The idea of playing Deus Ex entirely in third person has always seemed like sacrilege to me. I like my immersive sims to be, well, immersive, to let me see the world through my character’s eyes and interact with it up close and personal.
Yet having just watched several videos of Deus Ex being played in third-person, I’ve realised that perhaps I wouldn’t be so averse to experiencing Ion Storm’s cyberpunk classic from a new perspective. Especially if that new perspective involves Max Payne-style bullet dodging.
Over the last week or so, YouTuber dan2091 posted numerous videos of a WIP third-person mod for Deus Ex. Presumably, the mod is dan2091’s own creation, though there’s no information in the video’s descriptions or the channel more generally to confirm this.
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In any case, the various clips demonstrate that there’s more to the mod than a simple camera shift. One video shows a system that lets JC Denton wear different clothes, making the most of the player’s ability to see their own character. Another video shows bespoke ladder climbing animations, while a third showcases a new dual-wielding system. The latter functions regardless of whether the player is in first-or-third person too, which is neat.
What most caught my eye across the videos, however, is that JC is considerably nimbler in his third-person incarnation, able to both roll and shoot-dodge while blasting enemies with his dual pistols in a manner highly reminiscent of Max Payne. In fact, I’m pretty sure that those rolling and dodging animations are taken directly from Remedy’s earlier titles, either Max Payne 1 or Max Payne 2. Either way, the animations fit Deus Ex surprisingly well, perhaps because both games have a similarly grungy, dilapidated aesthetic.
It’s an interesting experiment, although this isn’t the first time Deus Ex has dabbled with a different point of view. Both Human Revolution and Mankind Divided were hybrid first and third-person games, switching to an out-of-body experience when players entered cover or performed takedowns. Even the original was a little bit third person, switching to a shot/reverse shot camera during dialogue sequences.
While I still prefer to see Ion Storm’s world through JC Denton’s eyes, I’d happily take an exclusively third-person Deus Ex if it meant we actually got another Deus Ex. Sadly, that looks highly unlikely. A new game in the series by Eidos Montreal was reportedly cancelled by Embracer Group. while Adam Jensen’s voice actor Elias Toufexis confirmed that we won’t see the series return this year.
