Deus Ex: Human Revolution vs Deus Ex: Invisible War
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is an action-RPG game from Eidos Montreal (2011) while Deus Ex: Invisible War is an action-RPG FPS game from Ion Storm (2007).
Quick answer: Deus Ex: Human Revolution has the higher Metacritic, 90 to 80.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
What each one is
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is filed under Action-RPG. In contrast, Deus Ex: Invisible War under Action-RPG and FPS.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is an action role-playing game developed by Eidos-Montréal and published by Square Enix. The game is a prequel to the original Deus Ex (2000) and the third installment in the Deus Ex series. The gameplay combines first-person shooter, stealth, and role-playing elements. It features exploration and combat in environments connected to multiple city-based hubs, in addition to quests that grant experience and allow customization of the main character's abilities with items called Praxis Kits. Set in the year 2027, players control Adam Jensen, a security officer for Sarif Industries, a company which develops controversial artificial organs dubbed "augmentations". After an attack on Sarif, Jensen undergoes extensive augmentation and investigates the shadowy organization behind the attack. The story explores themes of transhumanism and the growing power of megacorporations and their impact on social class. It also uses the series' cyberpunk setting and conspiracy theory motif.
Approximately 20 years after Deus Ex, the world is only beginning to recover from a catastrophic worldwide depression. In this techno-nightmare, take part in the dark struggle to raise the world from its own ashes.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Setting Human Revolution takes place in the year 2027, 25 years prior to the original Deus Ex . The Deus Ex series is set in a cyberpunk future rife with secret organizations and conspiracies: among these forces is the Illuminati . Leading up to Human Revolution , there have been marked improvements in human society, with people actively fighting global warming , finding cures for various diseases, and improving green energy . (Wikipedia)
Characters
The main protagonist is Adam Jensen : coming from a humble background in Detroit , he worked as a leader with the local SWAT squad until he refused to follow a questionable order and was turfed out. After this, he is taken on as a security manager at Sarif Industries, a local company at the leading edge of augmentation technology. A fellow at the company is Megan Reed, a researcher for Sarif and Adam's ex-girlfriend. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception The game received widespread critical acclaim upon release. Review aggregate site Metacritic gave the game scores of 90/100 for PC, and 89/100 for PS3 and Xbox 360. These were based on 52, 50 and 70 critic reviews respectively. (Wikipedia)
Plot
Setting Invisible War is set in the year 2072, twenty years after the events of the original Deus Ex ; the Deus Ex series is set in a cyberpunk future rife with secret organizations and conspiracies such as the Illuminati and Majestic 12 , an Illuminati splinter faction. During the first game's events in 2052, original protagonist JC Denton —a clone designed to serve Majestic 12—was drawn into a secret war between the Illuminati and Majestic 12, led by… (Wikipedia)
Characters
The main protagonist is "Alex D"; their full name is Alex Denton, a clone from the same program which created JC and Paul Denton. Spirited away shortly before the events of Deus Ex , Alex is raised in Chicago before being inducted into the Tarsus Academy, a group controlled by the Denton-created ApostleCorp. At Tarsus, Alex is trained in the use of biomods. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Sales During its debut week in the United Kingdom, the game reached #3 in the charts, described as a respectable debut. In their financial report in April 2005, Eidos reported that Invisible War was among the titles to have sold between 500,000 and one million copies since release, placing it among their successful titles. As of April 2011, Invisible War has sold over 1. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Deus Ex: Human Revolution | Deus Ex: Invisible War | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | — | 5.9/10 |
| Steam rating | — | Mixed (57%, 2,498) |
| Critic aggregate | 90/100 | 80/100 |
| Price | Unknown | $1.74 |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | Untested | playable |
| Released | 2011 | 2007 |
| Developer | Eidos Montreal | Ion Storm |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution vs Deus Ex: Invisible War, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Deus Ex: Human RevolutionAction-RPG gameDeus Ex: Invisible WarAction-RPG FPS gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Deus Ex: Human RevolutionNo descriptive tagsDeus Ex: Invisible WarCyberpunk, Action, FPSThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Deus Ex: Human Revolution ✓Metacritic 90Deus Ex: Invisible WarMetacritic 80Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Content and scale
Deus Ex: Human Revolution—Deus Ex: Invisible War2,498 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Deus Ex: Human RevolutionUnknownDeus Ex: Invisible War$1.74Read live from Steam and subject to change.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The better reviewed of the two: Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Metacritic 90)
Where they differ
CyberpunkActionFPSRPGSci-fiStealth
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Deus Ex: Invisible War is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Deus Ex: Human Revolution and 1 for Deus Ex: Invisible War. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: Invisible War in scope?
Deus Ex: Human Revolution lists little scope data. Deus Ex: Invisible War has drawn 2,498 Steam reviews.
Is Deus Ex: Human Revolution or Deus Ex: Invisible War better?
Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.
Which is cheaper, Deus Ex: Human Revolution or Deus Ex: Invisible War?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get Deus Ex: Human Revolution or Deus Ex: Invisible War?
Deus Ex: Human Revolution has the higher Metacritic, 90 to 80. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.