As great as Deus Ex: Human Revolution was, it was far from perfect, and its empty feeling hub areas were among its most obvious flaws. It’s also one of the areas in which its sequel, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided has improved the most. Having played plenty of Deus Ex over the years, I mostly expect the guard-infested infiltration spaces to be impeccably designed, but after playing a substantial chunk of Mankind Divided, the hub areas seem to be catching up nicely.
For example, while looking for a low-key way to meet up with returning hero Adam Jensen’s local augmentation specialist in Prague, I stumbled across a fake police checkpoint that was actually a front for an extortion ring. I guess I could have pulled out a gun and shot my way through, but with cops circling, I’d be risking getting caught in the middle of a bloodbath. If I’d put some points into my cloaking device, that would have gotten me past the thugs and the infrared sensors they were using to keep intruders out, but alas, I was not so equipped just yet.
I’d have to do it the old fashioned way. What I thought would be a simple smash-and-grab turned into an hour-long story unto itself, complete with a mix of stealth and gunplay, some family drama, and a healthy dose of moral ambiguity. Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say Mankind Divided’s world is a cruel one, where even the best intentions can’t fully protect the weak and innocent.
With so much meat to scoop out of Mankind Divided’s exploratory areas, not only can I imagine spending passing a ton of time scraping them dry, but they also make many previously uninteresting augmentations feel a lot more attractive. Ignoring things like hacking, jumping, and heavy object lifting could have a major impact on how much you see, and ultimately, how much cool stuff you line your pockets with.
