Deus Ex creators Let’s Play their masterpiece

If you’ve ever wanted to see Warren Spector, Sheldon Pacotti, and Chris Norden play Deus Ex and give commentary, now’s your chance.

17 June marks the 15th anniversary of Deus Ex‘s release, and Square Enix and Eidos Montreal have managed to get the metaphorical band back together for an hour of play. For those unaware: Warren Spector was the director and producer, Sheldon Pacotti was the lead writer, and Chris Norden was the lead programmer and assistant director. And now all three of them are playing Deus Ex on video and reminiscing about the game.

I haven’t watched the whole thing yet because it’s an hour long, but here are some bits of insight from the first few minutes: the pistol was nearly cut. That would’ve made for a… rather different game. Oh, and JC is so monotone because he’s meant to be the player and reflect the player’s feelings, and… well, it’s hard to know how the player’s feeling about anything. So, yeah.

While I hate those questions, Deus Ex is one of the first things that pops into my head whenever someone asks “What’s your favourite game?” or “What’s the best game ever?” Dreadful questions, and not ones I can ever definitively answer, but as games go it’s something a bit bloody special. This video seems more focused on Spector, Pacotti, and Norden’s thoughts and memories than it is on the game itself, so I doubt it’ll be the best introduction if you’ve never seen it before, but you might pick up a little something on why it’s so highly regarded.

The video is embedded below. I’ve no doubt that Square Enix have more planned for Deus Ex‘s 15th anniversary, what with Deus Ex: Mankind Divided due out in early 2016, so we’ll keep our eyes open for any further anniversary treats.