Deus Ex Remastered faces massive backlash as original art director criticizes Aspyr's Take: "Oh, what the f**k"
Aspyr’s take on Deus Ex Remastered has created an uproar of backlash online after its reveal during Sony’s State of Play on September 24, 2025. Many fans have criticized the updated textures, pointing out that the character models look “blocky and unfinished, turning what could have been an overhaul into a demake. However, that’s just fan outrage, as the original art director, Jerry O’Flaherty, also gave his two cents on Deus Ex Remastered.
Speaking on the FRVR Podcast, O’Flaherty weighed in on the remaster when it was shown to him, and he didn’t have any nice words to say about it. O’Flaherty said:
Oh, what the f**k. No. This did not need to happen. Sorry, whoever was involved. Oh man, yeah, no. If you’re gonna do it, yeah, alright, why not? Why am I judging?
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg as he continued to dissect the remaster’s attempted push toward realism, stating, “You wanted to lean into what the ending did well and don’t do the sh*t that it doesn’t do well.
O’Flaherty dubbed the 2000 Ion Storm cult-classic as “one of those rare projects… where the right group of people come together.” He also credited Warren Spector and lead artist Jay Lee for mashing together Unreal Engine’s strengths with Id Tech elements. This resulted in an immersive cyberpunk sim that has continued to influence countless stealth shooters to this day.
This move comes right after Embracer Group canceled a new Deus Ex project at Eidos Montreal in January 2024, just two years after development, and laid off 97 employees.
Deus Ex Remastered has been developed by Aspyr, the studio responsible for titles such as Star Wars: Bounty Hunters, early Tomb Raider games, and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2. So far, the remaster promises to update lighting, shadows, water physics, and particle effects, and to overhaul textures and character models, with better lip-syncing for dialogue.
Currently, Deus Ex Remastered is slated for release on February 5, 2025, on PC, PS5, Xbox Series S|X, and Nintendo Switch. Pre-orders are already live on Steam for $26.99, while the original Game of the Year Edition still goes for a low $6.99.
Amid the widespread backlash from gamers and developers like O’Flaherty, Aspyr Games has yet to respond. With only a few months left for release, Aspyr could make some tweaks to character models and textures to appease long-time fans of the original Deus Ex series.
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