Deus Ex (PC, 2000)

• Mostly linear overarching structure (mission-based however you can affect the story in various ways and take alternate paths to your goals, some side missions, cities are hubs that connect to certain locations and you can do some missions and side missions in any order but you have to visit each city in a set order, can start the game with exp points unspent if you want to save them for later, can also carry an augmentation canister with you for later, can't go back to the hell's kitchen area during mission 3, partially open-ended MJ12 facility area and Versalife area)

• Gain some permanent abilities used for exploration/traversal (cloaking, lockpicking, computer+security system (cameras,  turrets and some robots)+ATM hacking and electronics (disables laser alarms and electrical hazards), speed enhancement=run faster and jump higher+further, swimming=faster movement and stay underwater for longer, microfibral muscles=lift heavier metal crates, explosives to remove some doors (Outcast) and some weapons can be upgraded enough to be able to remove some doors as well) however these are all optional besides using either lockpicks or explosives at some points

• Save anywhere (many slots, the game automatically enters current area+time taken+keeps track of the number of times you've saved), Energy recharge and healing robots (moving stations) here and there - these are sometimes OP in that you can keep using them over and over with just a 1m cooldown in-between charges

• No maps at all for some areas and maps are generally just 2D images - they don't show your location or found points of interest (fairly easy to miss some objects in the environment including safes containing augmentation canisters - these are also missable however most of them can be found again later on, a few times it's fairly easy to miss even the required path forward, can also lead to taking alternate paths that lead to somewhere that you've already been if you try to explore everywhere), No mini-map, Can add your own notes to maps (System Shock)

• Move and stack crates to use as platforms (can also be used as obstacles in a few spots) or explosives - some decent puzzles involving these

• Pretty involved stealth: Silent takedowns and you can move bodies, Can knock enemies unconscious, Lean around corners (System Shock), Can throw or shoot objects to distract enemies and attack or run past them (Flashback), Guards have to run and hit an alarm button to call for reinforcements, Can 1 hit KO enemies with melee weapons if you hit the in the right spot (the lower spine) as well as with ranged by aiming at the head (sniper rifle or sawed-off shotgun) or back of the neck

• Separate health meters for 6 different body parts (explosives for certain doors and obstacles, leg health affects movement speed (so does torso health to a very slight degree), arms your accuracy and so does your head to some degree)

• Can affect the story pretty drastically (can kill or save some major chars) and there are three different endings depending on one major choice during the final mission

• Quest journal and message log features (can also edit and remove notes+copy and paste parts of them), No longer relevant text notes aren't removed automatically however

• Weapon modifications with consumable items (reload speed, accuracy, clip size, accurate range increase for hitscan/insta-hit weapons, recoil reduction, laser pointer=perfect accuracy for hitscan weapons unless a scope mod is installed, scope=adds sniping but also an accuracy penalty when not using it, silencer)

• Breakable doors and some other objects, Can open some doors by luring enemies or making them escape through them

• Full control config besides "put away weapon" being mapped to RMB

• Optional and interactive tutorial (however some skills are barely covered at all and neither are augmentations)

• Some hidden shortcuts

• Difficulty options (easy-realistic/very hard)

• Areas feel more like actual places than the average FPS level from the '90s (SS2)

• Some other interesting abilities/augmentations (spy drone - flying controllable EMP bomb, vision enhancement - nightvision at lvl 1+infravision at lvl 2+see enemies and NPCs through most walls at levels 3-4 (lvl 4 increases the range), aggressive defense system - on max lvl it causes enemy explosive projectiles to detonate in their face)

• Voiced radio assistance that doesn't pause gameplay and which generally happens outside of combat (Burning Rangers?)

• Fight alongside allied NPCs in some missions

• Skippable cutscenes besides a few minor ones

• No reputation or morality sliders - the game judges your actions with NPC reactions and they tend to vary (some NPCs like a violent approach while others don't for example), No speech or charisma/persuasion skill

• Good sense of vulnerability at some points

• Some scripted events

• Easy to disarm gas grenades and explosives set as traps and use them yourself

• Fall damage - can be reduced with the speed augmentation and its upgrades

• Some resource management (ammo/tools/energy; limited inventory and no stash+can't fully explore every area, lockpicks are kind of rare in mission 2 and in hong kong, paths generally require using more than one kind of skill to get through)

• Can't respec your augmentations or skills

• Some bugs (see the mini-review)

• Can skip mission 1 and part of mission 3 (can skip a lot more with glitches)

Playthrough - Video Review - Mini Review

Influenced by: Ultima Underworld 1-2, System Shock 1-2, probably The Matrix (movie), Thief 1-2, possibly Blade Runner (movie) and X-Files (TV series), Half-Life, Unreal, Strife or Powerslave/Exhumed

Influenced: Bioshock, Prey (2017), probably Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, possibly Half-Life 2, Fallout 3, Metroid Prime, Batman: Arkham Asylum, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, Jade Empire?, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines