Why You Shouldn't Skip the Side Missions in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

[@AeromaticXD]

I personally loved the main storyline, but damn the side missions are so underrated, even though they’re what makes it a Deus Ex game!

[@furjaden8553]

Well said.

[@AeromaticXD]

Furjaden thanks!

[@BalanceProper]

It had its flaws but the minute to minute gameplay and the side missions made it one of the best games I experienced this generation.

[@penguonz]

Admittedly this doesn't have to just apply to you, but I can't see where the complaints come from for the story in Mankind Divided. Sure, the main story may not have gone into enough depth when it came to exploring the issues of augmentation and racism, but does it need to? Augmentation was explored throughout Human Revolution, and as you've said - the racism aspect is still explored in the game, it's just through exploring the hubs and doing side missions. The main story just introduces you to parts that can be explored outside of it, like ARC. The focus of the main story was on conspiracies, and also provided links back to the original Deus Ex. The issue of mechanical augmentations is a non-issue in the original Deus Ex, and the main story seems to be going in the direction of explaining why that came to be - the Illuminati's involvement being an obvious contributor. As for the ending, I don't know what the issue is. Is the transition from the last mission to Adam's apartment jarring? Yes, very. Does the game feel like it ends early? No. The game was building up to Adam's confrontation with Marchenko - and it very much delivers. Not to mention you aren't given some rather meaningless endings like in the previous games, your actions throughout the game affect the ending, and your choice and actions during the final mission carries a lot of weight. Some people say the game feels cut in half, and I can't understand why. Like I said, the game builds up to the Marchenko confrontation, and it delivers. Is Adam talking about meeting Janus really a sign that half the game was cut out? To me it seems like a great place to end it, it gives you an ending that makes sense, and sets up the next game in the series nicely. The ending transition is jarring, but I don't know why people are surprised when it ends. By exploring Prague and doing the side missions, my first playthrough of Mankind Divided was the longest I spent on a first playthrough of any Deus Ex game. An issue the game has is with the characters. The characters aren't bad, but they are not in the game enough. Aria is the worst offender, with only being involved with an unnecessary tutorial and having 2/3 optional conversations. The characters weren't given enough screen time, and I really hope they aren't discarded for a new cast in the sequel. They're nothing more than wasted potential. Anyway, I enjoyed your video. I disagree with some of the complaints about the main story, but I like that you brought attention to the side missions. They really are the best parts of the game.

[@venom_snake1984]

Nev This rebuttal is incredible. Keep up the good work!

[@furjaden8553]

This is the kind of defense MD deserves.

[@seva4370]

Mankind Divided has the best last mission: different environment, timed event, actual stakes (not just some weird "SAVE THE WORLD"). So the end is fine; I think the main criticism comes from people who mostly played main story and ignored side quests, developers mentioned they wanted to build much deeper side missions, and they overdelivered! Anyway, I agree that it is a complete game, and people just wanted to have another world-hopping HR, which is funny considering that game is criticized for being not bold enough.

[@CampionBun]

I disagree with your statements on the story, and one thing I will address is your issue with JC Jensen not having a clear allegiance; because he's not supposed to have one. He is an empty vessel for the player. One of the major themes of the series is questioning who you can trust.

[@crumplepoint2712]

Everyone seems to have forgotten DEx is not an RPG

[@christoptheillusiveman9875]

Madnam JC Jensen?

[@WolfLPer]

I still love the first Game, because it was so Open, unconventional and there was so much to discover that is not just an airduct away.

[@xXBiShOXx]

Despite the disappointing narrative in this game (this game was set in 2029 and yet DOESN'T HAVE ANY IMPORTANT BACKSTORY ABOUT JC DENTON. JC WAS BORN IN 2029 DUE TO DIRECT MJ12 INTERVENTION YET THERE WAS NOTHING ABOUT HIM HERE SERIOUSLY EIDOS MONTREAL???) I've gotta say that the gameplay here was extremely polished and is the reason that I would go to replay MD over HR. In every way the core gameplay here is much more engaging than it was in HR imo. Otherwise I agree, the side missions are way more interesting than the main narrative, the fact that I did most of them on my first playthrough probably made my impression of the game much better than a lot of other peoples.

[@petefigtree]

Your videos are gold. I truly Hope your Chanel grows a lot.As a gamedev myself I am loving the points you make about narrative scale. Real food for thought

[@jonolas1626]

Ah yesss, MD's side missions, the best I've ever played

[@hewhoisnamed9050]

Your videos are truly awesome, you offer such an informative and ponderous commentary on things I haven't heard discussed in this manner. Writing on Games will get its day, you have my axe.

[@RyanHollinger]

I'm glad you said it because I genuinely didn't know what the hell was going on and I feel not being engaged with the narrative ruins the overall experience. In fact, I find it funny they cut down much of the gameplay to emphasize it's story which is completely the reserve effect. Really disappointed in it, but then again I haven't felt compelled much this year behinds Firewatch and Dark Souls 3.

[@WritingOnGames]

I've played through the game twice now and I could identify some factions and some characters that appear, but the story is that much of a mess that I honestly can't remember much in the way of plot points or why you end up doing half the shit you do. Adam just seems to go places because he's told to and then... return to Prague I guess? It's been pretty heavily insinuated that they've been working on a sequel to this for a long time, so maybe that'll fill in why none of this stuff makes any sense? Either way, really, really disappointing for a Deus Ex game.

[@WritingOnGames]

Also, GET BACK TO MAKING VIDEOS

[@RyanHollinger]

Writing on Games NEXT TUESDAY!

[@buildings_and_food]

the boss fight at the end feels like a mid-game sequence because it is. I think it was Jim Sterling who said the game was written longer, but was contrived by Squenix to be shorter in order to make design space for DLC and microtransaction multiplayer modes :'(

[@CPalanysamy]

just like with Prey, ignore the tag ¨SIDE¨or ¨MAIN¨ and you´ll have a better game experience.

[@DEADEYESTUDIO]

i played through the side missions and yass they add a lot to this game. honestly i think i like them more than the main story, doing detective work and taking down a cult. theyre a must for this game. no wonder the main game is so short, they did a lot of work on the side missions.

[@VARIOUShorses]

I'm looking forward to playing this, even if the main story is disappointing, I loved HR's world, as melodramatic as it was, and look forward to playing around in it a bit more. I feel like I need to play through HR again now. Great stuff as always.

[@WritingOnGames]

Thanks man! If there's one thing playing this game made me want to do, it was revisit HR. I didn't talk about it in this video but I really thought the world suffered from not having that bold black and gold aesthetic. I get they were trying to make the world look more 'real' to better place the real-life issues they attempt to discuss, but it really wasn't worth giving up such a unique look. HR is not only written far better, it also feels far more futuristic than its sequel.

[@TheXDownpour]

Isn't that to fit with the story? Is Prague really supposed to be very futuristic as apposed to Utalek (Golem) which sorta brought back the black/gold filter and looks much more futuristic, which fits in with the story of the place.

[@HxH2011DRA]

This is one of my favorites of yours now

[@shaharavigdori8641]

I am soo glad I found this channel. it does not stop to surprise me.great content.

[@EpicHotCheese]

The last part of the game was confusing. For some reason I had to fight the final boss before going to find Miller and save the VIPs, by the time I reached the VIP lounge, the game just ended abruptly. It was the most unsatisfying end ever.

[@DerpyDimentio]

SPOILERS!!! its timed if youre fast enough you can save the vip's then kill the boss and before you choose to steal some stuff from palisade ban truck or choose to save the clock guys daughter you get an antidote that can save miller i missed the antidote but i saved the vip's and beat the boss.

[@3333218]

This (in many ways) is how a review should be.

[@n3r0n3]

overall I agree (especially on how weak the overarching story was in respect to the side stories) but this is still by far the best game I played last year together with dark souls 3 and shin megami tensei 4 apocalypse

[@Netherfly]

I think the problems with Deus Ex here all have the same root cause: they chose the wrong premise! The problem with augmentation is the same as the problem with genetic engineering: it's technology that will only ever be accessible to the wealthiest and powerful members of society. So the enormous wealth gap dividing humans today will inevitably grow into something truly horrific when technology allows for the advent of a new, superior human race--consisting exclusively of the priveleged elite. Trying to make the augments "victims" is... completely the wrong approach. It's trying to ignore any kind of real-world controversy, and by doing so neatly side-stepping any possible relevancy.

[@locksmith4707]

I don't think so. It was explained in previous game that most of augmented people were pretty much forced into it as that is what corporations expected them to do (and they even financed their operations as increased productivity of these people made up any costs thrown into augmenting them) if you didn't submit to it then they replaced you with someone who is willing. Others like rich people did that because of ideology or because of trends. It's also big thematic thing that transhumanistic people in fact don't lose their humanity. The foundation of theme doesn't need to be relevant to real world as many fantasy works have proven or even other sci-fi like Blade Runner. BR based its theme on bioengineered human organisms and that they will be enslaved to comment on slavery, existentialism and nature of humanity. We don't nor will we have bioengineered human slaves as its not practical, unmoral and not economical but it works in film/book world and thanks to that allegory thematic discussion based on that premise works too. Going by this knowledge relevancy of the premise is totally intact. Game deals with the topic of dehumanization, augs are different but they still are people, they have moral spine, they love, they feel and they found themselves in situations they didn't ask for, they were forced into it, it wasn't their fault. And yet other, larger group of people are afraid because of the reality they all found themselves in, they act in questionable way and to relieve any dissonance they dehumanize. Augs as people that aren't "normal" are allegory to philosophical and sociological "Other" and game works on that context.

[@javierwagner4410]

We should learn to follow stories and not let our personal desires want to change the story to our personal conformities. Maybe for the overall story it was part of the scheme to make this adam jensen look like a tool within a bigger world.

[@JayCartere]

I love your videos bro, liked and subscribed!

[@iWillWakeYouUp]

"Welcome to Writing On Gaems. Deux Ex Mankaend Diveydid is a gaem" Love the accent. Where are you from, if I may ask? :) Btw I told friends of mine to check out your videos. It's a good feeling when they're all like "Why haven't you told me of that channel before?". Your content is really good and always a great watch. I'm sure once you hit the 10-15k mark, the subscriber count will rise faster and faster. Once word of good content gets out, people flock to it.

[@juliustausch7377]

I just bought this game and it made me realize something about myself I found so laughable and hilarious in the end, that I decided to share it: Pretty early into the game, your main mission tasks you with going to Golem City and the Utulek Complex. My mindset was "Shit, you'll never be in Prague again so let's get all the side missions done, get engrossed in the game!" which I then went and did so with joy. After the golem city mission however, I was so baffled on why I was so scared, cause you just return. You don't stay there forever. I guess that makes me an all or nothing person.

[@glennthomasstudio]

What's the bet they announce a sequel to be released this year that picks up right where Mankind Divided finishes?

[@MasterHero10000]

This comment did not aged well

[@DanielSantosAnalysis]

I liked this, you got a sub.

[@WritingOnGames]

Much appreciated!

[@nuclearhardt]

Wait, you compose the background music for your videos?

[@TheXDownpour]

I definitely agree with your overall point but I don't think it is a huge negative on the game. Even Witcher 3, which is often heralded for its amazing story and world building, has a main story that falls flat and doesn't do a good job of incorporating a lot of the themes of the world. Much like Deus Ex MD it really shines in the side missions and witcher contracts you do. Now I think Witcher 3 does all this much better than Deus Ex MD but I just wanted to point out that even that game suffers from the same issues but is redeemed by the amazing side stories. So I think it is fine that Deus Ex MD doesn't incorporate the politics and race/social issues in as much. I like the crazy conspiracy stuff and the side missions do the work of bringing to light the politics and social issues

[@WritingOnGames]

Thanks for watching! You see, I completely disagree with the assertion that TW3's main story doesn't incorporate the main themes of its world. That entire game is about subverting typical RPG tropes that you are the ONLY PERSON who can SAVE THE WORLD from the BIG BAD THING. That whole story is about a dude trying to find a woman he knows, then trying to help facilitate HER saving the world. It ties in really nicely with the themes of the far off conflicts being something that the people don't care about - it's how those wars affect their lifestyles that matters. I have another video on that game in particular and why its story, to me, works so well, but I wanted to give you an outline of my point before telling you to go watch my other stuff, haha. As for DE:MD, Adam is trying to be the main player in everything that's going on, and the story tries to facilitate the idea that you are the one who can stop everything from happening, but it's constantly shifting from faction to faction, constantly trying to increase the stakes in something the player has no stakes in themselves. Say what you want about the Witcher 3, but it's point was to have Geralt experiencing close proximity with all the different factions in the world-altering conflict, but always just for the sake of a smaller, more human main focus - finding Ciri. With DEMD, there isn't that focus, and so Adam just feels like he's going from place to place for no discernable reason and so nothing is coherent. In TW3 that didn't matter to me as a player because it sure as shit didn't matter to Geralt. Here the larger, world-altering conflict IS the story, and that's why it's so broken. I totally get what you mean, and from a gameplay perspective, if you liked HR you'll probably like this game, but I think to compare this game's absolute train wreck of a narrative to something as carefully thought out on such a granular level as The Witcher 3 is to do the latter a grave disservice. Phew. Sorry for the essay. If you're still here, thanks again for watching!

[@TheXDownpour]

Rereading my comment I don't think I explained myself properly. Witcher 3 is definitely better in the narrative department in every way. My only point was that its main story also has some of the problems of incorporating the themes you experience in the game. For example the politics or the shitty life of the little people for a large part has no affect on the main story but is huge in the side quests. It definitely does better at the SAVE THE WORLD trope you mentioned. So even though I think the main story can feel disconnected from the side stuff you do, like Deus Ex MD, it doesn't suffer as much because the main story can stand on its own much better. Can you clarify what you mean by "constantly trying to increase the stakes in something the player has no stakes in themselves"? Doesn't Adam have a lot of stakes in how Augs are treated considering he is one himself. Plus one of the main events going on is the Human Restoration Act which if passed could make his life very very hard. So to me that does seem like something he would have a direct interest in. I may be missing what you actually meant by that though. I really enjoyed MD from a gameplay perspective for sure. The story obviously is no where near as good as W3 but I thought it was serviceable and shines with some of the side stuff like you mentioned.

[@SuperWarriorFitness]

I loved this game because I love deus ex but I admit it could have been better with some fine tweaking, the side missions are 100% the best part of the game, the lack of boss battles pissed me off and the main story could have been better. The energy system depletes really fast and stays low which is cool but shouldn't be like that once fully upgraded, but it's still an awesome game that has you feeling like a badass throughout.

[@XTORD1]

what do you think about mankind divided vs hr or even the orginal? i am around 25 percent in a guess , at least 8hrs in i think is oo from a gameplay point of view.. but yeah it does have it problems.

[@WritingOnGames]

It's by far the worst game in terms of the ones you listed. HR was a fresh, if not as deep, take on the original. MD feels like a rehash of HR, except far more poorly written and without the striking aesthetic.

[@XTORD1]

Writing on Games thanks for replay, sorry if the bad english the double oo was meant to be good. I see ,well we can hope the dlc fixes the storry/plot a little bit. But i guess is gonna be hard to beat the orginal game. Thanks for reply ... not often

[@WritingOnGames]

+Tord L No worries! I could totally understand what you were saying, so your English isn't bad at all! They have just announced some DLC focusing on Pritchard from the last game which seems like a weird direction to go with the story but hey, we'll see I guess. Thanks again for watching!

[@XTORD1]

Writing on Games wait some dlc , i thought it was only one with pritchard, ah well thanks for info. Yeah it seems weird, but to early to judge i think , still the word dlc is yeah i dont like it. Anytime if you keep making vids like these i will be sure to keep watching :) btw have a good weekend.

[@samcook363]

None of the sequels have ever touch the original. The way that game critiques modern politics and social issues then let's the player decide how to overcome that oppression hasn't even been done before or since in my opinion, although there are arguably even more subjects and current events a new game could draw from today. Shame they played it too safe. I'd love to see a long winded deus ex game about racism and corruption where the player is allowed to punish (or even continue) injustice however they see fit.

[@thepetrifiedbard1646]

It did but it was all in the last mission. *spoilers* you had to either destroy the internet combine urself with an ai or kill bob page and join the Illuminati.

[@DEADEYESTUDIO]

i kinda wanna replay this game again and try the side missions cuz fucking hell the game felt too short. i think for the most part human revolution is the better game in certain aspects such as story, but i do think at the same time they made the gameplay much better and more challenging in mankind. even at human revolutions highest difficulty i dint have much trouble beating it and im god awful at games lol

[@kabeltelevizio]

The game had no clear antagonist or interesting side characters, that could have provided a different stance and perspective of the story. Neither Jensen or his allies, nor the villains change, in any way. The only mission with some kind of stake was the save daughter/rob bank one, because it felt like we had an actual impact on the plot (which is not true, but it felt like it). Also, what the hell is the final boss of the game doing? Why is he there, why is he fighting against aug rights? He didn't seem like the type that could or would be controlled. It just felt like they wanted a boss fight with an aug and couldn't come up with something better. Oh and the how the game closes is a joke. instead of a creative way to show the events after the finale, it is read from a TV while the camera zooms in on it...

[@Klips005]

should add (review) to title.

[@wymanrtaylor]

The problem with this game’s story being a thinly-veil allegory about race and prejudice etc is the same problem X-Men has in trying to make the same points. Augs, just like villainous mutants, have fuckig superpowers and could kill the shit out of everyone if they so desired (prof they were all hacked... as has happened in the canon lore now). PEOPLE SHOULD BE SCARED OF AUGS; it would be illogical NOT TO BE, even had “the incident” Not occurred. Simply put, augmented people and mutant superheroes are not even remotely similar to ordinary people who just have different skin colors and different cultures; it is IN NO WAY analogous and thus the allegory completely fails from the ground up. I therefore find it idiotic and side with the “evil racists” who quite correctly have fears of augs; your fuckin avatar can just run around and steal everybody’s shot from their apartments and if he gets caught, can, you know, turn invisible and stick a blade through you before murdering your family. PEOPLE SHOULD BE SCARED OF THAT. They should get rid of the forced, BS “rAcism, prejudice, and oppression” narrative/subtext; it just doesn’t work or make any sense in this world.

[@DarthBiomech]

I think it was conveyed as it should have been that not anyone of the augmented had _military-grade_ augs that do what you describe them doing. I bet 95% of the augmented have augs that are basically cosmetic or enhance other stuff than being able to punch through a concrete wall. It's sort of like cheering for the persecution of gun owners and just people that own a model of a gun, because few people legally own a rocket launcher and you're afraid _anybody with a gun_ can launch a rocket at your house while your family is in it.

[@thefalloutwiki]

Did you notice that Eliza is way more biased and kind of an asshole in this game, as opposed to fairly neutral in the last one? I wish they would have done something else with her, I mean we saw her becoming self aware which was awesome, and then we see her being super rude to people she is interviewing and saying was more slanted statements. Another missed opportunity I think.

[@a.g.m8790]

This game was a big letdown imo. It had responsive enjoyable gameplay but in terms of actual game mechanics and story it was very dull and shallow. I don't think a good story is one where the protagonist being there or not doesn't really matter

[@disissenpai665]

I love you. Do you love me?

[@WritingOnGames]

I feel like by acknowledging that I have noticed a senpai, that I am committing a truly revolutionary act.

[@disissenpai665]

Senpai has noticed you my love. Be mai waifu.