Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Reviews
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Now that Eidos Montreal's Deus Ex: Mankind Divided has had a full month to sink in and its strengths and weakness have been more readily identified, it's time to sift through another round of reviews from across the web.
VG247 starts us off without a score:
I loved my time with Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and I fully intend to go back for more. Sure enough I wish it felt like more of a complete story or managed to use its more explosive social themes more effectively, but when you’re in the thick of it crawling through an air-vent like a sci-fi John McClane about to drop some serious but silent pain on an unsuspecting guard… it feels so good that the game’s shortcomings melt away.
Metro gives it an 8/10:
Graphically Mankind Divided is obviously improved over its last gen predecessor, but in gameplay terms the changes are evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Opinion will be divided on whether this is a great sequel or merely an adequate one, but it still maintains Deus Ex’s general reputation as the thinking person’s shooter.
Kotaku doesn't score it:
Despite its various shortcomings, Mankind Divided remains a worthy sequel to Human Revolution and one of the clearest signs yet that the immersive sim has returned to the top of the gaming heap. Whatever disappointment I felt about the limited narrative scope has been offset by the many surprises hidden in its wonderfully winding city hub. Whatever grumbles I groused about its heavy-handed allegory were offset by how compassionately it often depicted the people living in its fractured world. Whatever complaints I had about its wonky balance and deteriorating difficulty curve were offset by the fact that I’m having a better time with all of my abilities unlocked than I had the first time through.
Forbes doesn't leave us with a score:
There are problems worth mentioning. The “mechanical apartheid” concept plays well only occasionally, and feels flippant at its worst. It’s a setup for a sequel, and those are never terribly satisfying on a narrative level. It lacks the globetrotting panache of either Deus Ex or Human Revolution, and its focus on a single city makes everything play out a little smaller. On the other end of the spectrum, its loose and hard to follow narrative don’t quite deliver. At the end of the day, I didn’t fall quite as deep into this world as I did with those other two titles. Those are topics for later posts, but worth considering.
RPG Codex remains scoreless:
The game indicates considerable talent, and the writing team know their craft well. My hope is that the impressive story Mankind Divided intimates has been mostly written, and that subsequent additions to the franchise will adroitly fulfill the undoubted promise manifest here. Yet these games do not yet exist, and thus Mankind Divided remains a promissory note for a series of games which in combination may form a masterpiece. Unless and until that happens, this opening act, despite its qualities, cannot justify its own purchase.
GameRant gives it a 4.5/5:
Although Deus Ex’s flaws and few and far between, they do exist. The tense world of Mankind Divided is incredibly immersive, but unfortunately the cutscenes leave something to be desired. The voice acting is strong and fits the tone of the game, but the words fail to sync with the character’s lips so often that it becomes a distraction. In addition to the cutscene problems, the game’s narrative hints at a few plots and conspiracy theories that feel a bit like they are never really explored or answered. This isn’t a major problem and the primary narrative of the game definitely delivers in the 25-30 hour play through, but it just feels like there’s so much more to explore. That’s arguably a strength of the game and sets players up for some very interesting DLC or sequels, but there’s a chance that some players will wish there were more answers at the end of the game. Either way, the game is a must-play for fans of cyberpunk, action, and tension.
PC World gives it a 3.5/5:
Despite all that, I’m enjoying it. Usually these sorts of nail-my-hands-to-the-mouse-and-WASD review periods are a slog, sitting at a desk ten or more hours a day trying frantically to beat an embargo. But Deus Ex? I’m having a hell of a good time, and I keep looking up only to realize another hour’s gone by while I futzed around with a murder investigation or hacked my fellow officemate’s computers.
Trusted Reviews gives it a 3/5:
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.
RPGFan gives it a 90%:
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided had a tall order to fill. It had to be a successful sequel to Human Revolution while still being mindful of the timeline created by the original Deus Ex. In some respects, it was inevitable that Mankind Divided would suffer from "middle game" syndrome, but even though the story doesn't quite reach the same heights as its predecessor, the overall package is still an undeniably strong follow-up to one of the best cyberpunk RPGs of the past decade.
Telegraph gives it a 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.
TechReport remains scoreless:
If you're a completionist like me, and you just have to steal every possible credit chip and knock out every guard in existence, you'll love Mankind Divided, as it offers hours on hours of exploration. If, on the other hand, you plow straight through the main missions with relatively little regard for browsing around, the game may feel very short and leave you wondering why you paid $60 for it. Overall, though, I give the game pretty high marks—just be sure to do plenty of exploration to get your money's worth.
411Mania gives it a 9/10:
Even without Breach, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided would be a must-have title. It expands and enhances everything that made the last game great without sacrificing much. Sure, there may be some annoying microtransations, but they’re easy to ignore and still enjoy the game to its fullest. If you’re a fan of the series or have never checked it out before, MD makes it easy to hop in and experience the series to the fullest.
The Guardian gives it a 3/5:
It’s a shame that in a world obsessed with the conflict between man and machine, Mankind Divided’s characters feel more robot than human. Hopefully, Eidos Montreal has strong post-release support planned to fill in the absent third act. Regardless of this, the game’s broad level of creative opportunities, memorable infiltrations and beautiful attention to detail in such a visually interesting world make for a game that’s fun to experiment with again and again, despite its structural cracks.
SideQuesting is yet another scoreless one:
Mankind Divided almost feels like an unfinished product, and one at times too timid to really engage with the ideas it flirts with. Before it came to a close, though, I still enjoyed my time exploring the world and trying to unravel the conspiracies and get the most out of my robot arms.
LazyGamer gives it an 8.0/10:
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is still a Deus Ex game through and through, even if it doesn’t always manage to hit the same highs as its predecessor. But for all its faults, its numerous other triumphs made it utterly compelling to play through until the end.
PCGamesN gives it a "Passed" score:
Couple those oh-so generous graphics settings with a fully customisable HUD, ultrawide screen support and remappable controls and Mankind Divided really is a thorough PC port. Those frame-pacing issues grate slightly, but they’re a fairly minor issue when you consider the amount of technical wins this new Deus Ex stacks up. The game itself may be a little half-baked (especially when it comes to a lack of locations), but the PC version has been crafted with the utmost respect.
RPG Site gives it an 8/10:
When Mankind Divided's gameplay comes together it's an incredible experience. Excellent level design, diverse character skills and generally very tight gameplay design combine to make for a thrilling experience that takes place in a fantastically built world. The core story told within that world this time feels like a weaker one and ends even more weakly still, but that can't drag how impressive Mankind Divided feels to actually play.
WCCFTech gives it a 9/10:
Could it be better? Most certainly, as pointed out in the review. But Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is already great as it is, and you would be remiss to leave it hanging in physical (or digital) stores if you care the slightest bit about RPGs with a deep story, lots of choices and a cyberpunk setting.
And AV Club does the scoreless thing:
Mankind Divided is smart and dumb at the same time, approaching something of a narrative uncanny valley. It’s perfected certain features of good genre storytelling—the characters, the places, the look and feel of a fully realized world—to such an extent that what doesn’t work is noticeable and off-putting. It’s an eccentric, perpetually stoned friend who you can engage with for endless hours on anything and everything. Whether you choose to be bothered by their occasional assertions about chemtrails is up to you.
