# Deus Ex

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/deus-ex/

34 people recommended Deus Ex in Hacker News comments, 4 had mixed feelings and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 12 months, in 16 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend Deus Ex for its freedom and influential design; the most common caveat is that it is not as good as memory suggests.

Summary written by Claude from 41 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Loyal fans who replay it (6 comments in the sample): "the OG Deus EX is by far the better game and one of the best games of all time" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49401181)) "Each time someone mention Deus Ex, someone reinstall it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49352802)) "By far one of my favorite franchises" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49390323))
- Pioneered the immersive sim genre (5 comments in the sample): "Spector being the progenitor of 2 entire very rich single player genres with Thief and DeusEx" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49345582)) "Deus Ex is Ultima X, it picked up and relit the torch that Ultima IX dropped in a puddle." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49346621)) "The Immersive Sim genre that he effectively pioneered is so underrated." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49346176))
- Open, freeform player choice (4 comments in the sample): "the first Deus Ex (same engine) it's almost an open world game with slight gaps" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46613644)) "so much player freedom that the devs actually accounted for" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49345991)) "anything in between - and have different outcomes/endings" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48299130))
- Still holds up today (3 comments in the sample): "stock mesh/texture Deus Ex has staying-power partly because everything is visually cohesive" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49848744)) "The really old games mostly work fine (e.g. system shock 2, original Deus Ex" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46260194)) "I did replay Deus Ex a few years ago and it still holds up" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49842349))

## What people warn about

- Not as good as remembered (2 comments in the sample): "Original Syndicate or Deus Ex - while playable - is not what I remember it to be" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45923398)) "the Deus Ex in my head was always far better than the one in reality" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49345386))

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Deus Ex", https://hackerapproved.com/p/deus-ex/ (34 recommend, 4 mixed, 1 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.