Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is coming out this summer and Square Enix is starting to ramp up the marketing for the game. It’s the sequel to the 2011 hit Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which explored mankind’s cybernetic future in the series’ classic cyberpunkish way. The game won acclaim for its unique approach to storytelling and freedom to explore different paths (minus the boss fights). Mankind Divided looks like it’s going to push the series even further and bring back the gameplay we fell in love with the first time around. Here’s the new trailer:
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Trailer: More Cyber, More Punk
Like the original Deus Ex and like Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the upcoming Mankind Divided— slated for release on August 23 for PS4, Xbox One and PC—is going to feature a branching storyline, a variety of approaches to combat (stealth, straight combat, pacifist, hackerish, etc.) and lots of black and gold colors. The new trailer gives us a good sense of both the story and the gameplay, which involves lots of new augmented abilities.
Square Enix has just properly started hyping up Deus Ex: Mankind Divided in advance of the August release date. Chances are we’ll see a lot more of the game at E3 2016, along with—hopefully—both Final Fantasy XV and Final Fantasy 7 Remake. And that should shed more light on the differences between Human Revolution and Mankind Divided. The last game ended at a crux for relations between normal and enhanced humans. From the early previews, the divide between humans and cyborgs is widening, and tensions are high. As the trailer says, “mechanical apartheid” has begun.
Deus Ex has always been a relatively serious series of games. It deals with high-level philosophical issues about the future of humanity and the gameplay does its best to keep up with that level of ambition. Human Revolution married the two in a modern way that stayed true to the series’ early-aughts roots. Mankind Divided clearly has the same ambitions. We’ll find out this summer if it will succeed.