Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Reviews
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The first reviews for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the sequel to 2011's Human Revolution, are out today. Generally, the critical reception is favorable, but it's not nearly as positive as it was for its successor. Critics cite a rushed and underwhelming story, a single hub, and a lack of significant mechanical improvements when compared to the original.
IGN, 9.2/10.
Being able to leap, sneak, muscle, or hack my way into almost anywhere wouldn’t mean much if there wasn’t anything there worth discovering, but my feats of high-tech infiltration were always rewarded in one way or another. An innocent-looking curio shop might have a secret passage leading to a storage locker full of valuable items, or sneaking through a neighboring apartment might lead to you stumbling into one of the meaty multi-part sidequests.
It’s a little surprising that Eidos Montreal is willing to allow us to overlook those if we don’t search thoroughly because in terms of complexity and design these optional adventures are no less sophisticated than the main questline. You won’t find any simple hit jobs or fetch quests here; these are long-form assignments with lots of moving parts, and they require you to find one of several possible solutions at every step.
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Aside from the smaller-feeling plot, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided improves upon its excellent predecessor in every other way. Its impeccably designed environments are flush with possibility, remaining completely coherent while supporting a wide variety of routes and character builds, and Jensen’s prodigious new feats of techno-wizardry make add new dimension to both combat and exploration. Mankind Divided never stopped challenging me or rewarding my curiosity, which pushed me to thoroughly explore its beautiful, ruined world while carefully weighing my decisions along the way.
Polygon, 8.5/10.
It’s strange, having played Human Revolution and now Mankind Divided, and being struck with a sense that the former was somehow more grandiose than the latter. The levels in Human Revolution were almost certainly smaller, allowed for somewhat less experimentation and were more segmented. But the game went places, both story-wise and geographically, and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided feels like a yo-yo on a considerably shorter string.
But the most frustrating thing about Mankind Divided is how abruptly it’s all over.
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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 end point. 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.
PC Gamer, 88/100.
The writing is inconsistent throughout, with some fun characters (I enjoyed spending time with the jumpy Lone Gunmenesque editor of an anarchist newspaper), and a lot of forgettable ones—including an antagonist who says “We’re not so different you and I” completely unironically. The use of real-world history to give context to the segregation and prejudice in this world is heavy-handed—from “Augmented Lives Matter” slogans on posters to drinking fountains marked “augs” and “naturals”. It’s like the writers are constantly poking you in the arm and saying “Get it?”
I do get it, yes. And I get that science fiction, particularly cyberpunk, should hold a mirror up to our own society to reveal something about it. But Mankind Divided doesn’t have anything interesting to say, and its political and social commentary is about as entry-level as it gets. It has no message—other than, perhaps, “prejudice is bad”—and it reveals no hidden truth about, well, anything. And that’s a shame, because I feel like this setting is fertile ground for a great story. I just don’t think Eidos Montreal knows how to tell one yet.
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Mankind Divided is a great immersive sim with some of the best level design in the series, a wonderfully rich setting, and an enjoyably diverse range of augmentations to experiment with. I just wish there was a better story holding it all together. And even though the developers clearly worked hard on Prague, the lack of a second city hub was a big disappointment for me. I would have been happy with Prague being smaller if it meant getting to see another corner of this fascinating futuristic society. The original Deus Ex is still the high watermark, but Eidos Montreal is closer than ever to reaching it. The worlds it builds are incredible: it just need to tell better stories in them.
GameSpot, 8/10.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided refines and reinforces the defining foundations of the series. It creates challenging situations and gives players the tools and flexibility to deal with them in a multitude of ways, all within an absorbing cyberpunk world. Although not a significant departure from Human Revolution, Mankind Divided is still a uniquely fulfilling experience, one which feels rare in games today.
Giant Bomb, 4/5.
I'm left with the feeling that a sequel to Human Revolution could've told a more engaging story, but at the same time I had a really great time crouch-walking through Prague. It might not be an especially surprising sequel, but it all comes together quite nicely, with solid side missions and a mix of action and stealth that lets you mess around and find your own way of doing things.
Eurogamer, Recommended.
My standout moment came not during a blistering firefight, or while "recruiting" security 'bots to the cause, but during one of my frequent trips on Prague's metro rail. Segregation is in force here, with augs required to exit through the right turnstile and stand at the far end of the platform. It's a toothless measure in practice, as ignoring the signs will at worst earn you a nasty remark from a "natural", but the twist of the knife is that the game's HUD is complicit, always inviting you to use the departure board at the end of the platform. As a practised gamer, accustomed to going along with the HUD unquestioningly, it took me a while to realise that the interface was effectively discriminating against my character. More of that kind of thing, and Mankind Divided might have been a breakthrough. As things stand, it only continues the revolution.
Trusted Reviews, 3/5.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided could – and should – have been amazing. All the ingredients were there: an intriguing premise, engaging and mature narrative themes, solid gameplay foundations and a beautiful look. However, the rushed plot, nonsensical conclusion, under-developed characters and continued shortcomings in combat mean this is a title which fails to live up to its potential.
It maintains all of the gameplay qualities and faults of Human Revolution, but the flaws are masked by an initially intriguing storyline. However, when the plot falls to pieces, then comes to an end at a bizarre moment, all of those faults become glaring.
I was really hoping that this would be the title I’d spend most of the year playing, a game that could outshine many of the incredible games to come. Unfortunately, in the rush to get it to stores, many of Mankind Divided’s diamonds remain firmly entrenched in the rough.
Rock, Paper, Shotgun, scoreless.
Mankind Divided is a new version of one of my favourite games of all time and free from the execution problems that hampered that last iteration. The levels are bigger and prettier. There are no dumb boss fights. It gives you slightly more agency over its story. The new abilities are nice, even if they don’t dramatically alter the flow of the game. There still aren’t that many games like Deus Ex around and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is an excellent game like Deus Ex.
TIME, 4.5/5.
A final note about the story. While Mankind Divided‘s ideas and takeaways never aspire to the heights of cyberpunk writers like Gibson or Stephenson, it wrestles with material that’s at least dotted-line connected to what we’ve been thrashing out recently. We understand that at a scientific level race doesn’t exist, but what if we engineered in differences? Differences that separated cybernetic human beings from “normal” ones by evolutionary millennia? It’s a question already in the offing, that maybe starts with athletic performance enhancements before moving on to the looming “Internet of Biology.” In a world where engineered distinctions suddenly assumed profound biological meaning, what sort of society might we become?
Ars Technica, Buy.
DX:MD packs in more Deus Ex, mostly polished, with tons of plot that we don't want to spoil, a bazillion side quests and optional plot to sink your teeth into, a likable story, missions so good that I have described them to friends as "boss levels," and a free side game with a tolerable microtransaction system. I'm still shocked. August is usually the triple-A dumping ground of the game-industry calendar, but August hasn't seen a game this good in years.
Forbes, 8/10.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a strange game. It has nearly all of the strengths of Human Revolution, but in a smaller, shorter package. The relative length, and the overall lack of evolution from a game made five years ago is striking. There are minor improvements, sure, but given how long it’s been, frankly I expected a lot more. I don’t regret my time with the game as I love this world, and gameplay is still a lot of fun, but what was revolutionary five years ago seems rather ordinary now, given that so little has changed. I guess I didn’t need this game to be 20 hours with tons of away missions and multiple cities to explore, but you usually expect a series to expand with sequels rather than contract, and I haven’t seen this sort of thing often.
If you’re a fan of the first game, I certainly recommend this one as well. But in a competitive season, it’s hard to see Mankind Divided being as impactful or memorable as Deus Ex’s reassurance five years ago.
Videogamer.com, 7/10.
Mankind Divided hasn't lost the soul of a Deus Ex game. It has it in Jensen's home city, a fraught, sparkling, changeable place from which emerge stories both tragic and interesting, all proffered by NPCs who sound unfortunately (or possibly fortunately) like those meerkats in car insurance adverts. You move amongst them and their awkward facial animations, and can alter the course of lives, unseen. The rest of the game is somehow dull in comparison, and doesn't hit the heights it's reaching for. In going for detail and variety it often overshoots into complexity; where it wants to be insightful it's not as clever as it thinks it is. Mankind Divided isn't bad, but it already feels a few years old. There's even a neon-coloured VR-style hacking side game. That's not very Adam Jensen. He never asked for that. Neither did I. But we'll always have Prague.
The Telegraph, 4/5.
All of the game’s intrigue just suddenly flops to the floor like that party of revellers huffing on a gas grenade. I’m still keen to go through again and see how it plays out if I make different choices, both in conversations and in the field – maybe this time Jensen will leave the fridges alone – but Mankind Divided’s lofty goals are hampered by a weak story and an unwillingness to fully commit to the themes it portrays. Like Adam Jensen, this story feels like it’s had its limbs amputated and new parts grafted on, while the old parts were taken away and put into cold storage for the next game.
That disappointment aside, I do hope we get another sequel, as there just aren’t enough games like this being made – games that use systems to allow players to create their own stories. Video game narratives can be great, but nothing will surpass the stories we create in collaboration with a game – emergent, unscripted moments that pop up unplanned and create lasting impressions, and that’s where Mankind Divided excels.
GameInformer, 7/10.
I made an effort to connect to this world and tried to get into its extensive amounts of lore, but just couldn’t muster much excitement for it. 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.
The Wrap, scoreless.
Jensen knows there’s more going on, and afterward he discusses how now it’s time to go after the hands who were pulling the strings. I get it as the setup for a sequel, but that conclusion, or lack thereof, renders the experience of playing “Mankind Divided” totally unsatisfying while we wait for that sequel to arrive. It feels like the end of a TV pilot, except instead of the next part coming in a week it’ll be years, probably. Or, if we’re “lucky” the story will continue in chunks of downloadable content we have to pay for.
Which makes it hard to recommend “Deus Ex: Mankind Divided” right now. It had all the makings of a great video game, until it opted out of providing any sort of conclusion. For any game, that would be a knock on it. For the latest iteration of a franchise beloved for its storytelling, that makes “Mankind Divided” a huge disappointment.
PCGamesN, 7/10.
Despite moving to the Dawn engine, the game feels mechanically near-identical to the last game. Seeing as Eidos has had five years to broaden the series’ scope, the end result feels unambitious. That Mankind Divided is also shorter and less varied with its locales than Human Revolution is also a bitter pill to down.
But (and this is a biggie) in its moment-to-moment action, Deus Ex still thrills because it affords players so much ownership over how they choose to play. If this gets priced at around the £20/$30 mark in a future Steam sale, I’d recommend it without reservation. In the here and now, it’s merely a good, slightly compromised sci-fi adventure that’s not quite essential.
USGamer, 4/5.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a worthy follow-up to Human Revolution, which itself was a worthy follow-up to the original Deus Ex. Eidos Montreal has crafted a great stealth RPG that offers up some interesting moral choices for players. The studio's world building is amazing, from the cities you'll wander through to the small details that color them. It doesn't entirely stick the landing at the end, but I'll be damned if I didn't enjoy it all the way through.
Push Square, 7/10.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is an intricate, intelligent journey through a well crafted cyberpunk world. Eidos Montreal's creation tries its hand at many things, offering an impressive amount of player choice, but it struggles to excel in any one particular area. As a result, we're left with a game that's solid when taken as a whole, but flawed when analysed piece by piece. Still, a great art style, a compelling plot, and a rewarding sense of progression do a lot to bolster the experience, ultimately contributing to a successful sequel.
Hardcore Gamer, 3/5.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is the epitome of the phrase, one step forward, two steps back. I hate comparing it to Human Revolution as it was something special, but Mankind Divided feels like an underwhelming, repackaged experience. That’s not to say it’s a bad game as there’s a decently sized city to explore and the Breach mode is highly entertaining, but it’s a step down from a five-year-old game. Most of the supporting cast of characters never fully become developed, and it doesn’t help that there’s no stakes throughout the eight to twenty-five hour long campaign. No one is truly put in a situation of peril. Worst yet, the scenario layout for the main missions is easily described as uninspired, lazily slapping shortcuts all over the place. Granted, there are various ways to approach each area, but every single scenario is broken down in the exact same way where there’s far too many open grates to hide in and easily accessible security terminals to gain access to. Even the fantastic conversation system is less impressive due to it being underutilized this time around. Thankfully, the core stealth component is as exceptional as ever and even the gunplay is more of a viable option. This is aided with the additional abilities to Jensen’s already capable arsenal. Despite being a successor to Human Revolution, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided somehow ends up feeling more like a predecessor.
The Sixth Axis, 9/10.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is captivating from start to finish, giving players more freedom to make their own choices. Controls are sublime, whether you’re massacring the enemy or avoiding them; with enough tools to make both viable options. The take on a futuristic Prague is unsettling, yet hugely immersive, together with some interesting social commentary. It’s been a long time coming, but Mankind Divided was worth the five year wait.
Twinfinite, 3.5/5.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a stellar stealth first-person RPG, and Eidos Montreal has done a wonderful job of placing players in an immersive world that’s been plagued by Aug terrorism and fear. Aside from a few crashes at startup with the PC version, Mankind Divided is very much an enjoyable role-playing experience. The game’s characters aren’t all that memorable, and chances are, you won’t even remember their names after you’re done with your journey, but hey, at least playing around with the augmentations is cool.
God is a Geek, 9.0/10.
However you choose to play, Mankind Divided will satisfy. Solid gunplay and exceptional stealth are bolstered by a fun hacking mini-game and some interesting conversation mechanics, but those expecting a great leap forward from what has gone before in the series may be disappointed. This is very much more of the same, but the old “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” adage has never been more apt. Eidos have crafted a truly emergent experience in a varied and intriguing universe that is always eager to reward your efforts either with XP, collectibles or Easter eggs. Besides a few fairly minor issues and some cracks in the paintwork, Mankind Divided is a hugely playable adventure in a world that will stick with you every time you log off. Beautifully grim, relentless captivating, and humanly flawed, this dystopian vision is a compelling, tightly-crafted experience.
Digital Trends, 8.0/10.
While its desire to draw parallels with real-world issues lacks teeth, that criticism wouldn’t be worth making if this weren’t an enjoyable game. As an intricate, entertaining, and genre-bending action-stealth RPG, Mankind Divided lives up to the Deus Ex legacy. It may not quite meet its larger narrative ambitions, but it’s still a hell of a good time.
Bit-Gamer, 90%.
In a year filled with great games, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided looks like it could be one of the strongest, and it's tough to imagine a world where it's not on everyone's lips come game-of-the-year time. Deus Ex's world is denser than any I've seen in recent memory, and it's got the gameplay chops to match. But for now, as we edge towards a jam-packed autumn release schedule, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is game of the year.
BleedingCool, 8.7/10.
. If you are a fan of Human Revolution, this certainly is a very worthy chapter to follow it. The combat is incredibly varied, allowing you to really build your augmented super soldier how you want to, while the game’s universe and narrative are strong incentives to keep poking around every nook and cranny. Frankly, it doesn’t wrap up in a satifying way at all, but the quality of the world and the journey before shines through anyways, with great environments and clever side missions. While it certainly has its rough edges too, Mankind Divided cements this new, rebooted version of the Deus Ex franchise as a series we should defintely be paying attention to.
Xbox Achievements, 88/100.
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.
The Verge, scoreless.
The biggest question for any follow-up of a legendary game like Deus Ex is how it lives up to the original, even if Deus Ex was hardly perfect in its own right. In this case, I’m not sure there’s a good answer. Where Deus Ex was full of rough edges and non sequiturs (just wait till you get to the chupacabras), Mankind Divided feels somewhere between streamlined and simplistic. It’s a modest but well-executed improvement on an already-solid formula, an attempt at straight-faced political commentary that never delves too deeply into what it’s trying to say. It’s an open world that lets you do anything you want, until it cuts you off at the knees. But fortunately, it holds to the central tenet of pulp: even when things go wrong, they rarely stop being fun.
CGMagazine Online, 10/10.
From the smallest side quests to the most major story beats, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a true tour de force, a masterpiece of both game design and storytelling. It’s an increasing rarity for a game to be both fun to play and narratively complex, especially one from a major publisher, and yet here we are. By leaps and bounds, this is the finest title I’ve played in 2016 so far, and perhaps one of the finest I’ve ever played.
Mirror, 5/5.
Mankind Divided offers up everything you'd want in a modern top-tier video game. There's a well-acted narrative in there and more than just one way to work through the story. Weapons and modifications offer a huge level of depth for those that want it.
And finally, the futuristic, cyberpunk-military visuals just look great on both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One.
EGM Now, 8.5/10.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a return to form—but using a jump-off point as solid as Human Revolution was certainly a successful decision. Little is wasted in this clandestine RPG, and this compact adventure shirks some contemporary RPG practices to focus on its strengths. The story may be somewhat hit and miss, but if you’re here for gameplay, it’s tight, it’s diverse, and it’s fun.
IBTimes, 4.5/5.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided doesn't reinvent the wheel, nor does it need to. Compelling, tightly paced and most importantly, fun to play, Mankind Divided has created an exquisitely detailed world and now it wants to turn you loose in it. A stronger contender for Game of the Year in a year already filled with great games, what are you waiting for?
We Got This Covered, 3.5/5.
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.
