Deus Ex: The Fall lands on Android, PC and iOS as a portable spin-off of the Deus Ex series, and it splits the difference between shooter and RPG with mixed results. The game follows Ben Saxon, a former British SAS mercenary turned augmented fugitive, as he navigates a conspiracy in Panama City during a global Neuropozyne shortage. It is a prequel to Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and it plays like a smaller, more mobile slice of that world.
Trailer, via IGDBcom.
The Setting
The Fall is set in 2027, a time when corporate power has overtaken governments and Augmentations — cybernetic implants — are standard but expensive. Players guide Ben Saxon through Panama City, Costa Rica and Moscow, and the plot ties directly into the events of Human Revolution. Saxon is a man on the run from the Illuminati, and his companion is Anna Kelso, a former federal agent and one of the protagonists of the spin-off novel Deus Ex: Icarus Effect.
How It Plays
The game mixes first-person shooter combat with stealth and RPG mechanics. Players move through environments in first-person view, but some actions switch to a third-person view for climbing ladders and talking to non-playable characters. Quests earn experience points, and Augmentations — upgrades for Saxon’s body — can be bought, found or unlocked with earned experience.
- Combat rewards shooting from cover
- Stealth rewards hiding from guards
- Players can choose lethal or non-lethal approaches
- Experience unlocks new abilities
The melee takedown system offers both lethal and non-lethal options, and a hacking mechanic lets players breach security systems. The game leans on its source material, using assets from Human Revolution for its environments and referencing characters like Illuminati member Bob Page and news reader Eliza Cassan.
The Mobile Curse
The Fall was originally released on iOS in 2013, with Android and PC versions following in 2014. The game was developed by nFusion Interactive under the supervision of Eidos-Montréal, and it drew praise for being a serviceable attempt at translating Deus Ex into the mobile format. Reception was mixed, with critics praising the attempt while noting the limitations of the platform.
Saxon’s experiences are tied to his work with the Tyrants, a private company in the employ of Belltower and their Illuminati sponsors. The story is incomplete, designated as the first episode in a longer narrative, though no further episodes have been released. Saxon travels to Panama City for a supply of Neuropozyne, finding a cheaper drug called Riezene in clinical trials and on the street.
Where It Falls Short
The game’s ambitions are larger than its execution. The mobile format limits the range of its action, and the episodic narrative remains unfinished. Players who want a complete story will find only a fragment here.
The gameplay is solid but not groundbreaking. Cover-based shooting and stealth are serviceable, but the game’s best ideas — the hacking, the augmentation system, the conspiracy — are underdeveloped. The story, while tied to Human Revolution, feels like a fragment rather than a full entry in the series.
A Fragment of a Story
Deus Ex: The Fall is a competent but incomplete entry in the series. It captures the spirit of Deus Ex with its hacking, its conspiracy and its augmentation system, but it never reaches the heights of its predecessors.
The game is worth playing for fans of the series, but casual players should know what they are getting into: a fragment of a story, not a finished one. The mobile format shows its limits, and the narrative remains unresolved. The game is a serviceable attempt, nothing more.
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