The Best Order to Play Deus Ex Games
Deus Ex is a franchise of immersive sim role-playing games (RPGs). The Deus Ex games are known for their cyberpunk setting, immersive atmosphere, and the variety of gameplay styles that these games feature, as well as their intricate game universe.
What Are Deus Ex Games Like?
Deus Ex video games are typically set in a fictional near-future cyberpunk universe. In general, Deus Ex video games feature a first-person camera perspective gameplay, in which the player character is often able to wield guns, and this is one of the reasons why Deus Ex video games are sometimes described as first-person shooter (FPS) video games. However, the gameplay in most Deus Ex video games involves dialogues with non-player characters (NPCs) as well as some RPG elements, and for this reason describing Deus Ex games as FPS such as DOOM (1993) is, in my opinion, inaccurate. Instead, Deus Ex games appear to share similarities with with System Shock (1994).
The first Deus Ex game, Deus Ex (2000), earned much praise around the world, and is often described as a hallmark video game as well as a groundbreaking role-playing game. This game already featured the hallmarks by which the Deus Ex games became known for, and captivated legions of fans with its refreshing sci-fi atmosphere, first-person camera perspective and deep game universe. Such as other immersive sim video games, Deus Ex games usually feature a variety of ways of completing missions and tasks. Considering that Deus Ex games often feature RPG elements as well, these games can be described and viewed as either immersive sim games or RPGs, or both. Considering their near-future setting and original stories, Deus Ex games can be a refreshing experience for RPG fans. For fans of immersive sim games, Deus Ex games certainly feature all of the characteristics that describe the immersive sim video game genre, and for this reason these games have become immersive sim classics as well as RPG classics.
What Is an Immersive Sim Game?
The description of the immersive sim video game genre sparks a lot of debate, and in some cases there is not a clear definition, but rather, a pattern that could be observed, specially when taking into account a lineage of certain video games that are usually described as immersive sim games.
Generally speaking, it is often said that the immersive sim video game genre is greatly inspired by Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (1992) and System Shock (1994), which feature first-person camera perspective gameplay as well as problem solving in a variety of ways, which are often included as typical characteristics of immersive sim games. Due to the particular nature of the elements of immersive sim games, these games are often also described as RPGs, as the line between what an immersive sim game is and what an RPG is is often unclear.
While some games can be simultaneously described as RPGs and as immersive sim games, such as in the case of the Deus Ex games, in many cases there is a more clear distinction between the RPG and the immersive sim video game genres. In my opinion, perhaps one of the most effective ways of identifying the difference between an immersive sim game and an RPG is by analyzing how problems are solved in the game. In most RPGs, most of the quests are either solved by defeating enemies or by dialogues, and in many cases, these are scripted events in the sense that if the player character is able to complete the quest by defeating the enemy, they usually will not be able to alternatively complete the same quest by dialogues. On the other hand, an immersive sim game would allow the player character different options to complete a mission, such as by fight, dialogue, stealth and so on. For this reason, in some cases, there is a clear distinction between an immersive sim game and an RPG. However, it is true that in some cases, it is quite difficult to describe the game exclusively as an immersive sim or as RPG, as some games feature characteristics of both genres. In my opinion, in some cases it is reasonable to describe certain games as both RPGs and immersive sim, such as in the case of the Deus Ex video games.
Are Deus Ex Immersive Sim Games or RPGs?
Whether Deus Ex video games should be described as immersive sim video games or role-playing games is a frequent debate. In my opinion, Deus Ex games are as much immersive sim games as they are role-playing games, and for this reason, I believe it is accurate to describe these games as both immersive sim and role-playing game, because they fit both video game genres at the same time. In other words, you can play Deus Ex games as immersive sim games, as RPGs, and as both.
Is There an Order to Play the Deus Ex Games?
While the Deus Ex video games can be played and enjoyed in any order, considering that these games are set in the same continuity and share common elements between them, it is worthwhile to consider playing these games in chronological story order for a more in-depth immersion in the game universe as well as the differenct characters and story events presented in each game.
The Chronological Story Order of Deus Ex Games
This is the chronological story order of the Deus Ex video games. This is not the same as the chronological release order of these games. Instead, this is the chronological order in which the story events of each Deus Ex game take place. This is the suggested order in which to play these games for the most comprehensive story experience possible. In the case of the Deus Ex games, it is noteworthy to mention how much of a difference there is between the chronological story order and the chronological release order of the games. For example, the first Deus Ex game to be released, Deus Ex (2000), is set much later chronologically than most of the other Deus Ex games, which were released after Deus Ex (2000). For this reason, for Deus Ex fans and RPG players looking to play the Deus Ex games in a chronologically reasonable order, regarding the order of the story events, it is worthwhile to consider playing these games in the order in which they are presented in this article.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution | Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut
Deus Ex: The Fall
Deus Ex Go
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Deus Ex (2000)
Deus Ex: Invisible War
Regarding my choice for the chronological placement of Deus Ex: The Fall, it is important to mention that Deus Ex: The Fall is set after the beginning of the story of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, even though Deus Ex: The Fall is set before the beginning of the gameplay of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. For this reason, even though it is suggested to play Deus Ex: The Fall before playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution for a more immersive story experience, chronologically the placement of Deus Ex: The Fall is after Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and this is the reason why I decided for this placement in my chronological story order of the Deus Ex video games. Despite this, considering that Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: The Fall take place at a very approximate time and that they are mostly parallel stories, it is reasonable to play Deus Ex: The Fall before playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution for a more immersive gameplay and story experience. For this reason, even though Deus Ex: The Fall is set after the beginning of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, it is suggested to play Deus Ex: The Fall before playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution for a more immersive story experience. Regarding the other Deus Ex games in the chronological story order list that I wrote, the suggested order in which to play these games for the most comprehensive story experience is the same as the one presented in the chronological story order.
While I did not find information about the exact time period of Deus Ex Go, considering that this game features the same protagonist as Deus Ex: Human Revolution, it is reasonable to suppose that this game is set in a time period approximate to this game.
The Story Timeline Order of Deus Ex Games
This is the story timeline order of the Deus Ex games. It is important to mention that this timeline refers to the years in the fictional universe of the Deus Ex games. In other words, these could be called "Deus Ex games years", "years in Deus Ex games time" or "years in the Deus Ex games universe". In other words, this is a timeline of fictional years regarding the story events of each Deus Ex game.
For the sake of ensuring a clear reference, in this article I often referred to the first Deus Ex video game as Deus Ex (2000) in order to make a distinction between this and the other Deus Ex games. However, the 2000 in Deus Ex (2000) in this article does not refer to the fictional year in which the game takes place (in other words, the year in this timeline of Deus Ex games that I wrote) but rather to the year in which this game was released.
2027 Deus Ex: Human Revolution | Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut
2027 Deus Ex: The Fall
20?? Deus Ex Go
2029 Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
2052 Deus Ex (2000)
2072 Deus Ex: Invisible War
What Does Deus Ex Mean?
In Latin, there exists a famous expression which is "deus ex machina", which in English could be translated to "god out of the machine" or "god from a device", which usually refers to a sudden or unexpected event or character that brings a solution to a story or storyline. While the Deus Ex video games name may or may not be related to the expression "deus ex machina", I can conjecture that this name could be possibly related to the fact that the Deus Ex video games often allow the player to solve the challenges presented in the games in a variety of ways, some of which could be completely unexpected, such as in the original expression "deus ex machina".
If you are interested in the story timeline order of RPG video games, you may also be interested in checking out the story timeline orders of Dungeons & Dragons, Final Fantasy, The Elder Scrolls and The Witcher.
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