UK Edition
Review
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided excels at creating unscripted thrills - review
I’m the coolest dude in Golem City. On the outskirts of Prague, this ramshackle cyberpunk favela is more prison camp than home; all stacked-up shanties stretching out of view like makeshift skyscrapers, while electrical wires trail and tangle overhead, powering the many TV sets beaming news to its downtrodden citizens. I’m strolling through as the impeccably-bearded Adam Jensen, a man with retractable robot Ray-Bans, concealed wrist blades attached to arms probably designed by Bang & Olufsen, and a custom-made jacket that would make the cast of The Matrix blush.
Everyone else in Golem is just like Jensen: augmented, though not as stylish. In Mankind Divided’s world, mechanical body parts can be bought and worn like fashion accessories; lopping off limbs is now considered normal as humanity transcends beyond the limitations of flesh. The tech was once reserved for higher classes – those who could afford both the mechanical limbs and the anti-rejection drugs needed to survive the procedures – but ever since cybernetic humans lost control in a violent rage two years ago, the augmented have been outcasts.
Jensen is here on a mission to capture the leader of the Augmented Rights Coalition, a cybernetic terror group who are suspects in a recent train station bombing in the Czech capital. The thing is, Jensen has a problem: he can’t walk by a locked door without breaking in; reading through everyone’s private emails, powering down security systems, chilling out with their eBooks, stealing their belongings, and launching their designer fridge across the room – he’s a well-dressed menace.
That’s why he’s currently crouched over an unconscious police officer. Jensen doesn’t need to break into the police lockup and clear it out, but he sure as hell wants to. That custom-made jacket houses so many pockets, it would be a waste to not fill them up with stolen Lambrini and illicit hacking tools.
He was the same in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Jensen was working in Sarif Industries when the call came in – a hostage situation. Of course, being plonked into this hub full of offices to break into, emails to snoop on and supply cupboards to raid, Jensen couldn’t help himself. Human Revolution murdered the hostages because of Jensen’s tardiness.
Jensen still hasn’t learned, though. Mankind Divided’s first and only hub area is Prague itself. From the Dvali Theatre just by the red light district to the high security Palisade Bank, these streets are crammed with explorable buildings, some of which are like miniature levels in themselves. Prague is the most complex hub in any Deus Ex game. There are shops, storage lockups, warehouses, bars, clubs, apartments and more to scurry around in, all spread out across its cobbled city streets. You can easily spend over an hour just exploring Jensen’s apartment complex, climbing onto the balcony and breaking in through your neighbour’s windows, hacking through their front doors and fondling their fridges.
While it’s initially slightly disappointing that there’s a single hub, this twisting collection of city blocks needs its own metro station for fast travel because it’s so vast. It also changes as you play, with the mood on the streets matching the story as it unfolds, as tensions rise between the augmented and naturals. Despite Jensen now being an Interpol agent, it’s not quite the jetsetting adventure Human Revolution was – outside of Prague you only visit four other locations, including Golem City – but it does make up for it with complex level design.
The satisfyingly broad number of options available to you are dictated by your augmented abilities. Locked doors can be bypassed by more means than just hacking: maybe you can use your leg enhancements to reach a high vent; or you could use your strength upgrade to pick up a vending machine and climb atop that; if not, then you can always use explosives and blow the door – and a stealthy approach – to high heaven. Even bypassing a security camera can be made interesting by the game’s systems: slip underneath it, turn invisible and stroll by, disable it remotely, or hack the security console and power it down. If all else fails, launch a fridge at it.
Deus Ex is at its best when presenting you with problems and forcing you to improvise. One section sees Jensen on a VIP balcony overlooking a theatre stage. Down below, the local crime family are partying, and there are civilians in the mix, and my Jensen only kills those who deserve it. There’s no way to pass without being seen – not without backtracking and finding another route. So, pressed against a wall, I pull out my one gas grenade and toss it into the crowd below. As most begin to choke and keel over, I jump over the balcony and descend in a ball of golden light as my Icarus Landing System gracefully slows my fall. My respirator upgrade automatically kicks in as I see two goons take cover, just outside the cloud of gas. A quick blast from the gauss powered PEPS upgrade on my designer-arm sends the pair ragdolling across the stage, slumping against the back wall, unconscious. This whole thing plays out in around ten seconds, but these unforgettable bursts of action stay in the memory far longer.
The series has always given you these choices; to kill, to incapacitate; to talk, fight or sneak your way through situations; and that’s all improved upon in Mankind Divided. Its story, however, isn’t. The game holds up a mirror to our own world and today’s tensions, swapping out real minorities for the augmented but, rather than challenge these problems, it sits so firmly on the fence that you would think its backside was augmented. The story’s biggest offense, though, is how it just feels unfinished. It’s a lengthy game (Steam tells me a I played for 30 hours), but it ends just as it’s hitting its stride. A message saying “New Game + unlocked” pops up mid-conversation and leaves your jaw hanging, just like most of the game’s plot threads.
This leaves a bitter taste, especially when it’s made clear that those plot threads are being saved for a sequel. More Deus Ex is fine by me, but there’s just so much here that never pays off. You’re essentially a double agent, and at one point you are tasked with spying on your bosses. It’s tense and exciting, and you wonder how it will play out. This whole plot is soon kicked into the long grass, leaving many questions unanswered.
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.
That disappointment aside, I do hope we get another sequel, as there just aren’t enough games like this being made – games that use systems to allow players to create their own stories. Video game narratives can be great, but nothing will surpass the stories we create in collaboration with a game – emergent, unscripted moments that pop up unplanned and create lasting impressions, and that’s where Mankind Divided excels.