Deus Ex Mankind Divided Stealth

[Luisa Rodocker]

DeusEx: Mankind Divided is a 2016 action role-playing game developed by Eidos-Montral and published by Square Enix for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in August 2016. Versions for Linux and macOS systems were released in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The game is the sequel to Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the fifth installment in the Deus Ex series. The gameplay combines first-person shooter, stealth and role-playing elements. It features exploration and combat in environments connected to the main hub of Prague and quests which grant experience and allow customization of the main character's abilities with Praxis Kits. Conversations between characters have a variety of responses, with options in conversations and at crucial story points affecting how events play out. Players can complete Breach, a cyberspace-set challenge mode, in addition to the main campaign. Breach was later released as a free, standalone product.

Set two years after Human Revolution in 2029, the world is divided between normal humans and those with advanced, controversial artificial organs dubbed "augmentations". After a violent event known as the Aug Incident, augmented people have been segregated; this prompts heated debate and an era of "mechanical apartheid". Main protagonist Adam Jensen, equipped with advanced new augmentations after Human Revolution, is a double agent for the hacker group Juggernaut Collective to expose the Illuminati, which is orchestrating events behind the scenes. The story explores themes of transhumanism and discrimination, using the series' recurring cyberpunk setting and conspiracy theory motif.

Production of Mankind Divided began after completion of the Human Revolution expansion The Missing Link. Eidos-Montral wanted to improve its gameplay and narrative, and address criticism from fans and reviewers of Human Revolution. The gameplay and graphics engine were rebuilt from scratch for next-generation hardware. A greater focus on realism and the story's darker themes resulted in a subdued color range compared to the previous game. Human Revolution composer Michael McCann returned to write the score with newcomers Sascha Dikiciyan and Ed Harrison.

Mankind Divided was announced in 2015, after a lengthy promotional campaign. Subsequent marketing slogans were criticized by journalists, and a divisive tier-based preorder campaign was cancelled due to player backlash. Post-launch, story-based downloadable content was released in 2016. The game received positive reviews from critics, who praised its narrative, graphics and gameplay. Criticism focused on the brevity of its campaign and the handling of its themes. Although the game initially placed highly on sales charts, it was rumored to be a commercial disappointment and it was speculated that the series would be put on hold.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is an action role-playing game with first-person shooter and stealth mechanics. Players take the role of Adam Jensen, a man equipped with mechanical cybernetic implants called augmentations.[3][4] The game's environments, ranging from open-world hubs to more scripted environments, are explored in first person; actions such as hiding behind cover, conversing with non-playable characters (NPCs) and some attack animations switch to a third-person view. In these environments, players can find NPCs that will advance the main story quest and optional side quests; completing quests and other actions such as finding hidden areas reward Adam with experience points (EXP). EXP unlock Praxis Points to upgrade his abilities. Also accessible are black-market vendors which supply equipment, materials and weapons for credits, the in-game currency.[3][5][6]

Players can approach situations in a number of ways; a violent approach shoots their way through environments while using cover to hide from enemy fire. Adam can take a stealthy approach, avoiding guards and security devices (again using cover to avoid enemy sight lines). He can move between cover elements and around corners while staying hidden. The melee takedown system offers lethal and non-lethal options, in addition to a variety of lethal and non-lethal weapons. Adam can move the bodies of enemies into hiding places, preventing them from being seen and raising an alarm.[3][6][7] Adam's augmentations can be acquired and upgraded with Praxis Kits bought from vendors, found in the game environments or automatically unlocked by gathering enough EXP; higher-level augmentations require more Praxis Kits to unlock. Augmentation functions range from passive enhancements to Adam's vision or damage resistance; to active upgrades, such as increased strength or the ability to fall from great heights without being injured. The majority of augmentations are dependent on Adam's energy level, deactivating after energy has been drained.[5][6][7][8] Other "experimental" augmentations force players to permanently deactivate another augmentation to prevent Adam from overheating.[9]

Non-lethal and lethal weapons, bought or picked up from enemies, can be modified with parts salvaged from other areas. New components and elements, such as the single-use multitool unlocking devices, can be bought from vendors or built from crafting parts in each area. Using parts to craft new components sometimes requires blueprints discovered in the overworld.[4][5][8] Adam can hack a variety of devices, with the hacking divided into two modes. The first has Adam hacking static devices such as computers, which triggers a minigame allowing players to capture points (nodes) and access a device. The second mode involves hacking devices such as laser traps and security robots, triggering an altered minigame where zones on a graph must be triggered to deactivate a device within a time limit.[3][4]

Adam converses with NPCs about the main and side quests, and some of the conversations add information to the game's world. He has several conversation options, which affect its outcome; choosing the correct option can help complete objectives, and choosing an incorrect option closes the route and forces the player to find an alternate solution. A "social" augmentation better reads an NPC's expression and evaluates their psychological profile, improving the chance of selecting the correct dialogue option.[3][4][8] Most boss battles can be negated by using certain dialogue options.[3]

In Breach mode, the player is a hacker infiltrating the Palisade Bank to retrieve data from Deus Ex companies and escape within a time limit.[4] Similar to an arcade game with a surreal, polygonal graphic style, the player has an avatar and navigates environments with unique augmentations. The enemy monitor alters its responses, depending on player approach to a level.[3][4][8][10] Although Mankind Divided does not have a multiplayer mode, Breach has leaderboards which allow players to compare scores and positions online. Its rewards for completing levels are random or alterations to gameplay elements in individual maps.[8][10]

Mankind Divided is set in 2029, two years after Deus Ex: Human Revolution.[11] The Deus Ex series is set in a cyberpunk future rife with secret organizations and conspiracies, including the Illuminati.[12][13] Before Human Revolution, advances in biotechnology and cybernetics led to the development of "augmentations", artificial organs capable of enhancing human performance. Augmentation requires the use of Neuropozyne, a scarce, expensive immunosuppressive drug which prevents the body from rejecting the augmentation. They also created social divides between "augs", humans who have accepted augmentation technology; and normal humans who are either morally opposed to it, too poor to afford it, or whose bodies actively reject it.[11]

During Human Revolution, the Illuminati planned to place limitations on augmented people with a biochip. They are opposed by Adam Jensen, chief of security at the pro-augmentation corporation Sarif Industries, who is heavily augmented after an attack on his employers critically injures him. Illuminati member Hugh Darrow subverts the Illuminati's plan in order to prejudice humanity against augmentations, broadcasting a signal from the Arctic research base Panchaea which drove anyone with the biochip insane; the mass chaos is later called the Aug Incident. Jensen stops the signal, and has a choice: to broadcast stories supporting Darrow, the Illuminati or his employer, or to destroy Panchaea and let humanity decide. Regardless of the ending chosen, Panchaea is destroyed anyway due to damage suffered during the Aug Incident, but social trauma from the Aug Incident and the Illuminati's manipulation cause augmented people to be stigmatized. Humanity has imposed a "mechanical apartheid" on augmented people by Mankind Divided, isolating them in ghettos and stripping them of their rights.[11][12]

The story focuses on events in Prague, with some events set in Dubai and London.[7][14] Several factions play key roles in the game world. One of the most prominent is the Illuminati, a group of corporate elites which influences society for its own aims. The Illuminati are opposed by the Juggernaut Collective, a group of hacktivists led by the shadowy Janus and precursors of underground movements in the original Deus Ex. The two main factions in Mankind Divided are Task Force 29 (TF29), an Interpol-run anti-terrorist unit based in Prague; and the Augmented Rights Coalition (ARC), originally an aid group for augmented people and now a controversial militant organization opposing the abuse of the augmented.[12][13]

Human Revolution protagonist Adam Jensen returns as the lead character. Presumed dead after Panchaea's destruction, he was rescued and secretly implanted with advanced augmentations.[12][15] Due to a genetic trait which allows augmentations without Neuropozyne, Jensen occupies a middle ground between humans who mistrust augmented people and those whose augmentations are decaying due to a lack of Neuropozyne.[16] Adam becomes part of TF29 as a double agent for the Juggernaut Collective to expose the Illuminati, interacting with the Collective's unseen leader Janus through Alejandra "Alex" Vega. His co-workers in TF29 are director Jim Miller and psychologist Delara Auzenne. Adam's main opponents are ARC leader Talos Rucker and Viktor Marchenko, a member of ARC who becomes a terrorist.[13][15] Central characters in the downloadable content (DLC) episodes are Frank Pritchard, an old associate from Sarif Industries; Shadowchild, a skilled hacker with a grudge against the Palisade Bank corporation; and Hector Guerrero, an undercover agent in the "Pent House" prison for augmented criminals.[15]

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