Deus Ex GO is a beautiful new mobile puzzle game that’s totally worth your $5

Ahead of the release of the sci-fi RPG game Deus Ex: Mankind Divided later this month, publisher Square Enix has launched a mobile puzzle title that ties into the PC/console release, and it’s well worth your time and money.

You don’t have to be familiar with the Deus Ex universe to play Deus Ex GO, but you do need to have your wits about you to solve its increasingly complex puzzles.

The game is similar to Square Enix’s previous mobile chartbusters, Hitman GO and Lara Croft GO. It features turn-based gameplay that sees you navigate your way through rooms filled with armed guards, observing and trumping their movement patterns along the way.

There are 50 levels to hack your way through, along with a new puzzle being added each weekday. In keeping with the franchise’s storyline, protagonist Adam Jensen can use his cyborg augmentation to his advantage by manipulating the environment, using power-ups like invisibility cloaks and more. And yes, you can bump off enemies if you’ve got the necessary smarts.

A few levels in, I’m already hooked: Deus Ex GO’s gameplay is, like previous games in this mobile series, enormously addictive. You’ll often need to play the same level a few times to figure out the best way to traverse to the end of it without running into guards and turrets. The cyberpunk-influenced environments and character design, along with the beautiful low-poly art style make this a real treat.

In addition, you can also pick up Praxis kits for use in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided on PC and Xbox One (sorry, PS4 players) by completing tasks in the mobile game. These are consumable items that grant you skill points for augmenting your character.

Deus Ex GO has five of these available: Finishing the story mode gets you two of them, while clearing every level with Mastermind status (finishing each puzzle in a certain number of moves) earns you another. Two additional kits can be unlocked by completing your first and second sets of weekly puzzles. You’ll need to sign in with your Square Enix account on both games to claim your Praxis kits.

If you’ve been hankering for a decent new game to sink a few hours into on your phone, Deus Ex GO is a great choice. At $5, it’s not cheap, but then again you don’t have to deal with ads and paid power-ups. However, there are in-app purchases that unlock puzzle hints.

Deus Ex GO is now available on Android and iOS.