Deus Ex Mankind Divided is another great game in the series and on-par with Human Revolution, albeit for different reasons.
Usually with the reviews of these games, I tackled the story first and then the gameplay, but this is a different case since I have a lot to say about the story, so i'll do the opposite instead.
Gameplay-wise, it somehow manages to surpass human revolution and I don't know how you could do that. The levels are even more open and intricately-designed now, so they are even more fun to explore and tackle in whatever playstyle you want. Instead of several hub worlds, you now have only one main hub world in the form of Prague, alongside separate levels. It's easily one of the best hubs in the series and it's packed to the brim with little details, NPCs, environmental storytelling, as well as their own fun little playgrounds where sidequests take place. Speaking of, the sidequests are an improvement from both a gameplay and writing perspective, compared to Human Revolution (sometimes they're more engaging than the main narrative itself). Augmentations from the previous game return, alongside brand new "experimental" ones. The new ones are a great addition and the returning ones feel more improved this time around. The experimental augmentations are...very powerful, something the devs were fully aware of. As a result, the game limits the amount of experimental augmentations you can equip and for how long you can use them, allowing for a customizable as well as balanced playstyle. Another big addition is a crafting system, allowing you to gather different parts to craft equipment that you would need to tackle objectives. There are also a ton of other great quality of life improvements, such as the fact that access codes reward exp now, which makes them far more useful than they ever were in human revolution. Hacking is still overpowered, but it's nice to know that it's not your only encouraged method now. Speaking of, the hacking minigame is improved here as well. The boss fights...or rather the single boss in this game (we'll get there) is fantastic, letting you tackle it exactly like you tackled "bosses" in the original game (alongside giving you non-lethal options so if you want, you can just knock the boss unconscious instead of killing him) and i fucking love it. The point here is that mankind divided takes the gameplay of its predecessor and expands on it in so many different ways that it is this close to being the most fun game in the series to me...but the original game still edges it out slightly in that regard.
Then there is the story...oh boy. Let me get this straight: the story is still good. The writing is good and Adam Jensen is better than before, now being more charismatic rather than stoic, giving him his own distinct presence instead of mirroring JC Denton in behaviour. The pillar story themes of the franchise are still present, however there is one main theme that overshadows all of them this time around: racism. And man, does the game tackle that theme with about as much subtlety as two trains colliding with each other in a crowded space....aka none at all. It is so blatant about this theme, in a series where there was some subtlety to the presentation of its themes. Outside of that, the story still remains compelling, though not to the degree of Human Revolution sadly. The side characters aren't as memorable as the ones from human revolution, though there are exceptions such as Miller and Marchenko. The main issue however is how the story just decides to abruptly end when it starts to really get engaging. It's basically the equivalent of someone looking at the script of a movie and deciding to slap a random ending at the beginning of the third act. It's infuriating and most obviously a result of square enix splitting the game in half for more sequels and profits from the franchise. Overall, a story that is slightly weaker than the predecessor writing-wise and completely letdown by an ending that makes the story unfinished.
The presentation is amazing. It's the same as Human Revolution, with it's black-and-yellow cyberpunk aesthetic and architecture, but it's more subdued this time and I think it's for the better, as it grounds the game a lot more with its setting as a prequel, while still remaining unique. Where the improvements are noticeable are in the character models, lighting, texture quality and cutscenes, which take full advantage of the hardware, delivering a game that looks gorgeous in all regards.
The music is inferior to Human Revolution. While it's still the same composition philosophy (balance between solo tracks and being atmospheric), the tracks are just less memorable outside of a few instances. That's about it.
There is also another mode attached to the game: Breach. I won't talk about it as much since i didn't pay much attention to it, but from what i've played it's a pretty neat online mode that successfully transfers the gameplay of the single-player offering into something that feels a little more arcadey.
Overall, Mankind Divided suffers from mgs5 syndrome. While its story has weaker, but still good writing and an ending that leaves it in a frustrating unfinished state, the gameplay is fantastic and peak deus ex, allowing multiple playstyles, thanks to its level and hub design, on top of its new great augmentations and quality of life improvements, all of whom combine for an extremely fun experience.
Usually with the reviews of these games, I tackled the story first and then the gameplay, but this is a different case since I have a lot to say about the story, so i'll do the opposite instead.
Gameplay-wise, it somehow manages to surpass human revolution and I don't know how you could do that. The levels are even more open and intricately-designed now, so they are even more fun to explore and tackle in whatever playstyle you want. Instead of several hub worlds, you now have only one main hub world in the form of Prague, alongside separate levels. It's easily one of the best hubs in the series and it's packed to the brim with little details, NPCs, environmental storytelling, as well as their own fun little playgrounds where sidequests take place. Speaking of, the sidequests are an improvement from both a gameplay and writing perspective, compared to Human Revolution (sometimes they're more engaging than the main narrative itself). Augmentations from the previous game return, alongside brand new "experimental" ones. The new ones are a great addition and the returning ones feel more improved this time around. The experimental augmentations are...very powerful, something the devs were fully aware of. As a result, the game limits the amount of experimental augmentations you can equip and for how long you can use them, allowing for a customizable as well as balanced playstyle. Another big addition is a crafting system, allowing you to gather different parts to craft equipment that you would need to tackle objectives. There are also a ton of other great quality of life improvements, such as the fact that access codes reward exp now, which makes them far more useful than they ever were in human revolution. Hacking is still overpowered, but it's nice to know that it's not your only encouraged method now. Speaking of, the hacking minigame is improved here as well. The boss fights...or rather the single boss in this game (we'll get there) is fantastic, letting you tackle it exactly like you tackled "bosses" in the original game (alongside giving you non-lethal options so if you want, you can just knock the boss unconscious instead of killing him) and i fucking love it. The point here is that mankind divided takes the gameplay of its predecessor and expands on it in so many different ways that it is this close to being the most fun game in the series to me...but the original game still edges it out slightly in that regard.
Then there is the story...oh boy. Let me get this straight: the story is still good. The writing is good and Adam Jensen is better than before, now being more charismatic rather than stoic, giving him his own distinct presence instead of mirroring JC Denton in behaviour. The pillar story themes of the franchise are still present, however there is one main theme that overshadows all of them this time around: racism. And man, does the game tackle that theme with about as much subtlety as two trains colliding with each other in a crowded space....aka none at all. It is so blatant about this theme, in a series where there was some subtlety to the presentation of its themes. Outside of that, the story still remains compelling, though not to the degree of Human Revolution sadly. The side characters aren't as memorable as the ones from human revolution, though there are exceptions such as Miller and Marchenko. The main issue however is how the story just decides to abruptly end when it starts to really get engaging. It's basically the equivalent of someone looking at the script of a movie and deciding to slap a random ending at the beginning of the third act. It's infuriating and most obviously a result of square enix splitting the game in half for more sequels and profits from the franchise. Overall, a story that is slightly weaker than the predecessor writing-wise and completely letdown by an ending that makes the story unfinished.
The presentation is amazing. It's the same as Human Revolution, with it's black-and-yellow cyberpunk aesthetic and architecture, but it's more subdued this time and I think it's for the better, as it grounds the game a lot more with its setting as a prequel, while still remaining unique. Where the improvements are noticeable are in the character models, lighting, texture quality and cutscenes, which take full advantage of the hardware, delivering a game that looks gorgeous in all regards.
The music is inferior to Human Revolution. While it's still the same composition philosophy (balance between solo tracks and being atmospheric), the tracks are just less memorable outside of a few instances. That's about it.
There is also another mode attached to the game: Breach. I won't talk about it as much since i didn't pay much attention to it, but from what i've played it's a pretty neat online mode that successfully transfers the gameplay of the single-player offering into something that feels a little more arcadey.
Overall, Mankind Divided suffers from mgs5 syndrome. While its story has weaker, but still good writing and an ending that leaves it in a frustrating unfinished state, the gameplay is fantastic and peak deus ex, allowing multiple playstyles, thanks to its level and hub design, on top of its new great augmentations and quality of life improvements, all of whom combine for an extremely fun experience.