Scarcely two months after its initial release, the first substantial piece of downloadable content for Deus Ex: Human Revolution is now available for download (or will be very soon). The Missing Link, as it’s called, isn’t so much a side story as it is a piece of fiction which, when put in the context of Human Revolution’s overall storyline, ends up being close to indispensible. It’s got new and interesting characters, it’s got better level design than anything in the main campaign, and it’s even got more of that philosophizing and conspiracy-laden shadow-talk that so many people love about Deus Ex. At the same time, while the quality of the gameplay in The Missing Link is as good as Human Revolution‘s best, it’s also not particularly lengthy, and there aren’t any new augmentations, weapons, upgrades, enemies, or other toys to play with. Players who want to get deeper into the lore and gain a better understanding of how Human Revolution fits into the overall series continuity will love what The Missing Link offers, but, in light of its $15 USD price tag, those concerned with more material additions may find it to be lacking.
The Missing Link begins aboard the Belltower cargo ship that Adam Jensen boards during the main storyline of Human Revolution. In the “original” storyline, Adam’s journey within one of the ship’s stasis pods was depicted as unremarkable, but The Missing Link retcons that detail into an entire plot thread of its own. Turns out, Adam Jensen is quickly discovered while stowing away, shackled to an EMP-laden chair, and violently interrogated by the delightfully unlikeable Commander Burke. Due to a power fluctuation, Adam is soon able to break out of his bonds, but an initial attempt to escape the cargo ship is complicated by new orders presented to him by a mysterious hacker. One thing leads to another, and soon Adam finds himself infiltrating an offshore facility which is far more than the innocuous fueling station it appears to be.
To get too much into detail would spoil much of the fun in The Missing Link, but suffice is to say that throughout the story, Adam will have to make a tough choice, will meet some interesting new allies, and will come across far more callbacks and references to the original Deus Ex than he ever did in Human Revolution‘s original campaign. I’d honestly go so far as to say that even the writing is a lot more self-assured and interesting this time around, as well – that might be partially due to the more self-contained plot arc, but I think it also reflects that Eidos Montreal know exactly what they’re aiming for this time around, and the result is a story which fits in well both with Human Revolution and the original Deus Ex.
This is, for fans of Deus Ex, The Missing Link‘s strongest element. If you felt that Human Revolution was lacking in top-secret laboratories and high-tech military compounds to explore, you’ll feel right at home in The Missing Link, which features a set of sufficiently “Deus Exy” environments, everything from the initial cargo ship, to a large warehouse area, to the bowels of a sufficiently sinister lab. Many of these areas recall, at least in spirit, some of Deus Ex‘s most memorable locations, and I had a lot of fun playing through them. Even so, The Missing Link also manages to be interesting in its own right, without becoming overly derivative or forgetting Human Revolution‘s own art style, atmosphere, character interaction and its other strong points.
On top of that, the level design in The Missing Link far outclasses that of Human Revolution‘s. While there aren’t any absolutely massive and open environments to explore, and the initial section aboard the cargo ship is a bit on the linear side, the offshore platform is thoroughly entertaining to explore, featuring multiple levels, a good balance between large open spaces, corridors, and offices to sort through. Considering that you’ll find yourself poorly-armed and scrounging both for new Praxis Kits to regain your augmentations, as well as ammo and weapons to fight the heavy odds, exploration also feels much more crucial, and I never found myself with “too many” supplies or a lack of opportunities to use them.
The tactical choices the levels provide are also a bit more nuanced than anything in Human Revolution‘s original campaign, with the obvious “stealth path, combat path, social path” setup many levels revolved around being all but gone. Instead, environments feel less “gamey”, with the gameplay agnostic to various approaches, while still permitting all of them. Consequently, the choices you make in progressing are more significant. Unlike Human Revolution, I was far more tempted to vary my play-style with the different opportunities available, rather than simply adhering to the framework the designers had laid down for me. In short, it’s much more confident and in line with the strengths of the original Deus Ex, trusting the player to make the calls rather than dictating them from a design document.
As far as visuals and sound go, everything on hand is top-notch in
The Missing Link, easily rivaling the quality found in
Human Revolution. The sheer amount of new environmental artwork, ranging from the constant torrential downpour blanketing the ocean, to the innards of the Belltower cargo ship, to the secret laboratories deep underwater, all serves to make
The Missing Link fresh and distinctive. Small details, like the photographs in various offices throughout the environments, and supply stashes hidden under stairwells by workers, also give
The Missing Link the same lived-in quality
Human Revolution displayed throughout. Eidos Montreal’s artists and level designers really deserve a lot of credit for crafting such a densely detailed and artistically consistent world, without falling prey to the “copy-paste” design seen in some other games.
Similarly, the new selection of voice actors are all well cast with the roles they play, each giving real life and personality to their respective characters. The rest of the audio work is just as effective as anything in Human Revolution‘s main campaign, with both a strong sense of ambiance and tense, dynamic music during the appropriate sequences. Unfortunately, Eidos haven’t done anything to spruce up the characters’ dialogue animations, so people still move like marionettes during conversations. It’s a shame, because the rest of the package is excellent otherwise.
So now that the good is out of the way, what sorts of issues does The Missing Link have that might cause a Deus Ex fan to skip it over? Honestly, there aren’t that many, which is unexpected for a DLC released so shortly after the game itself. First, there is, overall, a general lack of new weapons, and neither are there any new enemies to fight or items to tinker with – personally, I didn’t mind, as I was more concerned with regaining the equipment and augmentations I’d lost, as well as trying to tackle difficult encounters without as many tools at my disposal, but some players might want more than just additional story and more refined gameplay. Second, there isn’t much in the way of side-quests, and the main plot thread is decidedly linear, even though the environments themselves aren’t; this means certain sections are blocked off from time to time using some occasionally rather artificial means, i.e. impassible doors. Additionally, not all of these side quests are equally well integrated into the story, with one or two of them seeming more like excuses to justify achievements – more real story impact to these would have been appreciated.
Third, there’s the issue of length and price. The Missing Link, while not exactly short, can be finished up in about four or five hours. Considering the asking price of $15 USD, this might be a bit short for some players, but in my opinion, the sheer quality of The Missing Link, and the importance it has in relating to the overall Deus Ex universe, help justify the steeper price tag – frankly, it’s rare to see DLCs that don’t cut corners, and The Missing Link is just about as well-polished, bug-free and genuine an add-on as I’ve seen in a long time. Still, at $10 USD, The Missing Link would be a no-brainer for just about anyone; at $15 USD, it passes over that thin line and into “for fans only” territory.
Last, unfortunately, The Missing Link does not actually fit seamlessly into the main storyline – rather, it is only accessible as a menu option when playing Human Revolution. That means that your unique version of Jensen won’t carry over, nor will any equipment and new augmentations gained while playing The Missing Link end up in the final stages of the main game. To me, this is a fairly big let-down. The Missing Link, if better integrated into the original campaign, would have helped improve the pacing and evolution of gameplay significantly. As it stands, it’s positioned more as a “bonus mission” than anything else, and that’s a bit of a shame. Having both the option to play directly from the main menu as well as to simply start it up automatically during the storyline would have been the best of both worlds, though I suppose that from a technical standpoint, it’s understandable why Eidos Montreal avoided doing so.
So, in short, The Missing Link provides more of the same great gameplay Human Revolution did, and improves on it by offering up some interesting new environments to explore, better-designed levels and gameplay scenarios, and a story which is, frankly, fairly crucial to those who want to better understand the big picture of Deus Ex‘s universe. At the same time, its fairly linear, mission-style structure, not-so-seamless integration with the story campaign, and what could be seen by some as a lack of sheer value might be enough to keep some players away, but overall, the positives still far outweigh any downsides. The Missing Link certainly lives up to its namesake, and, whether it’s more DLC, a full expansion pack, or even a Human Revolution sequel, I’m eager to see what Eidos Montreal have planned for the future of Deus Ex.
