The Smart Evolution of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Sometimes, subtle improvements are the best kind.
My first time playing Deus Ex: Mankind Divided has me a little tongue tied. Not only is it the sequel to what is, in my opinion, one of the great games of the last generation, making it hard to bring realistic expectations to the table, but Human Revolution had this wonderfully thick, sexy sci-fi atmosphere, which is pretty hard to get a sense of from sitting down to play a mission or two of Mankind Divided out of context. Probably the best compliment I can pay it is that as a big Deus Ex fan, it hasn’t let me down, which really is high praise given how extraordinary the series has often been.
In my demo I had access to two full missions, and I was free to play and replay both of them as many times as I wanted – and I’m really thankful for that last bit. Especially played in a vacuum, it’s natural to jump into a vertical slice of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and just bull-rush through the most obvious path laid out ahead of you, especially since direct conflict has been improved so much. But once I started replaying and exploring, I found that Mankind Divided’s level designs, at least thus far, are even more dense with alternate paths and solutions than Human Revolution’s were.
This is, of course, great news. Level design is the unsung X-factor of a Deus Ex game, as providing the proper context for the different augments is the key to making character progression choices feel meaningful. The Dvali Theater level (which takes place roughly two thirds into Mankind Divided) does this with great success, providing both obvious and more subtle opportunities to leverage Adam Jensen’s many new wonderful toys.
I wasn’t really sold on the new Icarus Dash until I figured out I could use it for traversal in addition to its combat applications. Sure, quickly zipping out of an open, exposed space into a distant piece of cover in an instant has its uses, but not quite enough to get me to spend precious upgrade points. However, using it to quickly mantle up to a nearby landing without dealing with the guards on the steps, or even better, to dash between the rafters lining the ceiling, made it seem like a worthwhile investment.
The remote hacking aug is similarly useful in both combat and non-combat scenarios. Some cameras in Mankind Divided simply don’t have big enough blind spots to effectively sneak past, which means some paths through the level are out unless you want to let everyone know you’re there. That makes the ability to temporarily disable security cameras from a distance incredibly valuable – being able to bring a menacing security mech to its knees from the safety of cover is admittedly a nice cherry on top though.
Could I say that these tweaks and additions make Mankind Divided a wildly different experience than Human Revolution? Honestly, no – but I’d posit that wasn’t and shouldn’t be the point. There’s nothing “lazy” about this sequel. It may feel familiar, but it’s iterating on and evolving in so many ways – and on a foundation that was already beyond excellent. We still don’t know how all this will play once the hubs that connect these mission areas are in place, but so far Eidos Montréal is doing a great job of providing a solid framework within which to show off Mankind Divided’s many significant, if subtle additions.
