While the game has much to offer in terms of story and gameplay, graphics were never really its strong suit.
The graphics weren’t even particularly great for its time, and here we are 20+ years later… and to say it hasn’t aged well would probably be an understatement.
But the New Vision mod is a great way to revamp some of the game’s graphics.
It replaces most of the original environment textures with higher quality counterparts. And it’s noticeable.
Project HDTP is another great mod for giving Deux Ex a graphical makeover.
And it covers even more than New Vision does.
While New Vision focuses more on improving the game’s environments, Project HDTP focuses instead on providing character remodels and retextures.
Keep in mind that gaming GPUs back then didn’t really allow for higher resolution textures. So for a game this old, you’re going to want any upgrades you can get.
Now that we’ve suped-up the graphics, here are tons of ways to revitalize the original Deus Ex. Especially if it isn’t your first experience with the game.
And if you’re looking to get into some of the more serious mods, Shifter is a great place to start.
The mod takes on the slogan “Removing the suck from Deus Ex.”, adding a number of gameplay improvements that are just the bee’s knees.
Replaceable augmentations is one example, making it possible to make adjustments as you go.
The mod adds some new content as well like new weapons and random NPC inventories.
If you like the changes introduced by Shifter, you might want to pair it with Biomod as well.
Biomod is actually built to work as an expansion of Shifter, focusing on further improving the game’s augmentation system.
On top of the features already included in Shifter, one of the biggest changes in Biomod is to the Swimming skill – which new players would usually have to spend skill points on before learning that it’s absolutely useless.
It’s instead replaced with the Athletics skill, which impacts other physical activities like running and jumping, making it a much more useful skill to upgrade.
Speaking of fun mods, if you’re looking to take a break from all of Deux Ex’s seriousness without straying too far from the original game, the Malkavian Mod is probably the best way to do so.
There’s not much in the description, but the game’s wiki page describes it well enough:
“A rather humorous mod with its own story that doesn’t affect the core gameplay or story.”
Just take note that the Malkavian Mod isn’t meant to be serious at all. And if anything, it’ll probably leave you with loads of meme-worthy Deus Ex content.
ZODIAC is another popular overhaul for Deus Ex, this time letting you play as JC’s augmented brother Paul.
In this case, ZODIAC refers to the mysterious organization Paul uncovers throughout the story. Which is an exciting plot of government secrets and nuclear warfare.
Other than the new storyline, the mod also includes new weapons, characters, and music to complete the experience.
Instead of overhauling everything about the game, DXChallenge makes things a bit harder by adding specific in-game challenges to complete throughout the vanilla campaign.
It’s a sort-of checklist of sorts, specifically for a challenge run where you’re tasked to either complete the campaign with no kills, no knockouts, or without using any lockpicks for example.
It’s tough.
This one is particularly great for veteran players looking for a challenge, as failing any selected challenges will cause you to immediately die in the game.
Now this mod offers an additional set of missions to play through after the events at LaGuardia Airport, giving you a glimpse of an alternative storyline where JC stays with UNATCO a bit longer.
Many fans felt that JC left UNATCO a bit too soon. And this mod gives them exactly what they asked for, allowing you to spend a bit more time as one of their agents.
If you just need more Deus Ex story time, then Hotel Carone is worth the install.
Terminus Machina is another popular Deus Ex mod, but this one is definitely not for newer players.
Other than being one of the best, it’s also known as the hardest Deus Ex mod out there.
The mod introduces a number of new features including item crafting and new skills, as well as a completely new storyline set in a post-apocalyptic USA.
It’s tougher than it appears, but oh so worth the time.
