For a series that used to be defined by a singular blend of tongue in cheek cynicism and genuine sincerity, it's incredibly disappointing to see the latest title continue the series' trend of removing any personality. Characters are stale and lifeless, never changing or developing throughout the 12 hour campaign. Any conflict between characters is resolved within ~30 minutes (I won't spoil, but Rivet has an argument with one of the characters in the late game and it is laughable how little this third act conflict affects anything). Rivet is the biggest missed opportunity here; there were so many interesting directions to explore but instead, they opt for making her a copy of Ratchet. There are a few lines of dialogue alluding to the idea of her isolated lifestyle causing problems when it comes to working with others but nothing comes of this. Ratchet gets it even worse than Rivet, as he doesn't even get an under cooked conflict or really any development at all. There's a few minutes in the second act dedicated to him being scared of connection but, again, this amounts to nothing. There are no peripheral characters that leave an impression, unlike the original games which were stuffed with entertaining side characters. These games used to be cutting and use humor to discuss (admittedly basic) ideas about consumerism, but none of that is here now.

It's not all bad though. In fact, a lot of it is excellent. Pacing is swift as you hop from planet to planet with a real sense of urgency. The vast selection of weapons allows you to approach combat in a multitude of ways, especially when the harder difficulties force you to think quickly about your strategy (it's miles better than the 'jump and shoot' formula of Ratchet and Clank 2016). The game is stunning, with every world given a richness by the astonishing attention to detail. Set pieces rival Naughty Dog at times with their grandeur and cinematic style. I love everything that isn't the story and writing, which is what makes this all the more frustrating.

This game's next gen graphics, visuals and performance just wasn't enough to keep me going. Rift Apart is devoid of any real personality. It's as formulaic as a Disney film without any of the charm.

The platforming is non-existent, with invisible walls and floors you can clip through present in every area. The music is nondescript and even weirder is that most areas once completed don't have any music, helping contribute to the lifeless energy the game gives off.

The writing and dialogue is completely inoffensive and stale, and the characters won't stop talking as you play. Rather than the music and sound effects taking center stage as you explore these alien lands, instead you have the main characters and enemies permanently jabbering and yelling. It seriously never stops.

The combat is serviceable but even on the hardest difficulty it's mindless. Almost 50% in I never had any trouble defeating an encounter or boss.

Given the visuals and the price, I tried my best to see this game the whole way through, but when booting up a game makes you go "ugh" out loud, it's probably time to stop.

What makes Deus Ex so impressive isn't just the amount of choices you're given, it's the way that they're presented to you and how they entertain your curiosity. When the game responds to your decisions from such an early point, it sets the tone of the rest of the experience: if it'll call you out for something as inconspicuous as messing around with the bathrooms, what else is it going to track? What other actions can you get it to react to?

It's this relationship of your curiosity being encouraged and then rewarded that defines Deus Ex. Although there are extrinsic bonuses for exploration (upgrade points, weapon mods, etc.), most of my motivation was intrinsic. There was never a time where I stumbled upon an unlocked vent and didn't want to see where it lead. Deus Ex's story deserves its own review, but the gameplay is about you and the designers. It's about inspecting every painting in a building and trusting that one of them will have a secret vault behind it. It's about lockpicking your way into a building at the front door before stopping yourself and asking "Wait, I bet there's another way" and reloading your save to see how else you can break in.

Sometimes it's very unbalanced, occasionally frustrating, jarringly unintuitive (especially considering the extended tutorial sequence), many aspects that would normally hold it back. But it doesn't need to be perfect, because these issues ultimately become drowned out as you're constantly making new decisions, answering new questions, and testing how mechanics interact with each other. Your imagination keeps being sparked and once you reach a certain point these shortcomings will suddenly stop mattering--nothing can break that unstoppable desire to see what the game has to offer next as everything finally clicks together.

This is, again, not even beginning on the story, atmosphere, or especially the music (because holy shit the OST is phenomenal). The gameplay alone is fantastic but the experience as a whole is just as special and is absolutely worth your time if you can get past some initial frustrations. The payoff is worth it.