Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Aside from the smaller-feeling plot, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided improves upon its excellent predecessor in every other way.

Narrowing its scope may make purists moan, but we've never played a more enjoyable Deus Ex. [Oct 2016, p.91]

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided provides an interesting and at times thought provoking story which is set in a detailed and immersive world that is begging to be explored. The lack of character development in some of the enemies, the occasional technical issues, and the ending which leaves too many questions unanswered are blemishes, no doubt, but for anyone looking for a rewarding single-player experience the variety of gameplay and replay value on offer makes Mankind Divided an easy recommendation.

Overall, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a remarkable experience despite the performance issues and odd multiplayer mode which is basically an excuse to incorporate microtransactions into the game. It’s one of the best stealth titles I’ve ever played and isn’t daunting or frustrating like, let’s say, Hitman.

From a masterfully designed plot with twists and turns, a musical score and audio environment that is one of the best you could hear, to an emotional development of the narrative content on a psychological level, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is one of the best games for 2016 so far.

Eidos Montreal chose to improve rather than innovate over Human Revolution, and this approach paid. With high freedom in missions execution, a compelling story and great levels/environments design, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a must have for any cyberpunk stories lover.

The complex and engrossing world of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is one that sinks its teeth into you right from the beginning, and as you journey through it you never want it to let go. We had to wait awhile for it to finally arrive, but our patience was rewarded with a definite game of the year contender.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is an impressive sequel to the brilliant Human Revolution. In the grand scheme of things, there are very few monumental changes, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? And everything that was broken in Human Revolution? It’s all fixed. Held back from true greatness by the odd grumble here and there, Mankind Divided is worthy of anyone’s time and money.

I'm left hoping that Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’s developers have an aggressive post-launch plan to continue the game’s story beyond its surprising endpoint. It’s a mottled cherry dropped on top of a game that otherwise makes for subtly major evolutions of action-RPG spaces, and for a world as interesting as Deus Ex’s, it would be a crime to leave it where it stands for another five years.

Of the ‘all-time classic’ variety. Before the release of 2011’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution, a lot of fans of the 2000 original were left wondering if it would be a watered down Deus Ex-lite. It wasn’t, with many of the core tenants of the original, from being able to choose how and when to engage in a combat situation, through to deciding which skills you should develop, carrying over to Eidos Montreal’s surprise hit.

The Deus Ex series has a great storyline, and it paints a compelling, serious vision of the future that we should all consider to be a warning, given our own divisive political climate. I love how a video game can bring up a serious subject and hold up a mirror to our own times. But the ending makes it feel like this story just isn’t finished, that it’s simply a midway marker to a larger, more weighty tale with a full and satisfying ending. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided takes us only part way there, and we still want to get to those enemies in the shadows.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a superb experience from start-to-finish that cuts itself short long before it feels appropriate to do so. There’s a stinger twist ending that sets up an inevitable sequel, but it’s difficult to be excited when it feels like I should still be playing.

Mankind Divided is neither as revolutionary as Deus Ex was 16 years ago nor The Witcher III and MGSV were just last year. That doesn't change the fact that it's a brilliant Deus Ex, giving you a rich, exciting cyberpunk world, a compelling storyline within it, and the freedom to explore it almost any way you wish...In terms of both stealth and combat it's a big improvement on the last game, while it still has the deep storytelling and lavish background detail we've come to expect. If you're in a mood for a dark, sci-fi conspiracy thriller with some meaty themes, put those mirrored shades on your face and get stuck in.

Adam Jensen's return is largely successful, even if the conspiracy surrounding him could've been a little more engaging.

The narrative is often a slog (though it can be interesting and heady at times), and it devotes too much time to world-building and setup. As much as the game tries to highlight different walks of life, all of the characters, even Jensen, end up looking like faceless beings used to dump lore onto the player. I like seeing games tackle difficult subject matter, but that message, while occasionally coming through loud and clear, is ultimately lost in this dull and slow-moving story. It starts off with a bang, but quickly becomes a muddled mess of politics and techno-babble.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a decent sequel, but it's not the game that we were hoping for. There's a lot to like, but a lack of polish, a short runtime and a missing wow factor keep it from being great.