Mission 1:
Prologue
The year is 2025. In a high-rise office, a man in a suit is holding a videoconference with several other high-level conspirators.
The man asks if everything is ready, and an unseen female tells him that they have secured broadcast satellites in preparation for a "recall", and another informs him that the "clinics" are also under their control. As the group discusses whether or not to wait for a referendum to enact their plan, the man receives a text message asking if he has reviewed a female scientist's research and a gene sequence the group needs, and he replies in the affirmative.
The man tells the group that by going public with the gene discovery, a man named David Sarif has forced their hand. Although the group agrees that they should wait until a biochip has been introduced to the market before they act on the plan, the man sees a text message asking if the scientist is out of reach...
Some time later, a female anchor named Eliza Cassan is seen on television announcing that protestors have gathered in front of the Capitol Building in Washington to ask Congress to restrict the advancement of biomechanical technology. She also notes that David Sarif will be arriving in Washington the next day to defend their claim and explain how biotechnology can be made available to everyone.
Adam Jensen, Sarif's head of security, is on his phone finalizing details for their trip to the Capital, while his ex-girlfriend and scientist, Megan Reed, ponders the newscast nearby. Adam attempts to calm her nerves at presenting in front of Congress. She notes that her discovery is unprecedented, but the moment is interrupted when Sarif calls them to finalize the security plans. Megan assures him that her and her team are ready to go. Adam is called to his office, and Megan escorts him.
As they walk through the Sarif laboratories, Adam asks Megan what she meant about how she discovered the breakthrough gene sequence. She dodges the question and tells him that he's overthinking the situation. They continue through the labs, and are stopped by a doctor named Sevchenko, who introduces her to a military general named O'Neill. The general asks her about the progress of a device called the Typhoon, and Sevchenko tells him that it is a modified combat chassis that fires out micro-explosives as they walk off. Sevchenko demonstrates the power of the Typhoon before Adam and Megan leave.
Megan stresses that biomechanical augmentations will improve everyone's lives on an elevator, and again attempts to tell him something about her research. They are again interrupted by Sarif's resident tech expert, Frank Pritchard, who gets on the elevator and mentions how he's going up to talk with the receptionist. Megan leaves to make last-minute preparations and Pritchard and Adam continue on.
Pritchard criticizes Adam's lack of understanding of how firewalls work, but Adam informs him that he's not as dumb as thinks. Pritchard heads out and begins talking with Sarif's receptionist about a new group of encrypted trackers while Adam enters Sarif's office.
Inside, Sarif is imploring one of his aides to have a noted Nobel Prize winner named Hugh Darrow join him at the senate hearing. He welcomes Adam and asks if everything is in place, and the latter affirms it. Sarif launches into an explanation of how Megan's discovery will unlock the power of the human genome, but before he can explain further, a environmental system alert appears on the screen behind him. Sarif asks Adam to investigate the situation, and the latter heads to an elevator and takes it down.
Onroute to the labs, Pritchard reports to Adam over comms that Megan's GPL implant shows that she's running through the labs. Adam pulls out his assault rifle and begins moving through the labs.
As he heads through the area, he finds numerous dead bodies. At the end of one corridor, he sees a scientist begging for help from behind a reinforced glass partition. Suddenly, an armored man storms through the hallway and tosses another scientist into the glass before killing the man who was begging for help and walking off.
Adam dispatches several mercenaries on his way through the labs, and also comes across a woman who seemingly teleports around killing scientists as they try to flee.
Just before he finds Megan, Adam is ambushed by an augmented mercenary who throws him through a wall next to where Megan is standing. Adam attempts to fight back, but is easily overpowered and is choked, but just before the mercenary can kill him, Megan throws a pot of chemicals at him as a distraction. Adam falls to the ground and watches helplessly as Megan is knocked out. The mercenary then picks up Adam's revolver, points it at his head and fires.
Adam is wheeled to the intensive care unit and is seen having visions of Megan. Biomechanical augmentations are implanted throughout the body to save his life, and Sarif assures the doctors that Adam's body can take it.
The augmented Adam arrives at Sarif Industries after coming back from sick leave. Sarif calls him to say that he's glad to see him back, but says that there is a hostage situation at a manufacturing plant that requires his attention. Adam goes to visit Pritchard to get his retinal aug fixed, and trades more dialogue with him while the latter discusses his imaging, radar and Regenerating Health augs.
Pritchard tells him that hostages have been taken at one of Sarif's manufacturing plants, and coldly says that maybe Adam can save people this time. When Adam confronts him on the matter, Pritchard reveals that he originally wanted other security contractors to protect the scientists during the Senate hearing, but Sarif wanted Adam instead.
Adam heads to the helipad and meets his new pilot, Faridah Malik. She congratulates him on returning back to work, and asks if he's ready. He tells her there's only one way to find out, and she explains that Adam will be sent in ahead of SWAT to contain the situation at the plant. Onboard, Sarif tells Adam that the terrorists who attacked the plant are pro-human purists who are responsible for firebombing medical clinics. When Sarif reveals that the terrorists attacked the plant after the Typhoon prototype was moved in, Adam angrily demands more information, and Sarif reveals that the head terrorist is a man named Zeke Sanders.
Sarif tells Adam that the main priority is to find and recover the Typhoon, then free the hostages and deal with Sanders. Adam disembarks as the Malik's copter lands on the roof...
Tropes:
- Air-Vent Passageway:
- Used by Adam to get around the partially-destroyed Sarif labs. Later lampshaded by Pritchard:
Did you get stuck in an air vent on the way over?- Yelena Federova also uses this during her exit after massacring the Sarif scientists behind the reinforced glass.
- Ancient Conspiracy: The Illuminati (overseen by Bob Page at this point in the timeline) are seen conducting a meeting in the opening cinematic.
- As You Know: The forced tutorial after you first gain control takes you through basic movement and combat commands, despite the character in question (Adam) being a highly-trained former SWAT operative who now heads up security for Sarif.
- Badass Longcoat: Adam is wearing one he arrives back from sick leave, although the coat is also designed to work with his augmentations.
- Beard of Sorrow: Adam grows one in the six-month interim.
- Call-Forward:
- The game begins with a shot of a statue and Bob Page engaged in a conversation with other conspirators, just like the introduction of the original game.
- The background music when Adam is walking into Sarif's office segues into a portion of the UNATCO Theme.
- The cutscene before the manufacturing plant mission is very similar to JC's first conversation with Paul from the original game. Sarif lays out the situation on the island, congratulates Adam on coming back to work and asks him whether he wants a lethal or non-lethal weapon.
- Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Much like the original game, a character calls out the protagonist if he walks into the woman's washroom.
- Cool Shades: Sarif's doctors installed a pair of retractable, skull-mounted glasses on Adam during his operation, which are activated by him when he walks into the Sarif building after returning from sick leave.
- Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Aside from the obvious Foreshadowing that the group in the opening cinematic will enact their plan after a biochip has been introduced, Eliza Cassan's report states that people are protest in Washington because they are worried that this discovery will cause widespread augmentation and a loss of free will.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Bob Page appears during the opening cutscene of the game, but the former's identity isn't a spoiler for anyone except new players. Just a couple minutes after this, Megan points out in ambient conversation that Page Industries has supplied very expensive and useful lab equipment.
- Emergency Transformation: Adam gets cybernetic augmentations installed in order to save his life.
- Foreshadowing: Almost everything mentioned in the prologue turns out to be important later on.
- Both the datapads in Megan's office and her own comments (about the mysterious "Patient X") reference that there's something she's not able to share with Adam...
- During the walk through the Sarif labs, Megan pauses to talk with several individuals on her team, including Nia Colvin and Vasili Sevchenko, who makes a reference to his own augmentations. Both these individuals will become important much later in the game.
- The one lab demonstration shown involves an item called the "Typhoon", a combat system that deploys shaped nano-charges out from a central point to kill attackers. Megan points out that it's several months away from getting a proper combat trial...
- An offhand comment is made about "Page Industries", a company owned by philanthropist Bob Page.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: Subverted. While there is a memorial in the Sarif building remembering Megan and her team, the other (unnamed) scientists who were killed in the attack aren't mentioned in the memorial at all.
- Holographic Terminal: Used by Bob Page in the opening cinematic.
- Insufferable Genius: Pritchard never misses an opportunity to point out how smart he is to Adam, even when it's not true.
- Moment Killer: Sarif butts in when Adam is sharing a lighter moment with Megan, while Pritchard interrupts when she is about to tell Adam about what led her to the gene breakthrough.
- Mythology Gag: The code for Sarif's private elevator is 0451, which is a Running Gag inherited from several Looking Glass Games titles (including the original game and System Shock 2), where the first keypad encountered always has the same combination.
- Neck Lift: The augmented mercenary does this to Adam just before Megan throws the barrel at him.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: The augmented mercenary does this to Adam by throwing him through a wall (causing him to be perforated with glass), beats him up, nearly strangles him to death (before Megan distracts him) and shoots him in the head. And Adam still survives it.
- Noodle Incident: Pritchard makes mention of a massacre in Mexicantown that resulted in Adam being fired by SWAT, though the details aren't revealed.
- No One Could Survive That!: One of the doctors working on Adam during the opening credits expresses this notion after seeing Adam's injuries and asks, "How thick was the glass?"
- The Omniscient Council of Vagueness: The five members Page is speaking to in the opening sequence. They have no video links, and are only represented by (distorted) voices and blank avatars.
- R-Rated Opening: The opening sequence is much more violent and visceral than the rest of the game, with Adam's injuries seen in great detail, scientists getting massacred and much more foul language heard from enemies.
- Scenic-Tour Level: The walk through Sarif's laboratories as Megan meets the other members of the team is all on-rails until the player gains control after the conversation with Sarif.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: Adam and Pritchard trade barbs back and forth just before the Sarif attack and after Adam has returned to work.
- Soft Glass: Notably averted. A scientist is thrown into reinforced glass at high speed, but this only cracks the glass. Later, Adam is thrown through a wall with windows, and has glass sticking out of his hands and body afterwards. One of the technicians working on Adam even lampshades this during the opening titles, by asking how thick the glass was.
- Sunglasses at Night: Adam's deployable glasses, which he activates when he first walks into the Sarif building (at nighttime, no less). This is justified by the fact that the glasses feature targeting and HUD augmentations.
- Super-Strength: The three cyborg mercenaries obviously have this, as one of them throws a scientist across a room and into a glass wall with enough force to crack the glass, while the lead mercenary performs a Neck Lift on Adam with one hand.
- Take Your Time: Notably averted. The tone of the first visit to Sarif Industries is very relaxed, with nearly everyone acting nonchalantly with Adam except David Sarif himself, who is urging Adam to hurry and get what he needs before they depart for the manufacturing plant. If you dawdle around, the hostages at the plant will be dead when you get there.
- A Taste of Power: Adam carries a fully-upgraded assault rifle, but loses the weapon after he's nearly killed after the attack.
- Technobabble: Megan goes into a long-winded explanation of the scientific process she used to discover the gene sequence during the tour through the Sarif labs, although Adam doesn't seem all that interested.
- Throw a Barrel at It: Megan throws a barrel full of caustic liquid at the mercenary to stop him from choking Adam to death. It only momentarily distracts him, but it's enough to get Megan off the Neutral Female list.
- Trauma Conga Line: Adam goes through both before and during the attack. Prior to the game, he was fired from SWAT after taking part in something called the "Mexicantown massacre", and could only find work with David Sarif after SWAT higher-ups decided to portray him as an unstable Jerkass who caused the whole thing. He's assigned to provide a security detail for his ex-girlfriend (who's revealing a revolutionary breakthrough in biotechnology), but before he can do anything, his workplace is attacked, a dozen or more of his co-workers are killed (supposedly including his ex-girlfriend), he gets thrown through a wall and is brutally beaten by an augmented mercenary, then has bioaugmentations installed to save his life (and without his consent to boot).
- Unwilling Roboticisation: Sarif makes the call to give Adam cybernetic implants after deeming that he is "no good like this to me". Adam has no say in the matter because he's gravely injured and near-death (text logs found later in the game more-or-less state that Adam's employment contract gave Sarif free rein to do whatever he wants with him).
- We Can Rebuild Him: Sarif's scientists, after Adam's near-fatal injuries.
- What the Hell, Player?: If the player goes into the woman's bathroom, Pritchard calls to admonish Adam for his actions.
