High Value Augmentation: Deus Ex Go Will Have a User-Created Puzzle Maker

Eidos Montreal's Deus Ex GO is upgrading itself one step past its predecessors, Hitman GO and Lara Croft GO, by introducing one surprise element: a puzzle creator. Scheduled to release through a patch a short time after Deus Ex GO launches this summer on iOS and Android, the puzzle creator will give players the ability to craft their own devious puzzles. According to game designer Etienne Giroux, in an interview with GameRevolution at a private event, this will naturally extend the content of a puzzle-based franchise that's very limited in replayability esepcially once you've finished all of the puzzles.

Like other GO franchises, Deus EX GO will feature Adam Jensen from Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the upcoming Deus Ex: Mankind Divided attempting to reach the end of a map in turn-based fashion. Moving from one point to another on a triangular grid, Adam must get past guards and turrets that can knock him out in one hit with one wrong step. To keep in line with the Deus Ex name, Adam will need to trick guards and robots by cloaking, hacking turrets and floors, and activate an EMP blast.

Having played a handful of puzzles myself, though, I can say that the solutions can be quite tricky. Some puzzles have red herrings—elements that are there to distract you—and sometimes you'll need to block a turret with a guard. But the puzzles are small enough in size that you'll eventually solve it if you poke at it enough times through trial and error.

As you complete each section of the main story, which introduces new mechanics and pieces (turrets, terminals, etc.) in steady fashion, you will progressively unlock these same pieces in the puzzle maker. You can then design your own puzzles, using an editor that's pretty much the same one that the developers use to design the game, that will hopefully stump other players and impress the developers.

Since you'll need to solve your own puzzle before you upload it, the success of your puzzle will partly depend on whether other players can solve your puzzle in the same or a greater number of steps that you did. If they can solve it in fewer steps than you, your solution might be too easy. The success of the puzzle will also be determined on how many players like your puzzle. The developers will take all of this into considering when featuring the best user-created puzzles during the week.

Now, of course this user-created puzzle maker doesn't mean that Eidos will be sitting on its laurels. Eidos Montreal plans on introducing five new levels to Deus Ex Go on a weekly basis with each puzzle going live on the weekdays.

Like other GO titles, you can purchase solutions for a small fee if you wish (but that's just admitting failure, really), but the game will have a set price tag likely around $5-10 without players needing to purchase any microtransactions. And with the puzzle maker, you can expect Deus Ex GO to last you for a very, very long time.