Deus Ex FAILED For This Reason
Ambitious Beginnings
The original Deus Ex began life as a passion project of venerable game designer Warren Spector, who took up development alongside Ion Storm in the late nineties. From the get-go, it was an incredibly ambitious title, inspired by System Shock to take its steps into the immersive simulation scene. In short, it was designed to be a "genre-buster", encompassing many different gameplay styles under one banner.
This would be the defining feature that made the franchise stand apart from other role-playing titles. In the final product, released at the turn of the millennium no less, the results were plain to see. Deus Ex offered a near unparalleled level of player freedom at the time of its release. As operative JC Denton, you could tackle objectives going in guns blazing, a stealthy approach or hacking into terminals and other sources to gain an edge over enemies.
With its wide array of weapons, enemies and level components, there was room for all kinds all tactical options. If you wanted to non-lethal and avoid combat altogether, you could do that. The game was laced together with an intriguingly dark narrative that saw biological terrorists unleash the Grey Death plague. Across New York City, Area 51, and Hong Kong among other locations, players were free to customise and upgrade Denton in the way they saw fit, slowly refining their own play-style. It was a structure that would receive critical acclaim.
The late TotalBiscuit himself called it the greatest PC game ever made. Even two decades on from its release, aspects of the game may have dated, but its central formula of allowing full flexibility to players remains immensely replayable. It didn't break sales records, but Deus Ex did achieve an immense cult following that would form the backbone of the franchise's popularity. The series has struggled to cross the boundaries between its fanbase and the mainstream, as we'll see further down the line.