Deus Ex: Human Defiance - What we want and what we know

A new Deus Ex is overdeus

Square Enix recently put in a new trademark application for "Deus Ex: Human Defiance." Some speculated that this could be the Deus Ex movie we've heard (so little) about, but we don't think that's the case. No, we believe that Human Defiance is a new Deus Ex game.

Bring back Adam Jensen

Adam Jensen is a certifiable badass. He is literally a human butt-kicking machine, augmented with more gadgetry and weapons than any normal person should have. He was the perfect hero for Human Revolution, and we can only assume he'll be perfect in the next game.

Give us more tools to make stealth fun

Part of Human's Revolution's success rested on the blending of stealth and shooting. Each situation could be solved multiple ways, however it always seemed like shooting our way through was just easier.

Enhance the upgrade system

The upgrade system in Human Revolution is a thing of beauty, splitting upgrades by body part and allowing us to pick and choose at will. Still, we always felt like we couldn't upgrade everything; we had to forego some augments we really wanted in favor of more practical enhancements.

Include more obvious tie-ins to other Deus Ex games, especially older games

We know the original games came out almost 15 years ago, but that doesn't mean we've forgotten about them. Human Revolution did have some references to the predecessors, but old-time series fans didn't get quite the nostalgia fix they were hoping for.

Set it after DX:HR, but before original games

Human Revolution takes place in the year 2027. The original game is set in the 2050s. That's 25 to 30 years void of any Deus Ex lore, aside from in-game documents referencing those years. Why not put the next game right in the thick of it, further entwining the original concepts to the games of now?

Let us explore new, larger cities (but make them just as detailed)

Detroit was an urban jungle, covered in the homeless, the sick, and the police. Hengsha was a sprawling metropolis on top of another sprawling metropolis. Both were majestic urban landscapes...but we know things can go bigger.

Get rid of the boss fights

Human Revolution's boss fights were, for lack of a better term, the proverbial turd in the punch bowl. They felt completely different from the rest of the game, they really added nothing to the story, and some of them were far too easy. We found out later that the boss fights had been outsourced, and that made a lot of sense.

or make them make sense

The only DLC for Human Revolution, The Missing Link, did have one boss fight at the end. However, its inclusion made far more sense in the overall scope of Deus Ex. We didn't have to bombard Pieter Burke with Typhoon ammo; we could be stealthy if we wished, or we could have bypassed the fight entirely. this is the way a Deus Ex boss fight should be!

Bring back Michael McCann for the soundtrack

Michael McCann's score for Human Revolution is sorely underrated. Every song is a masterpiece, from the energetic "Icarus - Main Theme" to the haunting "LIMB Clinic." There isn't a single song we don't like--even the main menu music gives us chills.

Multiple, more varied endings

For all the rage and multi-colored cupcakes that Mass Effect 3's ending caused, it's a wonder Human Revolution didn't have it even worse. There are four endings, yet all of them are the same piece of video with different voice-overs. Identical. Videos.

Our deus expectations are high

So, what do you think? We have high expectations after the recent prequel, and hope to see a next-gen Deus Ex in the near future. What sort of stuff do you want from the game?