Where do I start with this game? After spending around 25 to 30 hours, or perhaps even more (can't tell since I played it on offline mode), searching every corner for quests, reading all bit and pieces of informations and lore about the DX universe, and finally reached the end... I can't really articulate how I feel with the latest installment of this series. Was it Fascination? Excitement? Disappointment? Disbelief? It's all of these things.

Deus Ex: Content Divided is a fine example of such an ambitious and truly excellent project made by talented and passionate devs has to be brought down by a load of publisher's meddling, chopping the fine game into pieces to squeeze as much money as possible. I don't blame Eidos Montreal for this, that all solely lies to Square Enix. So, keep in mind that this review is for the game at it's current (mutilated) state, not what this game could've been.


First, let's talk about the positives. Or perhaps, if you already played Human Revolution (and you definitely should), what does MD improves upon HR? And that's the gameplay and level design. It looks like Eidos Montreal really listen to user feedback and massively improves those area, especially the latter. MD is simply a bigger, bolder, and more refined game than HR, created by devs that is more confident and experienced than before. I can see they put a lot of effort to make the levels more open for possibilites to any kind of character builld. Bigger places, more vents to lurk, more "secret areas" to discover, more things to hack, and all around exploring the mission and hub area is way more fun and rewarding than HR.

Prague, is the one and only Hub in this area, yes.. One. I'll come back to it later on, since I'm going to touch the good things first. Well, Prague is way more alive than Detroit. it's bigger, and it has more content, more intricate level design, and a real treat for the eye, day and night. And that brings me to side quests, another big improvement over HR, they are more varied, interesting (both gameplay and story wise), and feels grander in scale. I found the plot and characters in some of the side quests are more interesting than the main storyline.

As for the graphic, it's simply amazing! Prague is filled with these tiny details that really improve the atmosphere and visual narrative. I'll spend two paragraphs just to describe how impressive the graphic is. So, to cut it short: It's a real neat blend of impressive graphic and amazing level design, not too empty yet never overbearing.Though the animation and lip syncing could be better.

Also, top notch sounds, soundtracks, and especially voice actings. As expected.. In exception of the weapon sounds that is.



Deus Ex is always about its world, and the story about every individual involved with it. While I think the side quests are a major step up from HR, I can't say the same with the main storyline. The pacing is quite inconsistent, it starts out great, it got boring in the middle, before it goes back on track just to be abruptly cut out in the end. I find most of the main characters in MD are uninteresting, or maybe not yet at this point. Adam Jensen in particular has a weaker characterization in MD. I know it's hard to balance out a character with RPG in mind while giving the character its own motivation. HR did it better because Adam has his personal thrive to do what he does, and he does undergone a character development. In MD however his development stuck, and his motivation is generic.

And now, let's get back to the Hub thing. Yes, it's true. Prague is MUCH better than every hub in HR. But, it lacks variety. Major theme on Deus Ex is a "world travel", seeing different part of the world and their culture and vibes in its universe. Prague, while divided into several smaller hubs lacks diversity, understandably so. Deus Ex is about chasing the roots of conspiracy throughout the world, but in MD? The plotline may suggest a much bigger stuff going on but it feels so tiny in practice. And as for the side quests, it might be better than HR individually, but as a collective, it feels.. empty? Hollow? There are surely many side quests and main quests that is cut out from this game, quest like "Desperate Measure" come to mind. It fits right in with the story, and the fact that its seperated is beyond my comprehension.

Gameplay, while greatly refined, feels unbalanced toward the end. During the last visit to Prague, Adam is already way too OP, at least for me, I can just breeze through most of the levels, and I feel like its due to the quick "rebalancing"to fit in with the length of the game. The mediocre A.I didn't help at all, they're quite easy to exploit.


In the end, DX: Mankind Divided is a game that screams potential from beginning to end. Not that it doesn't has that, but it has been cut to the point it greatly devalue what could have been a strong story and more world building elements that will eventually lead up to the legendary first Deus Ex. Looking back, I'm impressed on how many lore they estabilished on what little content left I found the story elements that includes many names that will be a major character in the first Deus Ex to be the most interesting and intriguing part of the game.And for the content they offer, I can assure you that the majority of it are in high quality. It's a polished game with a much refined level design and gameplay, brought down by shameless money grabbing scheme. It's clear that Eidos Montreal really respect the DX universe, and gains more confident due to the success of HR, but Square Enix in the other hand has no love for art and integrity. I get this for free from my AMD card purchase, and even then it can't mask my disappointment.And yes, I highly recommend it, ONLY at, at least 60% sale, because that's exactly what you get from this. A 1/3 of a full game.

"What a shame..."