Only four characters in the game need to die by Jensen’s hands, in the game’s four boss fights, and those moments are Deus Ex at its weakest.
Michael Gapper,
CVG
There are boss fights. They are terrible. And they cannot be avoided.
Tom Francis,
PC Gamer
It also has a few terrible boss fights where you are forced to use direct confrontation.
Tom Bramwell,
Eurogamer
It sucks that they’re there at all, and it sucks more that they’re all so boring and tedious, lacking even the grace of a classic Nintendo boss fight that at least contains a logical path.
John Walker,
Rock Paper Shotgun
Our choice to take non-lethal stealth options wherever possible was supported without a hitch for the opening six or seven hours, but then the game rudely deposited us via a cutscene in a face-to-face arena battle with a foe who could sustain more damage than we had ordnance to fire at him.
Edge
The “bosses,” such as they are, yield comparatively disappointing and ‘gamey’ results.
Arthur Gies,
IGN
In the category of amateurish blunders, however: mediocre, grenade-spamming boss fights that don’t do much to reward ingenuity on your part.
Ludwig Kietzmann,
Joystiq
It’s a shame that the game forces you into a boss fight every so often, because elsewhere you’re completely free to avoid combat altogether.
Neon Kelly,
Videogamer
The boss battles are the biggest letdown in the game.
Jeremy Parish,
1UP
I don’t know why game designers stick to this trope of insisting that progress in a game is measured by boss fights, especially discordant for a game that allows, and even encourages you to avoid confrontation.
Geoffrey Tim,
Lazygamer
Sure, taking the life of a big bad is satisfying, especially behind Jensen’s lethal limbs, but it also feels too videogame-y in a title that so often breaks conventions.
Matt Cabral,
Atomic Gamer
Not only does forcing you to shoot feel out of place in a game that generally rewards you for keeping your foes alive, but the fights also aren’t that fun on their own terms.
Kevin VanOrd,
Gamespot
Taking me out of the thoughtful planning and stealth maneuvers I had carefully crafted my augmentations to enhance to fight old-school, patterned bosses by hammering on them with heavy weapons is a major buzzkill.
Tom Price,
GamePro
Combat is most disappointing in the boss battles
Andrew Reiner,
Game Informer
The boss-battles are the reason why Human Revolution hasn’t quite managed to achieve our ultimate five-star grade.
Steve Boxer,
The Guardian
Four abysmal, trite and utterly inappropriate boss battles against heavily augmented bad guys threaten to undermine everything the game stands for.
Tom Hoggins,
The Telegraph