My stalling of Blasphemous continues. Apparently some time saving features - like teleporting between bonfires or getting the good ending while still being able to get rid of guilt - were added in a DLC. You just gotta donate an exorbitant amount of currency to a tithe box that you have no idea the function of without a Wiki. Sigh.

So instead of grinding currency I went back to Deus Ex: Mankind Divided to finish the DLCs. Desperate Measures was a huge disappointment honestly. Completely linear, extremely short and just clearly a main story mission shamelessly ripped out and sold separately.

A Criminal Past was an extraordinary DLC however. Solid probably 6-8h playtime, awesome level design, lots of actually impactful choices. The replayability seems high enough that I could definitely see myself going back for another run at some point.

This DLC disables your augmentations at the start, and while I don’t like the “lose all your abilities and equipment” trope (especially since it’s a repeat from the Human Revolution DLC) it didn’t bother me as much here. Probably because I took a substantial break between finishing the main story and coming back, so it didn’t really feel like losing abilities.

Pretty early on the DLC gives you the option of using an item to regain the use of your augs, however, it’s heavily implied that doing so would lead to negative consequences so I abstained. For the most part, this was fine. I was actually extremely impressed by the level design, which was well thought out enough to accommodate stealth without augs… except perhaps for the prison riot. I have no idea how you’re supposed to navigate that unseen and non-lethal without augs. But I probably missed something.

Regardless, it was an awesome experience all told, and continuing the trend from Human Revolution once again a DLC is the best part of the game in the New Deus Exes.