If you’re looking to immerse yourself in a cyberpunk video game world, you can’t do much better than Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. This game was released in 2016 and still holds up as one of the best cyberpunk video games of all time, thanks to some impressive futuristic visuals and a well-constructed story. Yet, the game is far from perfect and has had its fair share of detractors. Read on for our Deus Ex: Mankind Divided review.
Developer: Eidos Montréal
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, macOS
Page Contents
What Is Deus Ex: Mankind Divided?
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is an action role-playing cyberpunk game that is the fourth entry of the Deus Ex series following on from the 2011 title, Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It is set in 2029, two years after its predecessor.
The game primarily takes place in Prague, though parts of the story see some events occur in London and Dubai. In line with the series’ cyberpunk elements, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided explores themes of elite secret societies, cybernetics, biotechnology, and unjust social division. A key aspect of the game is the divide between normal humans and augmentations, or “augs”, who are people that have technologically enhanced themselves.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was well received when it was released, and the game was praised for its gameplay, story and graphics. It was seen as a worthy successor to Human Revolution, but there is a general consensus that the story was too short, meaning the game’s characters were underdeveloped and one-dimensional. This has, however, left people calling for the release of a new Deus Ex game.
In this Deus Ex: Mankind Divided review, we will explain why the game is worth trying, and why it is one of the best cyberpunk video games available right now.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Story
In Deus Ex: Mankind Divided players take on the role of Adam Jensen, a human who became heavily augmented following an assault on Sarif Industries, where he worked as Chief of Security.
The game begins in Dubai, where Adam is undertaking a mission for anti-terrorist unit Task Force 29 (TF29), before being intercepted and attacked by a mercenary group of the augmented. Adam returns to Prague after the mission and becomes involved in a mission to discover who attempted to bomb the city.
Adam’s journey takes him on a trail of the illuminati, who have begun to use advanced biological weapons in order to kill high-level opponents to their causes. Struggling to know who to trust, Adam finds himself involved with the Augmented Rights Coalition (ARC), a controversial group that acts as a resistance to the abuse of the augmented. Adam encounters many twists and turs from here on in, and what follows is a truly engaging and well-constructed plotline that, deliberately or not, delivers messages pertinent to contemporary society.
The story in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is heavily rooted in cyberpunk and futuristic themes and attempts to evoke thought of societal injustice in the mind of the payer. Adam is a member of the augmented, a supposedly enhanced version of the human race as we know it. Yet, he and many other “augs” are segregated and looked down on as morally inferior by the game’s “normal” human population.
Is this a sign of things to come? Either way, it’s certainly food for thought and, if your imagination allows, it’s possible to predict a time in the not-so-distant future where this scenario could become a reality. This is why the cyberpunk genre strikes a chord with so many people and why we say in this Deus Ex: Mankind Divided review, that this game is one of the best cyberpunk video games available right now.
Without giving too much away in this Deus Ex: Mankind Divided review, it should be known that the story, however brief, is rich in content and emotion. The game also ends without a definitive conclusion, leaving the possibility of a new Deus Ex game being released in the future.
If you’re enjoying this Deus Ex: Mankind Divided review, you might also like our Observer video game review, another one of the best cyberpunk games available right now.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Gameplay
The Deus Ex: Mankind Divided gameplay is similar to previous instalments in the series. It is a first-person shooter with elements of adventure and stealth. Some animations in the game, such as taking cover and melee attacks, switch to a third-person view. Both open world and linear environments are incorporated into the game for players to explore.
Throughout the game, you will encounter various non-playable characters with whom you can interact with and will aid you in completing both main and side story quests. Completing more quests and discovering new areas will reward the player with experience points, enables players to upgrade Adam’s abilities. An in-game currency called Credits can also be acquired which allow the player to purchase item and equipment from black-market shops.
Players can adopt different strategies to progress throughout the game. Those of a more gung-ho disposition can violently enter situations all guns blazing, while those who favour stealth can equip themselves suitably to avoid the danger and silently eliminate enemies with non-lethal weapons.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Review – The Good
- Story: In this Deus Ex: Mankind Divided review, we have already discussed how good the story is, and it is worth reiterating. This action role-playing game has a good blend of action, stealth, exploration, and character development, all of which combine to make this one of the best cyberpunk video games of all time.
- Setting: Seeing Prague in a futuristic cyberpunk setting is definitely a highlight of the game. It is not the only location that you will are able to explore, but it is the largest one and acts as a base for you to go travel from to other areas throughout the game. It is quite easy to spend hours just roaming around the city and taking in the sci-fi vibes while listening to the citizens liaise with each other.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Review – The Bad
- Lip Sync: One aspect of the game that is noticeably flawed is the lip syncing. This is slightly disappointing, especially when you consider how good the voice acting in the game is.
- Length: A lot of criticism of the game was aimed at how short the story is. It is true that the main quest line is a little on the short side, but it didn’t feel like a problem for us as the content was so good. There is also a lot of exploration in the game which occupies a lot of game time.
Games like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
If you’ve already completed the game and are looking for a similar fix, there are plenty of other titles out there to try. Here are some more games like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided:
- System Shock 2
- BioShock
- Anachronox
- Thief
- Prey
Blog of Games Rating
You can probably tell from reading this Deus Ex: Mankind Divided review that we are fans of the title. Despite, this is still one the best cyberpunk games around. We award the game 8/10.
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If you enjoyed reading this Deus Ex: Mankind Divided review, you might also like our Resident Evil 2 remake review.
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