow, but here I had more praxis kits than I know what do with. Even as the hub world evolved in the end to be more threatening, again I simply removed every possible witness and was allowed to traverse the entire city without any risk of alarm despite the tense musical cues.
That’s not to say an open world for Deus Ex is a bad idea but it’s not suited for the current gameplay mechanics. Rewards should come from accessing certain machines or turning off certain car alarms, not every single one. Unlocked buildings I accessed hours ago should re-secure themselves at some point, hell even tighten security a bit to make it harder to do that a second time like Metal Gear Solid 5’s guards that equip helmets or flashlights to counter your methods. And yes, NPCs in a hub world should be dynamic, adding new ones to replace ones that were knocked out or killed so the world doesn’t eventually become a hollow shell of itself.
To be clear, NO ONE in the city finds it strange that 60 well dressed people disappear into a tiny pawn shop day in and day out?
Late in Deus Ex: Human Revolution I remember thinking how silly it was that I was able to debilitate an entire police station by knocking every cop out and stashing them all in vents. It was ridiculous but I could write it off as I loved my experience escaping the Montreal news station or the incredibly intense Panchea finale that forced me to fundamentally change how I play the game. The game held up because those other moments were so good. Tightly designed action sequences that force you to leverage your abilities define these games. A hub world that rewards stealing, hacking, and knocking out everything you see completely destroys immersion.
Square Enix needs to fix these basic mechanics fast before they do another Deux Ex as this franchise will quickly become forgettable (I’d be hard pressed to tell you much about Mankind Divided’s story already and I beat it 48 hours ago).
