Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

I haven't played any of the other Deus Ex games, but I got into one of those moods where only one game sounded appealing to play at the moment, and MD was it. Probably had something to do with me recently finishing Dishonoured 2 (Which I really liked), and seeing a showcase for it by IndianAgent47.



Did the first mission in Dubai nonlethally with the tranquilizer rifle. Mission was alright, but somewhat linear. Understandable, given that it's a tutorial mission, but I do think the game could've started on a better foot. Dunno if there are any consequences to going lethal or nonlethal, narrative or otherwise, like in the Dishonoured games.

The switching back and forth between first and third-person was kind of weird, but I got used to most of it quickly enough. I still think the takedowns and the "punch through wall" animation are jarring, but it shouldn't be a big deal in the long run.

Original Deus ex is among my favourite games. It's still golden standard in Schrödinger genre of Immersive sims. It also benefits from few RPG elements - you can't be good at everything right of the bat, so you don't have to impose some limits on yourself all that much.

But about MD:
>consequences of approach
In general? No, only individual cases afaik. There is one that's not obvious - in Palisade Bank, if you knockdown one unremarkable-looking civ npc, he won't show up later in mission, which locks you form getting to objective easier (it doesn't soft-lock you thankfully).

>takedowns
It was always funny to me that Jensen needs protein bar after knocking out one dude. Some of them are definitely too long, but it's something that you stop paying attention after while.

Really fun game imo, I love the original and Human Revolution too. I think HR might be one of my favs in the series, despite its flaws. Mankind Divided was a highlight for me too. The DLC is fun too from what I can recall.

Also loved how dense the area was, every nook and cranny was well crafted. There's also a room that 'punishes' you for exploring. Super cool.

> but I do think the game could've started on a better foot.

I heavilly doubt that the developement was messy, because You will do 'another tutorial mission' but open-ness apporach this time. And you know what? Then, you will be introduced to a firing range and learn how to shoot things by NPC. They just sticks bunch of stuffs in early phases.

Anyway, I like DE:MD too, and I recommend that you should play with sub quests more than main quests. Honestly, Main quests are not so intersting but sub quests are well made in terms of "its own story line" and give multiple objects to clear.

Deus Ex 1 is still the only one I've finished, really an amazing game.

It's weird how each of his systems when judged on their own isn't remarkable (combat isn't the focus of the game, stealth isn't as good as in Thief etc...), but they all work very well together, and combined with the open level design allow for lots of ways to approach objectives and reward experimentation.

I hear Invisible War is not so good but I'll still try it, but I have high expectations from HR and MD (despite MD being unfinished), even if the cover system feels weird to me from the little I've played of them.

I also highly recommend Arkane's Prey, another banger that allows for lots of creativity in how to approach objectives.

> Invisible War
I've heard good things. It's honestly quite an ambitious game, especially for the time (in graphical specs alone).

> HR/MD
You do have to accept that they are more streamlined/modern and handwave Hbomberguy's critique of it. HR I still recommend playing the original, as it has the original art-direction, which the DC version removes (the filter). Some hate the filter, but honestly it does add to the charm.

> Prey
Imo the best game of the last gen if I'm being honest, or at least top 5.

Got a bit further.

Drahomir proceeded to block my way through a police checkpoint to get to the bookstore, and directed me to a scam artist to forge some documents. I proceeded to beat up the scam artist and his friend, snuck into his base while beating up the other guards, and found that he had kidnapped someone to forge the documents. I managed to save her, and decided to give the last of the forged documents to the people who had paid her for that (both of them in unsurprisingly difficult circumstances).

As for Drahomir, I reported him to a disgruntled cop, and she and her squad proceeded to gun him down. I passed through the checkpoint, gunned my way through the Dvali thugs, and met Koller.

When I got to Koller, and he mentioned how I was going to have to disable certain Augs in order to get access to the new, experimental stuff, that grabbed my interest as a cool management sort of deal. The game then proceeded to immediately undermine this by bringing up a quest I could do to get access to every single Aug at once. I should've seen this one coming.

Anyway, I go to the other side of Prague, explore some sewers, and accidentally stumble upon the guy (Otar) that Koller told me to go to in order to give me the item that lets me get all Augs. I talk my way out of the conversation by being straightforward, but now Otar wants me to do him a favour.

As for the other quest involving the forged documents, I have to get them verified, so I sneak in and beat up the employees, and can only verify one of the two people's documents. On a timer. So I kind of just randomly pick.

That's about as far as I've gotten right now.