Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Hands-on Impressions: Did I Ask For This?

I recently got the chance to enjoy a cursory easily-on demonstration of Eidos' upcoming cyberpunk RPG, Deus: Ex Mankind Divided. In the game, players presume the part of Adam Jensen, the sharp-witted protagonist from the contempo series reboot, Human Revolution (2011). Taking place but two years afterwards the events wrapped upwards from the previous championship, Jensen has centrolineal himself with a futuristic Interpol to take downwards a terrorist organization filled with augmented humans, much like the cybernetic enhancements the player has been fashioned with in previous Deus Ex games. The opening moments confirmed much of what was shown in previous trailers: a world filled with political intrigue, prejudice against human augmentation, social disorder, and high-value targets that demand to be dispatched in order to bring some sort of lodge to Dubai.

The individual thespian's experiences in Mankind Divided tin exist adjusted with pre-mission loadouts where Adam can opt to go for a purely stealth approach, full-on alienation and clear tactics, or somewhere in-between. In the involvement of fourth dimension, I went with a rifle as Adam's main weapon and kept his default skills that included augments to mask the audio of his footsteps and optical camouflage just in case a more than subtle arroyo was needed.

Mankind Divided does a fine task of inserting optional tutorial segments as the demand arises, from teaching the players about motility to the finer points of stealth and combat, both as important depending on the player'south style. I opted to forego these tutorials, instead relying on previous experience with Homo Revolution and the baser instincts honed from years of being terrible/lucky at stealth games. Perhaps learning a little more than about some of Adam's powers would've made for a smoother experience, only trial and error felt like the correct choice, especially when learning the nuances of sneaking up on enemies and taking them out non-lethally.

When the need for firepower arises, which for some might be the very starting time time they see an enemy Aug, the polished gunplay to Flesh Divided should please the action-focused gamers out in that location. Hit markers give a quick at-a-glance notification of whenever bullets hit their mark and the visible recoil of a bullet hitting the enemy in the head feels satisfying at any range. Ammunition felt deficient enough that Jensen wasn't able to rely on just a unmarried weapon throughout the entire mission. In most of the smaller fire fights, I would routinely pick upwards a fallen enemy's SMG and use that whenever possible earlier swapping back to the heavier assault rifle that I chose to bring along as part of Adam's loadout. Limiting the amount of ammo to be held in reserve or picked up from enemies gave me the feeling that peradventure shooting my style through everything might not be the smartest move and if I actually wanted to become on a murderous Aug rampage, using the other tools and skills at Adam's disposal is a smarter motion.

Nigh twenty minutes in, after clearing through a few high-stakes firefights with the enemy Augs and a cutscene showing an arms trade gone wrong and an assault by mysterious people wearing golden masks, the tension was winding down and the pacing felt it was pretty clear that I was getting close to the target of this particular mission. Unfortunately, I was unable to run into it through to the stop as the panel I was playing on locked up when trying to move out of cover. With my fourth dimension nearly at its terminate with Deus Ex, I was disappointed to not exist able to see the mission through to completion. Mayhap there was a silvery lining to this, as I was able to note that the demo was running on native PS4 hardware rather than a PC hooked up with a DualShock 4 controller.

Although my time with Deus Ex: Flesh Divided was cut short by a console malfunction, I was able to establish a solid feel for the world they're setting upward and the methods Adam Jensen has at his disposal to assist change its future. The gunplay feels more than polished and intuitive than Human Revolution and some of Adam'south new tools feel like a natural progression in cybernetic enhancements. I'm looking forward to stepping dorsum into Adam Jensen's shoes when Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is released on PlayStation 4, Xbox I, and PC on August 23rd, 2022. You lot tin check out some gameplay running on PC in the video embedded beneath, originally showcased during the PC Gaming Show at E3.