Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Revision as of 19:20, 26 March 2016 by Msq (talk | contribs)

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is an upcoming Cyberpunk-themed action role-playing video game—combining first-person shooter, stealth and role-playing elements—developed by Eidos Montreal and published by Square Enix as a sequel to the 2011 Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Set two years after Human Revolution in the year 2029, Mankind Divided features the return of Adam Jensen, with new technology and body augmentations. The fourth main entry in the Deus Ex series, the game is slated for an August 2016 release date.

Following the events of the previous game, animosity between augmented and non-augmented humans has reached the point wherein the very notion of augmentation is violently opposed by various elements of society. Now working for the Interpol-funded Task Force 29, Jensen is tasked with pursuing augmented terrorists. But he's also fighting his own war against the people responsible for the events of Human Revolution, in the process uncovering an ever deeper conspiracy.

While the gameplay itself is set to improve upon what's worked with Human Revolution, the developers have stated how they're seeking to make every possible game style doable, be it a Pacifist Run or full-on guns blazing.

Tropes used in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided include:
  • Actionized Sequel: While the game is stated to be even more so compared to Human Revolution, this is also extended to how Pacifist Runs and Stealth Runs are approached.
  • The Atoner: Adam Jensen's main motivation, in addition to going after those who wronged him in the previous game.
  • Bilingual Bonus: Parts of the game are set in and around Prague, complete with appropriate Czech.
  • Big Brother Is Watching: Especially evident in the Prague scenes, with police and cameras monitoring for anyone (i.e. augs) deemed a threat.
  • Can't Stop the Signal: The Juggernaut Collective, which is a global network of hackers, activists and anti-corruption agents.
  • Color Motif: The gold/yellow/black palette from Human Revolution makes a return. This time however, everything is noticeably darker, reflecting the end of the supposed golden age.
  • Crapsack World: More openly so than in Human Revolution. What once seemed like the cusp of a new golden age is becoming more and more like the messed-up world seen in the original Deus Ex.
  • Cutscene Power to the Max: Averted. The gameplay is stated to be such that just about everything seen in the trailers released so far is perfectly doable.
  • Cursed with Awesome: Downplayed compared to the previous game, given how Adam Jensen's getting more than used to his augmented lease on life.
  • Cutting Off the Branches: Mankind Divided is stated to be vague regarding which ending of Human Revolution is canon, though Jensen himself would feel that whatever he did seems like a failure. Elements of the plot are also mentioned as incorporating elements of every ending.
  • Dubai: Part of the game is mentioned as being set here, with Adam pursuing a Task Force 29 mission involving an illegal arms deal gone wrong.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: The state of affairs in 2029 can be described as "Mechanical Apartheid."
  • Double Agent: Adam Jensen is actually working for the hacktivist Juggernaut Collective, which managed to get him into Task Force 29 with the intent of going after the Illuminati.
  • Enemy Civil War: It's implied that one is taking place Between the Illuminati and its splinter-faction, the Majestic 12.
  • Foreshadowing/Call Forward: Task Force 29 is basically a predecessor to UNATCO in the original Deus Ex.
  • Government Conspiracy: Adam privately suspects that Task Force 29 is really a front for the Illuminati's plans.
  • Grey and Gray Morality: As befitting a Deus Ex game, it's not always clear what the "right" choice is, if there is any. This is especially highlighted by Adam's conflicting duties to both Task Force 29 and the Juggernaut Collective.
  • History Repeats: New forms of segregation and racism have emerged, with augmented humans even persecuted apartheid-style.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Adam's nanoblades return from the previous game, which also double as projectile weapons this time around.
  • Interpol Special Agent: Task Force 29 is a significantly more powerful version of this trope. Eventually, such task forces would lead to UNATCO in Deus Ex.
  • Nothing Is the Same Anymore/The Unmasqued World: For Adam, at least. And not just because of his augmentations either. As he's since become aware of the Illuminati's plans.
  • Just Before the End: Despite the "Mechanical Apartheid," the world has yet to slide into the malaise of the original Deus Ex. But it's made evident that it's heading there.
  • Punch Clock Villain: Some of Adam Jensen's erstwhile co-workers in Task Force 29 seem to be this, being just professional lawmen just trying to do their duty and not in the loop on the Illuminati's plans.
  • Swiss Army Appendage: Adam's augmented arms now have guns and various assorted devices integrated into them.
  • Transhuman Treachery: There are a number of augmented terrorists who seek to exact vengeance on non-augmented society.
  • United Nations Is a Super Power: The UN is even more powerful than in Human Revolution such that proto-UNATCO bodies like Task Force 29 are being implemented.
  • Unusual Ammo: The game makes it possible to use various ammo types of weapons, from armor-piercing rounds to nonlethal alternate fire for Pacifist Runs.
  • Wide-Eyed Idealist: The leading figures of the Augmented Rights Coalition, an international NGO fighting for the fair treatment of augmented humans. Unfortunately, some of its members don't share the pacifistic and conciliatory sentiments formally endorsed by the ARC and end up resorting to terrorism.
  • Wide Open Sandbox: It's mentioned that Mankind Divided would be even more of this than its predecessor.
  • Wretched Hive: Útulek Station, aka Golem City, which is a massive, decrepit refuge for augmented humans on the outskirts of Prague that was originally meant to house the local Czech working classes prior to the events of 2027.