The last game in the Deus Ex franchise was 2016’s Mankind Divided. Hard to believe that four years has already passed since the game’s release, which begs the question as to whether Eidos is going to take another stab at the franchise.

It has been rumored that a new Deus Ex game will enter production once previous projects are completed and staff is ready to take on a new project. If that’s the case, perhaps it’s time to revisit the Deus Ex formula altogether, and make adjustments to bring it in line with modern gaming. After all, Deus Ex isn’t perfect by any stretch, and needs a lot of tweaking in order to survive. Here’s 10 things Eidos needs to do to make the franchise palatable for a new audience.

10 GET OUT OF THE YEAR 2000

The original Deus Ex game launched in 2000, and at the time it was a tour de force of RPG, first person shooter and strategy game, all rolled into one. The formula worked well, mostly because game play hadn’t really evolved all that much within the genre. When Human Revolution was released in 2011, it reminded everyone how archaic the play mechanics really were.

If you couldn’t unlock the door to a room, you could just walk around and access it through a man-sized vent shaft. If you used a stealth take down, your battery would run out and you wouldn’t be able to initiate any more attacks. On their face, these kinds of bad play mechanics really hurt the immersion level, and they need refinement.

9 BIGGER, BETTER ENVIRONMENTS

It’s no secret that the environments in Deus Ex games are self-contained microcosms of key NPCs and player objectives. That might have worked for the last few games, but in an era of open world sandbox titles, it’s getting harder and harder to sell the realism.

The next Deus Ex game should broaden out in the same way Metal Gear Solid V did for that franchise. Level design needs to feel unconstrained and natural, not linear with a thinly lacquered layer of pseudo-freedom on top.

8 MORE SECONDARY OBJECTIVES THAT MATTER

Deus Ex is a series with straight-up primary and secondary objectives, and that’s fine. However, it all plays into one strict narrative, with very little elbow room. Player decisions should matter all the time, not simply when it comes to key moments.

Let’s see how the player’s actions affect the environment and people around them. Will NPCs trust you, or fear you based on how you handle situations? Will you do something with long-lasting positive or negative repercussions that don’t necessarily matter to the primary narrative? That’s the kind of stuff gamers need to see.

7 LESS POLITICS, MORE INTRIGUE

The Deus Ex games have never shied away from chiming in on certain political and social issues. Many plot arcs involve conspiracy theories blown way out of proportion for the sake of entertainment, which worked well within the space of a tactical espionage game.

Human Revolution and Mankind Divided started to get way too preachy about their politics, however. It still worked, but this kind of heavy handedness felt oppressive, and many gamers wanted a return to a tech noir future where you could afford to invest in a tinfoil hat for the sake of fun. Making a statement is fine, but making it obvious is another thing entirely.

6 A MOVE TOWARDS NANOTECH

As the world of Human Revolution and Mankind Divided inches ever closer to the timeline of the first Deus Ex game, the focus should shift away from cybernetic augmentation, in favor of nanotechology. After all, it was a primary theme for Deus Ex since the start.

Though Adam Jensen’s cybernetic enhancements are quite badass in their own right, he’ll find himself thoroughly obsolete by the time the story catches up. Perhaps one last outing with Jensen in the lead role before his character is retired would help lay the final planks in the bridge between both timelines.

5 A LITTLE ROMANCE, PERHAPS?

Jensen may resemble a bipedal tool box at this point, but that’s no reason to deny him some lovin’. Romance hasn’t ever been a major part of any Deus Ex game, but that’s largely a throwback to 2000-era games, anyways.

Since that time, games like Mass Effect, Dragon’s Age and The Witcher have made relationships a staple for character development. Deus Ex shouldn’t shy away from this, either.

4 BETTER AI

While we do appreciate the last Deus Ex game giving us some good enemy NPC AI, it still has a long way to go. In some instances, it’s still downright embarrassing.

Nothing screams “unrealistic” quite as much as sneaking up being one of two opponents, tapping him on the shoulder and delivering a cinematic knockout punch while the other fellow stands there, completely oblivious. Every action should have a consequence, instead of revealing glaring flaws in the AI system.

3 A BETTER WEAPON SYSTEM

We refuse to believe that the Deus Ex world is so limited as to offer nothing but a pistol, a few rifles and a shotgun. In order to deliver something new and exciting, the next Deus Ex game should implement a much better weapon system.

This could include not just new weapons to play with, but a customization system that goes beyond what’s currently there. Installing mods onto guns in Human Revolution felt totally outdated. Players should be able to get in there and roll up their sleeves.

2 VEHICLES

The only time vehicles are really featured in Deus Ex games is when the player is transported from one location to another, usually by cut scene. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but for goodness sake, why can’t we at least drive a car?

Within a larger sandbox style world, this would not only be practical, but enjoyable as well. It needn’t be as intricate as Grand Theft Auto V, but we’d like the ability to get behind the wheel and cruise the bleak city streets of the future, or participate in car chase/shootout sequences.

1 TIE UP LOOSE STORY THREADS

Human Revolution and Mankind Divided both share a connectivity with the first Deus Ex game, with several characters already established as existing and operating within that timeline. So far, players have only gotten glimpses of the larger conspiracy at work, but it’s time to bring it all to a close.

Whatever Adam Jensen’s fate may be, it’s obvious he has a critical part to play in future events leading up to the first game. It’s also practical to assume that he doesn’t quite succeed in his goals. Somehow, Jensen needs to pass the torch to JC Denton in a way that makes sense, and doesn’t screw with the timeline of the first game. Easier said than done, but it needs to happen.

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