It's official, there are now two big names in the cyberpunk genre of video games. The first one is a longtime staple of video game history, Deus Ex, and the second is our long-awaited new challenger, Cyberpunk 2077. Comparisons are inevitable because the similarities between the two games are astounding and there aren't really many ways to build a cyberpunk game.
So, the question is, will loyal fans of the Deus Ex titles feel at home in Cyberpunk 2077's Night City? Are all cyberpunk games the same? And are the genital sliders alone from Cyberpunk 2077 make it worth the price of admission? Conversely, there might be players of Cyberpunk 2077 who seek a deeper delve into the dysfunctionally futuristic genre. Hence, we shall dissect both games on the operating table and see what they're made of so you can decide for yourself.
10 Similarities: Cybernetic Augmentations
One of the reasons why the genre is called cyberpunk is the ubiquitous nature of human mechanical human modifications. In cyberpunk games and even movies, almost everyone is a cyborg and a 100 percent pure human being is a rare commodity.
Both cyberpunk games nail this aspect expertly. Deus Ex makes it so that the augmentations have a high price to pay, often requiring a special monopolized drug that only the rich can usually afford, widening the poverty gap. Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2077 makes cybernetics more available, even to lowly street rats.
9 Differences: The Focus On Locale
Now, the key difference between the two games is that Cyberpunk 2077 is structured more like a Grand Theft Auto title where everything takes place in one big city. It's not exactly a globe-trotting adventure to save the world from mega-corporations.
That's exactly what the goal is in most Deus Ex games. The narrative brings players to different parts of the globe from Hong Kong to Detroit. At times, it can feel even more epic in scale to Cyberpunk 2077 even though the actual playable area is smaller and gives less freedom.
8 Similarities: Multi-layered RPG
Both games are bonafide RPGs in their own right and as with all cyberpunk RPGs (with how few there are), they allow multiple styles of gameplay. In fact, they can even be more flexible than most fantasy RPGs in what they allow players to do.
In both Deus Ex games and Cyberpunk 2077, players can hack, go gung-ho, slice, or sneak their way out of everything. In Deus Ex, there is even the added bonus of talking your way out of a world-changing situation. Needless to say, the replay value of both games is through the roof.
7 Differences: Overarching Conspiracy Plot
One thing that Deus Ex arguably does better with its cyberpunk setting is making good use of its villains, namely the mega-corporations that control everything. In Deus Ex, there is always that mysterious feeling that something bigger than you is happening in the background, like in a Dan Brown book except with cyborgs and golden color grading.
Cyberpunk 2077, by comparison, lays out all its chips and cards on the table so you know exactly what's going on even if you only paid half of your attention span in listening to the characters. With all the shock the game throws at you right away, not many things can surprise you anymore as the 20-hour campaign goes by. This is where Deus Ex's slow-burn progression can pay off better.
6 Similarities: Both Are First-Person
When CD Projekt RED announced that Cyberpunk 2077 was going to be in first-person, view, they probably risked turning off many The Witcher 3 fans. That's because it made the game look and appear closer to Deus Ex than an established third-person RPG.
However, with how varied the gameplay is, Cyberpunk 2077's first-person view did a big part of heavy-lifting when it comes to immersion. Gun-play, for example, is a lot more precise in both games and it allows the developers to toy with optical augmentations better.
5 Differences: Gameplay Pacing
Deus Ex, despite having some more modern FPS titles released as recently as 2016, still stuck by its slow-paced roots. The original Deus Ex is notably different compared to more high-octane shooters such as Doom or even Half-Life.
Cyberpunk 2077, however, opted to have the best of both worlds. Its FPS guns-blazing playstyle can often be reminiscent of frantic shooter like Borderlands with so many things going on-screen. Even the cinematics are made to look like action film sequences, unlike Deus Ex's calmer approach.
4 Similarities: Branching Narrative Choices
As with most RPGs these days, having more than two endings is always a must. Both games flex their RPG strength in this regard and that asset would be freedom to pick which path to take in accordance with what the developers laid out, of course.
All the minor and major gameplay decisions you make in both titles from choosing who to kill to picking sides all add up to a personalized version of your own grand finale. It might be less apparent in Cyberpunk 2077 due to all the neon and fast gameplay but it's there.
3 Differences: Storytelling Themes
You don't even have to play both games to know what they want to tell. Simply seeing the trailers for either of them should indicate the tone they set. Deus Ex games have always leaned heavily toward idealism and politics, making its story more complex and intriguing.
Cyberpunk 2077 is less about philosophy and more about doing whatever you want in a futuristic simulation of spliced up Los Angeles or Las Vegas. It's like virtual tourism in that regard except the chances of death and getting double-crossed by everyone are higher
2 Similarities: Cyberpunk
Well, this one's already a given and it's even in the name of one of the titles. Both games are cyberpunk in name and nature. What sets them apart from sci-fi is that they're set in the near future and feature a more relatable society compare to the more utopian sci-fi worlds.
The main ingredient of cyberpunk genres will always be the insane gap between the impoverished and the elite despite all the high technology available. For that matter, this is the most highlighted part of the game's stories and in Cyberpunk 2077, it even takes center stage.
1 Differences: Their Perspective On The Near Future
Still, despite the cyberpunk facade, there's a significant discrepancy between Cyberpunk 2077 and Deus Ex's view of the near future. Deus Ex offers a more bleak and somber world that's always on the brink of war or apocalypse.
Cyberpunk 2077 seems to enjoy more of its vibrant neons and electrifying sounds more than anything where almost everyone is oblivious to the bigger picture and innocence as well as wholesomeness has little value. We'll leave it up to you which near-future to prefer.