Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’s launch trailer has just been released, and it looks to give the game’s themes the weight they deserve.
Deus Ex is a series known for its options. There’s plenty of side content and characters, and nearly any situation can be approached from a variety of angles: Pure stealth, hacking, careful takedowns, and all-out gunplay are all options. Your dialogue choices and approaches to combat all give you a chance to put your footprint on the Deus Ex universe, and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided looks to continue that freedom, even as the story gets more oppressive.
The trailer shows off the Icarus Landing System (unlimited free-fall), The Glass-Shield Cloaking System (invisibility), and Dermal Armor (a full-body defensive crystalization), and we can hope to see the return of other, equally fun upgrades like the Typhoon Explosive System (which turns protagonist Adam Jensen’s body into a frag grenade). Jensen’s takedowns and arsenal seem to have received a brutal and efficient upgrade, as well, including multiple pulse-like weapons– one in his robotic arm.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided has faced controversy leading up to its release: It’s preorder system rewarded people based on how many people preordered overall, which was negatively received until its cancellation. The developers also used the term “mechanical apartheid” to describe the human vs “aug” (the game’s slang for augmented humans/cyborgs) relationship; developers responded by apologizing, but asserting that they only wished to call attention to, not judge, real-world division. They also took offense at accusations that the development team was completely white. Despite all this, another controversy occurred more recently when promotional art featured the loaded pun “aug lives matter”.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the successful 2011 series reboot, had complex and engaging gameplay and dealt with heavy ideas of prejudice– but also featured abominable black and Asian stereotypes. Hopefully, its sequel’s story has matured alongside its gameplay. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided releases August 23rd for PS4, XBox One, and PC.