The Deus Ex Randomizer, an extensive mod for customizing playthroughs of the classic immersive sim, has just delivered something I'd never thought I'd see: A seasonal update for Ion Storm's twisty cyberpunk noir, complete with Halloween-appropriate level decorations and new, survival horror-themed modes.
The Deus Ex Randomizer has always gone above and beyond in how it remixes the immersive sim classic—at this point, it can serve as one-stop shopping for customized playthroughs with compatibility for multiple mods and extremely granular options for tweaking the game. You can choose how randomized the maps in a playthrough will be, and in what ways, with enemies, NPCs, objectives, passwords, and even start/exit points on the table. On the most extreme end, the "WaltonWare" mode breaks the game up into bite-sized chunks for quick play sessions, dropping you into random (and randomized) maps with a list of objectives that are more Jackass than immsim.
In the spirit of Halloween, mod author Die4Ever added in new modes and criteria predominantly inspired by survival horror games. You can now activate limited saves like the old Resident Evil typewriter ribbons, requiring you to find "Memory Containment Units" and save your game at computers or public terminals. There's also an option to make killed enemies rise as zombies after a 20-second delay, as well as a mechanic that lets you loot "costumes" from downed enemies to then wear around.
You also naturally get the de rigueur jack-o-lanterns and spiderwebs tastefully arranged on these familiar maps. My favorite new feature is probably "Mr. H," a beefy Terminator-type guy who will pursue you through the levels and who can't be killed, a clear homage to survival horror standbys like Resident Evil's Tyrant. All of these options come packaged in an umbrella "Halloween mode" or can be applied a la carte with other adjustments.
I'm also curious about the new zombies horde mode—a horde mode, in my Deus Ex? Welcome to 2024. The new Halloween tweaks also seem equally at home in the WaltonWare quick-hits mode as in a full playthrough of the campaign. The Randomizer is compatible with many of the other mods for best enjoying Deus Ex in the 2020s, and you can download the Randomizer over at Die4Ever's website.
