Integrate your sunglasses into your face flesh (please seek doctor’s advice first), because Adam Jensen is back. But what is the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided release date? What is the gameplay like? And how demanding are the system requirements? Mankind Divided has gone gold, and in the interest of keeping you all in the loop, here’s a handy round-up of everything you need to know as it finally releases.
If it’s potentially great future releases you’re after, check out our rundown of the best upcoming games on PC.
With a five-year timespan bridging the gap between 2011’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Eidos Montreal’s hotly anticipated sequel, there’s been a weight of expectation heaped upon Square Enix’s cyberpunk franchise to get things right. In order to meet these Eidos Montreal have built a shiny new game engine for Mankind Divided, the Dawn Engine.
Fortunately the bulk of Mankind Divided’s gameplay will be familiar to fans of the franchise, with stealth taking equal billing alongside guns-blazing action, and players once again able to pick from a number of body augmentations that make offing baddies much easier. Expect plenty of swords-protruding-from-your-forearms violence.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided review
You can read what we think about the game in our Deus Ex: Mankind Divided PC review. Adam’s second outing (and the fourth run out for the Deus Ex name on PC) offers exhilirating levels of freedom, but it doesn’t feel like a huge step forwards for the series that it ought to, considering the development time and the IP’s own lofty standards.
If you’d rather read an analysis of the game’s PC graphics settings and performance than an evaluation of its gameplay, our Deus Ex: Mankind Divided PC port review is the one for you.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided release date
A six month release date delay means that we should have been playing Mankind Divided much earlier this year, but instead August 23 is the date we all get our hands on what Square Enix have promised to be a worthy successor to Human Revolution.
Eidos Montreal’s head of studio, David Anfossi, put the pushed-back release date down to more time being needed in the post-production of the game. A delayed release is, of course, better than a disastrous one.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided pre-orders and price
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is available in both boxed and digital forms for $59.99/£39.99 as a ‘Day One’ pre-order that includes an additional in-game mission, the game’s soundtrack, a number of digital books and three item packs.
If you’re in the US then a collector’s edition, which adds a steelbook case, a Jensen figurine and 48 page artbook to the offerings of the ‘Day One’ edition, can also be bought for a less appealing $139.99.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided gameplay
Rather than reinvent, Eidos Montreal have opted to refine the core gameplay of Human Revolution, adding to the player’s stealth options and fine-tuning the combat in order to make any approach equally viable.
The body augmentation RPG elements is predictably making a return allowing players to choose from an array of cybernetic tweaks ranging from the devastating to the devious. New abilities like the Icarus Dash (think Dishonored’s Blink ability), fireable blades, a protective nanoshield, fist-mounted concussive devices and a cloaking device enter the fray, effectively bringing the game’s stealthy traits in line with its more aggressive ones. There are even experimental augs, which require other enhancements to be turned off, lest Jensen overheat himself.
Careful attention has been paid to the games hub world environments, which now include more verticality than those seen in Human Revolution. This should allow players to take sneakier routes into places they’re not permitted, such as clambering over roofs and down into windows if the front door isn’t an option.
Upon completing the game, players areoffered a New Game + mode, which will allow you to play the story a second time using the skills you’ve unlocked. Eidos Montreal realise this is story-breaking, but feel the game is all about choice and thus a worthy addition.
Eidos Montreal invited us over to their studio fora lengthy hands on with the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided– here are our thoughts, accompanied by some gameplay footage.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Breach mode
Shipping with the game alongside the campaign is Breach mode. Think of Metal Gear Solid’s VR missions and you’ll be on the right path. With a new art style and fresh characters, Breach mode is a faster, arcade-focused game about breaking into computers and stealing data. The missions are set ‘inside’ computer software; VR interpretations of things like files, viruses, and anti-hack programs.
Your VR avatar has access to augs, much like Jensen, but the get in, steal, get out gameplay is designed to be much faster than traditional Deus Ex. You’ll still be able to take violent or stealth routes, but things will move at a very different pace.
We’ve been hands-on with Breach mode and found it an exciting, unexpected addition to the Deus Ex universe.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided story
Set in 2029, Mankind Divided rejoins Adam Jensen during his years as a anti-terrorism agent. The world is in chaos after the events of Human Revolution, and people with augs are seen as untrustworthy. You see, the Illuminati released a bug into the systems of people with cybernetic augmentations, causing them to become violent, which led to the ‘mechanical apartheid’: the forcedseparationof augs and non-augs. Jensen now must navigate this hostile world; one where he is recognised for his combat ability, but persecuted for hismechanical limbs.
One of the groups that Jensen will become involved with is the ARC – Augmented Rights Coalition – who are fighting for transhumanism across the globe. Despite being non-governmental, the ARC has a lot of political weight, and the sheer number of active members makes it a force to be reckoned with. Or feared, should you be anti-aug.
The choices that Jensen will no doubt need to make will likely direct the future for the world’s transhuman population, so it’ll be up to players to make the right calls to ensure a better quality of life for these people, be that through freedom or strict limits.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided trailers
The most recent trailer celebrates the game’s launch, admittedly a few day early:
From E3 2016 comes this gameplay footage, set in the early-game location of Dubai. On show is Jensen’s Icarus Landing system, as well as a heartly slice of violent aggression. It certainly looks like Eidos are showing off the ‘direct’ approach.
Providing you with a stylish look at some of Jensen’s new body augmentations is this Jensen 2.0 trailer, which showcases such future classics as a wrist-mounted shootable sword, skin-transforming armour and a super helpful concussive blaster.
Of course if you’re new to the franchise or want to know what kind of scrapes and tangles Mr Jensen has to triumph over in Mankind Divided, check out the announcement trailer below. There’s enough moody line delivery and overblown kicky-punchy action to see Keanu Reeves through the rest of his career.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided system requirements
Deus Ex is a hugely anticipated game for many, so a big question naturally is: will I need to augment my PC to run the game? Find out if you need to spend any Praxis Points (see: dollars/pounds/euros/other local currency) on new hardware by sizing up your rig against these official system requirements.
MINIMUM
OS: Windows 7.1SP1 or above (64-bit operating system required)
Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 or AMD equivalent
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 7870 (2 GB) or Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 (2 GB)
Storage: 45 GB available space
And if you want the most augmentable version:
RECOMMENDED
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K or AMD FX 8350 Wraith
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 480 – 1920 x 1080 or Nvidia GTX 970 – 1920 x 1080
Storage: 55 GB available space (includes DLC)
That’s everything you need to know about Adam Jensen’s next outing before trying it for yourself! Let us know if you’re excited about firing a nano-ceramic blade at every thug you come across.