Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Ultima Underworld: The Stygia Abyss
Ultima Underworld is the forefather of modern 3D RPG titles, and its design is a blueprint that would be copied by a host later games that would reach notoriety. In fact, Ultima Underworld could be cited as inspiration for virtually any first person video game that incorporates RPG elements into its game design, and so we could have cited several of 2016’s big beside it.
Yet, games such as System Shock, and later the iconic original 2000 game, Deus Ex, were the first titles to emulate the FPS/RPG hybrid design that Ultima Underworld innovated, and have been more keenly remembered as the genre’s origins.
Deus Ex, of course, is a masterpiece of design in its own right, and is by no means a carbon copy of Ultima Underworld. On the contrary, Deus Ex carved its own legacy of player choice in gameplay, multiple endings through branching narrative, and a level of interactivity with the game environment previously unseen in gaming.
The part reboot/part sequel, Human Revolution, continued that legacy commendably back in 2011, despite being developed by an all new team, and the latest title in the franchise, Mankind Divided has reached similar critical acclaim. Nonetheless, the super slick cyberpunk title owes its FPS/RPG roots to a concept pioneered 25 years ago.
