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Deus Ex Go

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Deus Ex Go
Developer(s)Square Enix Montreal
Publisher(s)Square Enix
SeriesDeus Ex
EngineUnity[1]
Platform(s)Android,iOS,Windows,Windows 10 Mobile
ReleaseAugust 18, 2016(2016-08-18)
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Deus Ex Gowas a 2016turn-basedpuzzle video gamein theDeus Exseries bySquare Enix.The player uses a touchscreen to move Adam Jensen, a protagonist from thecyberpunk-themed series, as apuzzle piecethrough aboard gamewhile avoiding obstacles and manipulating the environment. In-keeping with the main series, Jensen can hack environmental features such as turrets and platforms to bypass and eliminate enemies. The game follows the format ofHitman Go(2014) andLara Croft Go(2015), in whichSquare Enix Montréaldistilled major motifs from the games' respective series to fit turn-based, touchscreen, puzzle gameplay. New to theGoseries,Deus Ex Gointroduced an in-game story and puzzle creation mode.Deus Ex Gowas released in August 2016, forAndroidandiOSplatforms to generally favorable reviews. The game was laterportedto Microsoft platforms. Critics wrote that the game successfully captured the cybernetic dystopia of theDeus Exseries and the brain teasing puzzles of theGomobile game series. But compared to the other entries in theGoseries, reviewers consideredDeus Ex Go'sto be less creative, with a lackluster story, less visually interesting aesthetic, and shorter length.

Embracer Group,following their acquisition of Square Enix Montréal, announced thatDeus Ex Gowould be removed from app stores with its servers shut down on January 4, 2023.[2]

Gameplay

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In this screenshot of gameplay, Jensen(left)must reach the exit node without being killed by the guard. Acomputer terminalnearby controls a turret to help with this.

The player touches the screen to moveAdam Jensen,a protagonist from the stealth combat, cyber-dystopianDeus Exseries,between nodes on a hexagonal grid towards an exit.[3][4][5]If moved to a specific node, the character will stealthily take down guards, hack computers, and activate hishuman augmentations,such as invisibility.[3]Enemies who spot Jensen will move towards and, if they reach his node, eliminate him. Alternatively, Jensen can eliminate enemies if approaching from behind or their side.[5]In the game's story, which is set before the events ofDeus Ex: Mankind Divided,[6]Jensen's sole mission is to save an important person, but is continually set back by puzzles—54 in total.[7]

The puzzles grow in complexity by adding complications to several simple mechanics.[8]Mechanical enemies and obstacles, such as gun turrets and raisable platforms, are hackable viacomputer terminalson nearby nodes. The player drags their finger on the touchscreen to connect the terminal's node and the hackable device. The character can store apower-upto move for two turns without detection while in an enemy's line of sight, activate terminals remotely, or use projectile attacks against guards on distant nodes.[5]The main game runs about three hours in length,[8]and the player can purchase puzzle solutions throughmicrotransactions.[7]An additional puzzle design node—also new to theGoseries—lets players make single-screen puzzles to share with others.[3]Square Enix highlights five new puzzles in a weekly rotation.[7]As part of atie-inwithDeus Ex: Mankind Divided,players complete the main story and weekly puzzles in the mobile game to unlock perks in the console title.[9]

Development

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Deus Ex Gofollows the premise behindSquare Enix Montreal's previousGomobile series titles—Lara Croft Go(2015) andHitman Go(2014)—in distilling the essence of the series' core gameplay for turn- and touchscreen-based puzzles.[3]TheDeus Ex Godevelopment team was split between employees who had worked onHitman: Sniperand those who had worked on theGoseries. Their combination was expected to resolve philosophical differences between the teams stemming fromindieandAAAtraditions of game development and pricing.[10]Throughout development, the team asked themselves whether theGoelements felt as if they belonged to theDeus Exseries. The team sampled several kinds of hacking mechanics before deciding to use terminals that modified each puzzle rather than performing single-use instrumental kills. They also decided to add a narrative—the first in theGoseries—drawing from its importance in the main series. Several elements from the series did not translate well to mobile, such as player choice, which had too many possibilities to suit the game's puzzle-solving.[6]The team also invested in tools that made puzzle construction easier. Prior games took three months to make 25 puzzles, whileDeus Ex Go'stool nearly tripled their output. As a result, the team planned post-release puzzles and a tool for players to create their own.[6]This new puzzle design mode released, as planned,[4]two months after the game's launch.[11][12]Designer Étienne Giroux compared their choice to release a new daily puzzle with progressive difficulty peaking on Fridays to the regularity ofThe New York Timescrossword puzzles.[10]Square Enix said that the game's puzzles were more difficult than those of previous games,[13]and unlike the prior twoGogames,Deus Ex Gouses a hexagonal grid instead of squares.[14]Square Enix announcedDeus Ex Goat a press event in advance of the June 2016Electronic Entertainment Expo.It was released on August 18, 2016, forAndroidandiOSplatforms on both phones and tablets.[15]The game was laterportedtoWindowsandWindows 10 Mobile,[16]and the team later released a documentary video on their development process.[17]

Embracer Group,following their acquisition of Square Enix Montréal, announced thatDeus Ex Gowould be removed from app stores with its servers shut down on January 4, 2023.[18]

Reception

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Prior to the game's release, Ryan McCaffrey (IGN) wrote that theGoseries composed the "smartest" mobile entries of ahigh-budget, major video game series.[5]Critics who previewed the game found it to be on par with the otherGotitles.[5][14]Colin Campbell (Polygon) said that previews of the game matched the series' aesthetic.[4]

The game received "generally favorable" reviews, according to video gamereview aggregatorMetacritic.[19]Reviewers wrote that the game successfully captured the cybernetic dystopia of theDeus Exseries and the brain-teasing puzzles of theGomobile game series.[8][7][20][22]Compared to the other entries in theGoseries, reviewers consideredDeus Ex Go'sadded story to be lackluster, its aesthetic to be less visually interesting, and its length to be shorter.[7][8][21]While some reviewers tired of theGoseries,[20]others thoughtDeus Ex Gocontinued the high standards of its forebears.[7]

Among the most satisfying moments in theGoseries, theIGNandTouchArcadereviewers appreciated the game mechanic of determining how best to use a hack or drone to slip past enemies.[8][21]TheIGNreviewer found the game's puzzles somewhat harder than those of its predecessors, but was able to easily resolve them upon after taking brief breaks. The game's minimalism also led to some complications. Some of the solutions, he complained, were dependent on unintuitive player experimentation, such as realizing that the invisibility device also served as a projectile. Some of these visual cues were lost amidst the game's visual presentation.[8]TouchArcadewondered whether the simplified environment was an aesthetic choice or the result of efforts to save on development costs.[21]TheGameSpotreviewer was disappointed to see an option for paid puzzle solutions in an otherwise short game about discovering the secret to a puzzle on one's own.[7]Compared to the main series, in which the player may stake out a building at a distance, the experimentation inDeus Ex Gois limited to finding the right answer rather than finding multiple routes to solve the same problem.[22]

IGNwrote that the game's story and environments remained in the background and were ultimately forgettable, or in the case of the former, a hindrance,[8]especially when the scenes could not be skipped on later replays.[20]By the same token, predecessors such asLara Croft Gohid treasures in its background such that players would revisit its levels, butDeus Ex Gohad little to interest players besides its primary mission.[8][7]The game's sole challenge of completing the puzzle in the fewest moves,GameSpotexplained, quickly became uninteresting.[7]Gamezebo'sreviewer instead faulted the series and wrote that after three games, its formula felt repetitive.[20]TouchArcadeconcluded that, unlike the otherGogames,Deus Ex Gowas less creative overall and did not subvert the themes of its parent series quite like the others.[21]

During the20th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards,theAcademy of Interactive Arts & SciencesnominatedDeus Ex Gofor "Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year".[23]

References

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  1. ^"Deus Ex GO".Made with Unity.August 22, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon January 31, 2017.RetrievedDecember 12,2016.
  2. ^Hollister, Sean (November 23, 2022)."Embracer is ripping a beloved mobile game away from people who paid for it".The Verge.RetrievedNovember 25,2022.
  3. ^abcdMachkovech, Sam (June 8, 2016)."Ars takes on new Deus Ex's" mechanical apartheid, "plus two side games".Ars Technica.RetrievedJune 12,2016.
  4. ^abcCampbell, Colin (June 8, 2016)."Deus Ex Go confirmed for later this year".Polygon.RetrievedJune 12,2016.
  5. ^abcdeMcCaffrey, Ryan (June 8, 2016)."E3 2016: Deus Ex Go Is a Hack-and-Swipe Deus Ex Adventure".IGN.RetrievedJune 12,2016.
  6. ^abcClark, Willie (August 4, 2016)."How Square Enix brought Deus Ex to mobile".ZAM.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2016.RetrievedDecember 12,2016.
  7. ^abcdefghijPaget, Mat (August 18, 2016)."Deus Ex Go Review".GameSpot.RetrievedDecember 12,2016.
  8. ^abcdefghiDornbush, Jonathon (August 18, 2016)."Deus Ex Go Review".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on December 6, 2016.RetrievedDecember 12,2016.
  9. ^Paget, Mat (August 18, 2016)."Earn Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Skill Points by Playing Deus Ex Go".GameSpot.RetrievedDecember 12,2016.
  10. ^abWebster, Andrew (August 18, 2016)."Enter the studio turning Deus Ex and Lara Croft into awesome mobile games".The Verge.RetrievedDecember 4,2016.
  11. ^Dotson, Carter (November 23, 2016)."'Deus Ex Go' Puzzle Maker Update Now Available ".TouchArcade.Archivedfrom the original on December 11, 2016.RetrievedDecember 12,2016.
  12. ^Cowan, Danny (November 21, 2016)."'Deus Ex Go' players can design maps using new level editing and sharing functionality ".Digital Trends.Archivedfrom the original on December 21, 2016.RetrievedDecember 12,2016.
  13. ^Makuch, Eddie."'Deus Ex Go' Announced, Will Include Tough Puzzles and Map-Making Tool After Launch ".GameSpot.RetrievedJune 12,2016.
  14. ^abLoveridge, Sam (June 8, 2016)."Deus Ex GO preview: another mobile game success?".Digital Spy.RetrievedJune 12,2016.
  15. ^Dotson, Carter (August 11, 2016)."'Deus Ex GO' Releases on August 18th ".TouchArcade.RetrievedAugust 15,2016.
  16. ^"Buy Deus Ex GO".Microsoft.
  17. ^Dotson, Carter (March 15, 2017)."Square Enix Montreal Releases 'Deus Ex GO' Trilogy Stories Video".TouchArcade.RetrievedApril 11,2017.
  18. ^Hollister, Sean (November 23, 2022)."Embracer is ripping a beloved mobile game away from people who paid for it".The Verge.RetrievedNovember 25,2022.
  19. ^ab"Deus Ex GO Critic Reviews for iPhone/iPad".Metacritic.Archivedfrom the original on August 18, 2016.RetrievedOctober 22,2022.
  20. ^abcdeRich, Rob (August 18, 2016)."Deus Ex GO Review: Still Walking the Line".Gamezebo.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2016.RetrievedDecember 12,2016.
  21. ^abcdeDotson, Carter (August 17, 2016)."'Deus Ex GO' Review – Should I Stay or Should I Go Now? ".TouchArcade.Archivedfrom the original on December 11, 2016.RetrievedDecember 12,2016.
  22. ^abDonlan, Christian (September 1, 2016)."Deus Ex Go isn't really Deus Ex, but it understands what's great about it".Eurogamer.Archivedfrom the original on October 31, 2016.RetrievedDecember 5,2016.
  23. ^"2017 Awards Category Details Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year".interactive.org.Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.RetrievedNovember 30,2023.
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