A few months ago we caught wind that content was being cut from Square-Enix’s Deus Ex: Mankind Divided in order to make its August release date.
Worried that Jensen’s story may be cut short, we were sceptical about Mankind Divided. Only a bit, mind – even if this long-awaited sequel was a case of ‘short but sweet’ would it really be that bad? Like Square-Enix’s own Hitman, Deus Ex is a franchise known for having decent replay value.
Reviews went live this afternoon ahead of Tuesday’s launch, and while there are plenty of reports of it being more of the same, length doesn’t seem to be an issue. So hurrah for that. A few critics did however feel that by copying its predecessor closely, it does feel a little dated as a result. This ultimately lead to 7/10s from Push Square, VideoGamer and GameInformer – the lowest score it has received so far.
The majority of critics were full of praise, though, with the golden phrase ‘GOTY’ bandied about a few times. Here are some choice cuts from today’s reviews:
9.2 – IGN: “Layered, intelligent, and impeccably designed, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’s gameplay rewards curiosity and creativity”
A- – Gaming Age: “It provided more of what I loved from Human Revolution, and certainly scratches a stealth-action itch that few games not called Metal Gear Solid fail to provide”
4.5/5 – Cheat Code Central: “While Human Revolution was a promising title with some glaring issues, Mankind Divided is the work of a mature development team that has had the time to fix their weak points and improve on their strong ones”
4.5/5 – IB Times UK: “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?”
4.5/5 – Time: “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”
4.5/5 – GamesRadar: “Mankind Divided is full of great moments, from the lengthy journey across The Throat of Golem City, to the simple pleasure of crouching in a Prague bank, wondering how next to proceed”
9.0 – PlayStation Lifestyle: “This is a game you’ll want to play multiple times, to see how things could play out if you play a certain way, and its save system encourages experimentation. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is this summer’s must-play game”
9.0 – God is a Geek: “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”
9/10 – TheSixthAxis: “Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is captivating from start to finish, giving players more freedom to make their own choices”
8.5 – EGM: “In a game that needs to balance so much, it finds a way so nearly every feature meets a high-quality standard in this action-RPG”
8/10 – Forbes: “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”
8/10 – Destructoid: “Deus Ex: Mankind Divided doesn’t succeed in making me care about the plight of humans and augs, but it still pulled me into its compelling cloak-and-dagger world where people in capes can turn invisible and shoot balls of lightning out of their arm. Oh, and your aug doctor looks just like Prince, so it’s in the running for GOTY”
8/10 – GameSpot: “Although not a significant departure from Human Revolution, Mankind Divided is still a uniquely fulfilling experience, one which feels rare in games today”
4/5 – Giant Bomb: “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”
4/5 – US Gamer: “Eidos Montreal has outdone itself with the same great stealth experience, improved combat, and some gorgeous art direction”
7/10 – Push Square: “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”
7/10 – VideoGamer: “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”
7.0 – GameInformer: “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”