One of the narrative's main influences is the myth of Icarus, featured in some of the trailers and the beautiful theme song. It's a theme seen in both DX1 and HR, along with conspiracy theories, mega-corporations, surveillance, liberty, technological progress affecting social classes, and others. The story suffers from a rushed ending, but its numerous themes are well-explored, and the side-missions do a good job fleshing out the setting.

Human Revolutions's gameplay follows the series' pillars: a versatile combination of FPS combat, stealth, exploration and social interaction, albeit with a different execution. The level design also follows similar principles, but areas are less open-ended in favour of more detailed environments. A surprisingly good hacking mini-game was added and plays an important role, while the new dialogue system makes conversations play out like a puzzle.

Combat as a whole is improved as well, but some mechanics can make it a bit too easy, mainly the cover system, takedowns, and the XP system. The game is played in a first-person view, but entering cover switches it to a third-person camera, allowing players to peek around corners and see what's behind them. It's an optional tool, but many areas were designed around it, so some may find it awkward to avoid using it.

The takedown is the game's only melee attack. Available in lethal and non-lethal forms, it quickly neutralises any non-boss target (or two, with an upgrade) in a single attack, during which you cannot be detected or harmed. The game plays fine without it, so players wanting more challenge can ignore it entirely.

The game offers experience rewards for finishing a mission completely undetected and without raising alarms, but other rewards don't feel so appropriate.