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Never played Deus Ex. What order do I play them in?

Apparently there are three prequels. I'd like to play them in order of plot, I think - or does that not matter?

I have these on Steam (dunno if I'm missing any, or if any are unattainable on Steamers):

Deus Ex: GOTY Edition, Invisible War, Human Revolution (Director's Cut), The Fall, Mankind Divided
 
Play them in release order, but skip Invisible War and The Fall. Playing the original before the Jensen games sets up some little throwbacks.
 
1) Deus Ex: GOTY Edition,
2) Human Revolution (Director's Cut)
3) Mankind Divided

..

Invisible War
....

(don't know)
The Fall
 
Start with Deus Ex 1 if you dont mind its old gameplay or Deus Ex Human Revolution.

After playing Human Revolution play Mankind Divided.

Ignore Invisible War lol, you can play "The Fall", its not bad just a really bland game and has an incomplete plot.
 
IW isn't outright terrible but it is bland as fuck. Only really worth visiting as a curiosity for fans these days. It's the poster boy of a franchise being bolted into constraints of higher ups demanding it be more mainstream and accessible in all the worst ways.
 
Invisible War is like Dark souls 2 to the deus ex franchise. It's alright, but it doesn't hold a candle to the rest. I've never played the fall so i can't say with certainty, but it was a mobile game first, so...

When you play the original deus ex though, be sure to get one of those mods that enhances it, i think there are two, one is "Revision" and I forget the others name.
 
Please do not skip the original one.

Invisible War isn't terrible, but you probably have better games to play in your backlog.
 
Invisible War is like Dark souls 2 to the deus ex franchise. It's alright, but it doesn't hold a candle to the rest. I've never played the fall so i can't say with certainty, but it was a mobile game first, so...

When you play the original deus ex though, be sure to get one of those mods that enhances it, i think there are two, one is "Revision" and I forget the others name.

This is either way too kind to IW or way too mean to DS2.

IW is more like....Lords of the Fallen.
 
Invisible War is like Dark souls 2 to the deus ex franchise. It's alright, but it doesn't hold a candle to the rest. I've never played the fall so i can't say with certainty, but it was a mobile game first, so...

When you play the original deus ex though, be sure to get one of those mods that enhances it, i think there are two, one is "Revision" and I forget the others name.

Terrible analogy. DS2 is still fantastic despite being the worst.

Devil May Cry 2 would be a much more suitable comparison.
 
Play the first one and then... maybe go do something else?

The third one was pretty good, too, but not exactly a must-play. I can't imagine it's aged well, either.
 
Deus Ex. The original.

Then wait and see if the next entry in the series finishes the Human Revolution / Mankind Divided storyline in a worthy way or just keeps us hanging.
 
The diehard fan who let nostalgia cloud them will tell you to skip Human Revolution. If you are an old skool man will old views on gaming then please, skip it.

If you want a fun, awesome, story game then you NEED to play Human Revolution.
 
Terrible analogy. DS2 is still fantastic despite being the worst.

Devil May Cry 2 would be a much more suitable comparison.

The level of "enjoyment" I got from IW and DS2 are pretty much the same. Different strokes for different folks :)
 
Try IW after beating the first one. There's a lot to love about it - music, atmosphere and story, and some interesting if tight level design.

There is of course much to hate about it, but that's well documented :)
 
Invisible War
Mankind Divided
Deus Ex 1
Human Revolution

That should maximize confusion and reduce narrative coherence.
 
Invisible War is like Dark souls 2 to the deus ex franchise. It's alright, but it doesn't hold a candle to the rest. I've never played the fall so i can't say with certainty, but it was a mobile game first, so...

Not even close! Pretty much no one who loved Dues Ex liked IW when it released. You remember how people were/are freaking out about console/PC games becoming more like mobile games? Back when IW came out, it was the poster child for PC games being 'consolized'. Games which could have deep, complex systems, and huge levels (Deus Ex) got streamlined and neutered so it could be easily ported to under powered consoles.

If you look back at IW without that context it might seem like a decent game, but back when it was out, it was a big red herring for what was happening to PC games. Those were the dark days of PC gaming.
 
So..I started with Deus Ex GOTY edition, played level one (skipped tutorial), got pretty far (I think) and died on easy mode. I've died probably seven times now on easy mode, I give up. Why is this game so difficult and why can't I quick save? Every time I die it makes me start over.
 
Invisible War is hated due to being a "dumbed down console sequel" to a beloved PC game, but HR and MD aren't really that different from IW. They just came after a very long period of starvation for the fans so they were appreciated more.
 
Invisible War is hated due to being a "dumbed down console sequel" to a beloved PC game, but HR and MD aren't really that different from IW. They just came after a very long period of starvation for the fans so they were appreciated more.
Truth right here
 
Not even close! Pretty much no one who loved Dues Ex liked IW when it released. You remember how people were/are freaking out about console/PC games becoming more like mobile games? Back when IW came out, it was the poster child for PC games being 'consolized'. Games which could have deep, complex systems, and huge levels (Deus Ex) got streamlined and neutered so it could be easily ported to under powered consoles.

Removed from context, Isnt that exactly what HR and MD are still?
 
The first, brilliant, unrivaled Deus Ex, and then nothing else in the series.

It depends. Personally if I was entering fresh I'd start with IW, followed by the two SE Deus Ex and finish with the original. Worst to best, if you're committed to playing all of them. If notÂ… yeah just play the first one, 100%. Then play other excellent immersive sims like Dishonored and Prey.

The story will be batshit, but I think that machete style order works in mechanical gameplay evolution.
 
So..I started with Deus Ex GOTY edition, played level one (skipped tutorial), got pretty far (I think) and died on easy mode. I've died probably seven times now on easy mode, I give up. Why is this game so difficult and why can't I quick save? Every time I die it makes me start over.
You can quicksave, but if you weren't able to even figure that out I don't have a lot of hope on you ever finishing or enjoying this game. Also, you should have done the tutorial.
 
So..I started with Deus Ex GOTY edition, played level one (skipped tutorial), got pretty far (I think) and died on easy mode. I've died probably seven times now on easy mode, I give up. Why is this game so difficult and why can't I quick save? Every time I die it makes me start over.

Deus Ex 1 has a tutorial. Do that.

Also, doesn't the Steam version still run at higher than normal speed on modern Windows if you don't mod it with a modded launcher? Did they fix that in the GOG version?
 
Order of release while skipping IW. Priority is to play the first one, really. Then try HR and MD if you want to play something that's Deus Ex but isn't actually as good as Deus Ex.

Man, this franchise deserves so much better than what its getting. Excuse me, what it got. Past tense, because its dead again.
 
Not even close! Pretty much no one who loved Dues Ex liked IW when it released. You remember how people were/are freaking out about console/PC games becoming more like mobile games? Back when IW came out, it was the poster child for PC games being 'consolized'. Games which could have deep, complex systems, and huge levels (Deus Ex) got streamlined and neutered so it could be easily ported to under powered consoles.

If you look back at IW without that context it might seem like a decent game, but back when it was out, it was a big red herring for what was happening to PC games. Those were the dark days of PC gaming.

Deus ex is in my top 3 favorite games of all time, and i mildly enjoyed IW. Just like DS2, super disappointing after coming from the previous game, but its 'alright'. At least for me, anyeways
 
IW isn't even that bad. It's issues are that it follows one of the greatest games of all time and tries to change too much for no reason.

Pitting it against other titles and it might win some bouts, but it's like eating a michelin 5 star starter and then eating a mcdonalds or something for the main.
 
Playing it in release order is my suggestion. Form your own opinion on Invisible War and don't listen to the meme that playing it is like opening the Ark of the Covenant -- especially considering that the Eidos-Montreal games dumb down some things even further.
 
IW isn't even that bad. It's issues are that it follows one of the greatest games of all time and tries to change too much for no reason.

No reason? Everything it did was because it had to be fitted on a console controller and on underpowered console hardware. Those are the reasons for everything wrong with the game
 
Order of release while skipping IW. Priority is to play the first one, really. Then try HR and MD if you want to play something that's Deus Ex but isn't actually as good as Deus Ex.

Man, this franchise deserves so much better than what its getting. Excuse me, what it got. Past tense, because its dead again.

QFT
 
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