Review
Played on: Xbox One
Released: 2016
Released: 2016
I actually didn't realise how much I missed the original until I replayed the first level prior to diving into its sequel, Mankind Divided. To my great surprise the new game retains all what I loved in Human Revolution, but somehow still manages to be uniquely different from anything else.
There's a nice, twenty minute, summary video of Human Revolution you can watch prior to playing the actual game in Mankind Divided. I recommend it for newcomers and veterans alike. It gives you a neat way of coming up to date with the story and makes it possible to dive into it without prior knowledge of Human Revolution, but I highly recommend playing that first!
On one hand, I really appreciate mankind Divided for being so alike the Human Revolution experience, there really aren't many other titles like them after all, on the other hand, I feel there's things that could and should've been improved for the sequel. Controls are still a little stiff and clunky, I'd also appreciated improvement to the button navigation.
There's a nice, twenty minute, summary video of Human Revolution you can watch prior to playing the actual game in Mankind Divided. I recommend it for newcomers and veterans alike. It gives you a neat way of coming up to date with the story and makes it possible to dive into it without prior knowledge of Human Revolution, but I highly recommend playing that first!
Update: While still running at Xbox One's 900p resolution, Mankind Divided has been updated from 30fps to 60fps, through framerate boost, on the Xbox Series X/S!
Mankind Divided throws you straight into a sniping mission in Dubai. This opening scenario and it's layout, teaches you the basic controls as it progresses. Easing new players into the rather heavy control scheme. This first mission even ends in a challenging boss fight, perhaps throwing new players into the deep end. However, the mission perfectly sums up everything that's good about the modern Deus Ex instalments, blending stealth and action perfectly.
From here on, the game moves to a more open ended approach in Prague, reminding me of City 17 from Half-Life 2 visually. This hub world lets you take on side-missions, which I recommend strongly as there aren't that many, as well as the main story missions. Much like in Human Revolution, the main missions sometimes take trips outside of Prague, to distant locations. I love these field trips and they really help mix up the variety. It's a smart way to offer some vastly different visual areas too!
From here on, the game moves to a more open ended approach in Prague, reminding me of City 17 from Half-Life 2 visually. This hub world lets you take on side-missions, which I recommend strongly as there aren't that many, as well as the main story missions. Much like in Human Revolution, the main missions sometimes take trips outside of Prague, to distant locations. I love these field trips and they really help mix up the variety. It's a smart way to offer some vastly different visual areas too!
Completing missions, shooting down or stealthy knocking out enemies, hacking computers and locating hidden areas, will reward the player with experience points. These points are used to upgrade Adam Jensen's, the main character, augmented body. Adam has a large set of skills he can learn and upgrades to his augmentations. There's also crafting parts to find, these can be used to upgrade weapons with new sights, larger magazines, silencers etc.
I enjoyed the open reward system for taking down enemies this time around. Gone are the stealth-only rewards and in its place is XP to be earnt for both loud and stealthy approaches. It helps the game feel less linear and welcomes more playstyles.
I enjoyed the open reward system for taking down enemies this time around. Gone are the stealth-only rewards and in its place is XP to be earnt for both loud and stealthy approaches. It helps the game feel less linear and welcomes more playstyles.
Personally, I don't mind some stealth in small doses, but I'm a little impatient to do it consistently, as such this new reward system was a very welcome feature. Don't get me wrong though, it's still a slower type of third person shooter, but then again Deus Ex isn't about guns blazing. The enemies are few in numbers, the fighting takes place in confined spaces and it's difficult to succeed in a full on firefight, it's a perfect balance for this kind of game.
Swapping weapons, using power ups, going in and out of cover etc. feels cumbersome at times. Sure, there are shortcuts, but they're too many and they feel unsatisfying. There's also nasty slowdown occurring when running through the open hub world, as if the game can't cope with streaming it in fast enough. A glaring issue, that should have been resolved by now through patches.
I'd still put Human Revolution over Mankind Divided. HR just felt more memorable in places, the complete removal of boss encounters and the fewer distinct locations make MD somewhat forgettable at times. Sure, the locations look great and ooze atmosphere, you'll be hard to find more detailed indoor environments crowded with so many small details, but it could do with more unique moments.
I truly enjoyed playing through it though, and it's a title that deserves far more attention. Even to this day HR and MD are very unique experiences, that few games compare to. If you loved HR, go for this as it's more of the same and prettier. If you haven't though, begin with HR.
I'd still put Human Revolution over Mankind Divided. HR just felt more memorable in places, the complete removal of boss encounters and the fewer distinct locations make MD somewhat forgettable at times. Sure, the locations look great and ooze atmosphere, you'll be hard to find more detailed indoor environments crowded with so many small details, but it could do with more unique moments.
I truly enjoyed playing through it though, and it's a title that deserves far more attention. Even to this day HR and MD are very unique experiences, that few games compare to. If you loved HR, go for this as it's more of the same and prettier. If you haven't though, begin with HR.
