One of the best parts of the Deus Ex series has been seeing its creators’ vision of world cities as failed utopias. The not-to-distant future version of Shanghai in 2011’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution was built up of a memorable, looming tiered structure, while the original game’s New York opening featured a decapitated Lady Liberty.
Ahead of the release of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the artists at Eidos-Montreal have turned their attention to cities across the globe, as pictured in their particular vision of 2029. As is true to the overall tone of the series, the results are a combination of dramatic techno-utopias and human poverty – as if Howard Roark from Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead had been given free reign, without much care given to how the masses would actually fit.
Also chiming with the game’s attention to biological augmentation, the architecture is sinewy and organic, as if it has spread out of pre-existing buildings like a malignant growth. It isn’t a million miles from Tokyo-based artist AUJIK’s augmented reality video of a surreal, spiraling Osaka.[gallery:0]
18/07/2016: The first 20 minutes of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided have landed on the internet, thanks to a live stream by GameSpot. If you don’t mind having the opening sections of the game spoiled, the clip gives an insight into what protagonist Adam Jensen will be up to at the start of the game – namely infiltrating a half-finished hotel and stabbing/knocking a lot of people.
Things are set up pretty neatly in the opening cinematic, with a TV screen noting an anniversary of the ‘Aug event’ which marked the climax of the previous game. From there we get introduced to what looks to be a major character – Macready – some exposition, then we’re dropped into the action. Check it out below.
08/06/2016: We’ve gone hands-on with Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and tried its new Breach game mode. Here’s what Katharine Byrne thought:
“With only a couple of months to go before it launches on 23 August, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is shaping up very nicely indeed. With its eye for spectacle and natural, nuanced storytelling, Eidos could well be on track to delivering the best game in the series yet.”
You can read the rest of the hands-on over here.
28/04/2016: Square Enix has put out a sizeable new trailer for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, showcasing a heap of different augmentations, weapon upgrades and gameplay styles.
The trailer, called “101”, describes itself as “everything you need to know about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided”. Cue over 6 minutes of footage from the game, touching on everything from new mechanics to the game’s narrative backdrop. There’s also a hearty dose of eye candy, with Deus Ex’s neo-renaissance aesthetic looking better than ever.
Elsewhere, the marketing for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is amping up, with a fun alternate-reality game (ARG) website set up by Eidos and Square Enix. The site, called AugAware and ostensibly run by the anti-augmentation forces in Deus Ex’s world, features a number of articles, news pieces and old-school propaganda posters. It’s a neat way to tie together contemporary thinkpieces on human augmentation with the game’s various companies and factions. Check it out over here.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Everything we know
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided sees the return of Adam Jensen, the mechanically augmented protagonist from 2011’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Set two years after the events of that game, Jensen faces a world on the brink of revolution – with tensions between augmented and non-augmented citizens boiling over in a series of terrorist attacks.
Jensen’s second outing was originally due to release 23 February 2016, but has since been pushed back to 23 August to give Eidos Montreal time to work on “post-production” improvements. Until then, here’s everything we know so far Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. 
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – At a glance
- The direct sequel to 2011’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution, set in the period before the original Deus Ex.
- The world has fallen into what the developers have described as a “mechanical apartheid.”
- Will bring a heap of augmentations, and non-lethal gameplay options (even for bosses).
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Release date and format
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is due to release 23 August 2016 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows. You can currently pre-purchase the game via Steam for £40.
Disclaimer: Some pages on this site may include an affiliate link. This does not effect our editorial in any way.
