With E3 around the corner and Eidos-Montreal teasing a new Deus Ex project a week before the event there are two main possibilities. Perhaps Deus Ex: The Fall is a long rumoured film adaption or continuation, with Eidos-Montreal getting in some early hype before the E3 fanfare is kicked off. The problem with this however is once that E3 wave hits The Fall may be left forgotten on the shores of the communities collective conscious.
The other possibility would be that The Fall is an entirely new game. With how well received Deus Ex: Human Revolution was in 2011, a continuation to the series wouldn’t be out of the realms of possibility. Where could this take us though? Would it be another prequel, an interquel between Human Revolution and the original game or set after Invisible War? The series gives a lot of avenues to explore, but which of them hold the most possibility?
An obvious warning here, expect catastrophic Deus Ex series warnings here. Really, nothing will be sacred.
The least likely, but very interesting possibility is a sequel to Invisible War. With all three Denton brothers united on Liberty Island along with the three other factions, Alex must choose who to side with. While many of the factions offer peace, only one leads to an ending with no war (siding with J.C. And Adam Denton). While all of these endings contradict each other, all three of the originals endings did the same. Eidos-Montreal could pull the same trick again, combining all of these endings together as an excuse to completely shift the world’s politics.
Additional Point: I Hope These Conversations Return
Alex could side with JC/Helios creating a new world order but groups such as the Omar prove immune and begin a new war. Perhaps J.C dies, leaving the benevolent dictatorship in ashes, with billions left with bio-modifications forced upon them. From this a new series of factions could rise, new versions of the illimuniti could rise to affect people through their implants or the Omar could forcibly morph these people into their ranks. The choice to make all endings canon would be a move similar to Human Revolution, letting Eidos-Montreal tell another Deus Ex story but from the other end of the time-line. The failure of the Denton brothers ideals could be “The Fall”, with society left reeling from forced nano-machines infection and major world factions imploding.
This idea would open the opportunity to use more refined nano-machines as the base for the unique powers the player could have. While not as stylish or sexy as Adam Jensen’s extendo-arm blades, it would open the door to interesting avenues of gameplay. Taking control of a computer system using nano-machines could replace hacking and augmenting them to change the user’s body would unlock further abilities like strength or stealth ability.
The reason for this possibility being the least likely however is two-fold. Firstly, Invisible War is not fondly remembered. Stripping the original Deus Ex of its intelligence and several RPG elements would not be a good place to take series veterans. The other reason would be that Invisible War is almost a decade old. This would be a dangerous move after all of the fans Human Revolution gained by making itself a prequel. Invisible War would have to build from a convoluted narrative that would be extremely hard to make sense of after all this time and not overly complicate things for newer players.
The second slightly less unlikely idea is a game set before Human Revolution. Set during the infancy of Bob Page’s rise to power and training under Morgan Everett and the Illuminati. Set during a period much closer to now than the near future of 2027. Showing the reach of the Illuminati’s power before Page decided to go his own way and the development of mechanical augmentation. We would see Page’s rise, fall and once again rise to create Page Industries and his plans for global information domination in a world frozen with the fear of terrorism. Playing an agent of Page’s as he attempts his own background machinations could be a wonderful insight into the worlds deep back-story and show a more human side to Page beyond the maniacal schemer of the original Deus Ex and the ending of Human Revolution. Perhaps it would be revealed he had a hand in Jensen’s shadowy origins in the Versalife labs.
Sadly The Stimpak Easter Egg Has Yet To Be Found
Much like how Jensen’s abilities were more point-blank due to the limitations of the technology compared to the Denton’s nano-machines, this could take the approach of having the abilities being provided from newer tech, or even a completely unattached set of tools that can be upgraded to increase effectiveness.
This is unlikely as it would mean Eidos-Montreal would be following a prequel to a prequel. As well as this, it would be hard not to feel like it was robbing the series of its distinct cyber-punk feel. Placing the series into a paranoid post 9/11 world may cut it a bit to close for some players, and feel just a little too bland for more. While it would an intriguing part of the series lore to explore, it would come at the cost of betraying too much of the series core ideas.
The much more likely third idea would be set right after Human Revolution. While perhaps not in the shoes of the gravelly Adam Jensen, it would fill the gap between Human Revolution and the original, The Fall alluding to how the world changes in this time.
At the end of Human Revolution Page recites how his plans are falling into place with Megan at his side. This is regardless of what choice players make, showing that ultimately Jenson does not affect the world in the long run, the conspiracy will go on and humanity will decline. Page’s Majestic 12 will eventually rise to absolute power without the rest of the world even knowing.
Taking place in the time would show the early development of using nano-machines instead of mechanical augmentations. With Page leaving behind neuropozyne addicts to concentrate on the next generation of nano-augmentation that is shown in the first Deus Ex.
It is possible it will use the canon-welding technique used to bridge the original to Invisible War, making all endings canon at the same time in some form. It would be very unlikely to follow Adam Jensen, who is trapped at the bottom of Panchaea. If all endings are true, then Jensen will most likely be considered dead as Panchaea collapses inwards as in the fourth ending.
But What Does It All Mean?
The new protagonist would likely be a link between the Denton’s and Jenson. During the ending “The D Project” is mentioned, heavily hinting that Jensen’s DNA was used to create the three brothers in the games to follow. Being an early creation from the project, or linked to it in some way, would be a new character, one whose abilities are yet to develop. This character could be either another mechanical aug, an early use of nano-machines or even a mix of both.
During this time many of the elements in Dues Ex that were alluded to at the end of Human Revolution would be witnessed and developed, such as the creation of the Morpheus project that would eventually become Helios and the nano-virus Chimera becoming Gray Death. It would also be a great way of learning more about characters like Walton Simons by meeting them during their younger years.
While all of this is complete speculation and throwing possible ideas at the wall, they all lead the series in different, but interesting, directions. This all works on the assumption that The Fall is a game and not the long-awaited for film. It does however show a possible road-map that the series could take in the future. With all the hints Human Revolution drops about the time between Human Revolution and Deus Ex, there had better damn well be something covering the time in between them.
What do you think? How do you think it will all fit together? When do you think The Fall will take place? Tell us in the comments.