Today publisher Square Enix unveiled the launch trailer for their upcoming title, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. The game was originally supposed to have a February release date, but ended up being delayed. Executive game director at developer Eidos Montreal spoke with GameSpot at this year’s E3 on what exactly the long delay was for:
“[It’s for] polish. Making sure that we’re balancing the game. Making sure that some things that were rough around the edges were fixed. It was really taking the time to massage the game. Development, sometimes it takes a lot of time. More often than not, the actual game comes together very late in the process.”
While delays can be worrisome for gamers excited about an upcoming project, Mankind Divided appears to be on the right track, if the footage shown of the game is any indication. It’s a sequel to the well-received Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and continues the story of the protagonist of that game, the technologically enhanced Adam Jensen. “You can kill dreams,” he narrates in the launch trailer. “You can kill innocents. You can kill freedom. But you can’t kill progress.”
Check out the trailer here:
In some ways, the series has been an under-the-radar success. It’s overshadowed by some of the more bombastic shooter and RPG series, and has always had a focus on thought-provoking storytelling in addition to its stealth and combat gameplay.
Early reviews for Mankind Divided have been positive. GameSpot’s Edmond Tran praises the gameplay, writing that “killing enemies is just as satisfying as slipping past them without raising suspicion. Punching through a wall is as fulfilling as stealing a keycard and just using the door.” The game boasts a large amount of freedom in its choices offered to the player, both in gameplay approaches and in storytelling.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided launches next Tuesday, August 23rd, for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC platforms. A free copy of the previous game, Human Revolution, comes with a digital pre-order on the Xbox One.
