Note: This review will not cover the Breach mode, which has been released as a standalone product. This review will contain some spoilers for Human Revolution. Finally, this review will address the DLC available for this title.

In 2011, Deus Ex: Human Revolution was released. As a prequel to the original Deus Ex, it had big shoes to fill and mostly did. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is the direct sequel to the events of Human Revolution, and it's generally a good game, though not without flaws.

The story of Mankind Divided directly follows up on the events of Human Revolution. In 2027, Adam Jensen found himself having to stop a deranged plot to drive all cyberaugmented people insane. While he managed to do so, the damage was done. In 2029, the cyber-augmented are now seen as second-class citizens by the rest of the world, persecuted simply for existing. Worse, the conspiracy Adam Jensen tried to stop in Human Revolution is still going strong. Now, Adam Jensen is both an agent of Interpol and also works for Juggernaut Collective. In both identities, Adam Jensen finds it hard to uphold the law and discover the truth. Worse still, he may be forced to make even harder choices in his quest to pull back the veil of lies that have darkened the world.

Like all Deus Ex games, this title is an action RPG. In various "world hubs" like the streets of Prague and in certain standalone levels at certain intervals during the game, the player is given liberty to act however they see fit. They must explore to find hidden items and secrets, do side quests, and improve their cyberaugmentations to help with various challenges, take on or avoid foes, and further certain objectives to progress the story.

The augmentations are mostly the same as in Human Revolution, but have received a lot of overhauls and improvements. Most augmentations are utility in nature, like one that prevents fall damage and those that help with hacking electronic devices. Some are combat-related, such as the Typhoon (with lethal and non-lethal options). Some augmentations, specific to Mankind Divided, are usable but with possible tradeoffs, and their use could be valuable but with potential downsides.

It's worth noting that player choice, as is Deus Ex tradition, is proudly represented in this game. The player can choose to be bloodthirsty or choose to either knock out or simply avoid enemies. You can choose to hack computers, use vent shafts instead of forcing open doors, or employ guile and persuasion to gain access to certain areas. All play styles are valid, and they will have an effect on how other characters interact with the player in both the short and long term.

Graphically, Mankind Divided retains the futuristic aesthetic from Human Revolution, but with some changes. A recurring motif in Human Revolution was the colors black and gold. While still present, it's to a far lesser degree. Most of the game takes place in a fictionalized version of the city of Prague in the Czech Republic. Prague and other areas reflect the generally darker tone of the plot in having a lot of dingy and run-down areas, making the few relatively nice parts of the city contrast deliberately, to show how there is a massive gap between the rich and poor.

The sounds and music continue to reflect the Deus Ex series tradition of cyberpunk music, with lots of ambient techno. The voice acting continues to impress, with Elias Toufexis returning to voice Adam Jensen. He continues to be impressive at setting the tone with his distinctive, gravelly yet smooth tone. Given the new setting, a lot of characters speak rather fluently in Czech, lending authenticity to the Prague setting. Gunshots and other sound effects continue to be just as good as in Human Revolution.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided can be played with either a keyboard and mouse or with any Steam-supported controller. Both have easy to learn control schemes, and both can be easily remapped.

There are a few things worth noting. There is a fairly pointless microtransaction feature in this game, where the player can buy in-world upgrades for real money. I advise never touching this feature; the game world is super generous to the point that this is just taking your money. Second, this game had a tie-in with a now-defunct mobile game, so those features are now gone by default. Finally, some of the DLC items are "one use only per playthrough", meaning that if you start a new save file, they are not usable again. This is not really a problem; the game is perfectly beatable without these items, but do bear that in mind.

Stability is pretty solid. This title runs natively on Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux. This game is rated as Playable for the Steam Deck. I do recommend clearing the minimum requirements by a decent margin, but if you do that, this title will run very well.

Some final notes about the game's story and the story DLCs. The game's story is great, but it ends on a very annoying cliffhanger. One of the story DLCs takes place during the main game and honestly should have been part of the main game (it's thankfully provided to players for free). The other story DLCs are pretty good and worth getting. To best save your money, buy this content via the Season Pass.

Morally, this game has a lot of mature content.

Mankind Divided is a game with a lot of violence. Adam Jensen can be played as a violent, guns-blazing type if you so choose. Even if you choose to play Adam as nonviolently as possible, there is still going to be a lot of blood in cutscenes and as part of violence done by others. With the exception of a few areas, Adam Jensen can attack anyone, both peaceful and otherwise.

Language is going to be harsh. Frequent English profanity, ranging from the word f*** on down, can and will be heard. There is also some profanity in Czech, which can only be understood in subtitles. There are a lot of sexual innuendos and frequent references to sexual activity, especially in the Red Light district of Prague.

While most female NPCs are at worst skimpily dressed (these being prostitutes and sex workers in the aforementioned district mentioned above), there are some graphic artworks of women topless in the same area. There is no sexual activity shown, though it is certainly implied.

This game is set in a hard science fiction world setting. There are a few in-universe cults, one to a machine entity, and another started by someone abusing technology to brainwash people. Both cults you can have a hand in putting a stop to if you so choose.

Morally, this is a grim setting. As mentioned, anyone who is augmented with cybernetics is treated with contempt at best and like a subhuman animal at worst. There are frequent slurs, police brutality against the augmented, and frequent sadistic persecution of the augmented. Even Adam Jensen, despite having some degree of authority with Interpol, is not spared some of this abuse. There are frequent depictions of smoking, drinking, and drug use.

There is a point in the game where the player will be given a hard moral choice to do one of two missions. You cannot ordinarily do both missions, and someone will die in whatever mission you choose to forfeit. It is possible with glitches to do both missions, but if played as the developer intends, this is otherwise not possible.

Overall, I enjoyed Mankind Divided. Technically, it's pretty solid despite some strange DLC decisions. Morally, this game is obviously not fit for any but mature audiences. If you love Deus Ex games and especially Human Revolution, this game is a worthy follow-up.