Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Dishonored 2 couldn’t be more different in terms of their themes, their story, even characters. What they do have in common, though, is their gameplays, which feel like they were built on a very similar underlying principle.
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Place a character in a large non-linear level, provide a set of tools (Jensen’s cybernetic augmentations, Corvo and Emily’s Outsider powers) which can be used in a variety of ways, and provide an objective. The rest is within the players’ hands, whether they want an all-out conflict, choose to remain unseen by anyone, or anything in-between. These broad strokes easily apply to both games.
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Which game does it better, however, and can it be measured? With Deus Ex: Mankind Divided having hit the shelves on 23 August, while Dishonored 2 release date is set for 11 November, Deus Ex has the advantage of being a fully known value. There is, however, enough information on Dishonored 2 to make an informed comparison of what both games are doing and how they do it.
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Improved mobility
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In Deus Ex: Human Revolution the extent of Jensen’s mobility did not reach much beyond improved jumping, and an electromagnetic parachute in the form of Icarus Landing System. Now the latter has a younger brother in the form of Icarus Dash power, which functions much like Blink known from both installments of Dishonored. And just like Blink at its basic level, a fully upgraded Icarus Dash allows Jensen to surge towards high ledges, snap from cover to cover, or use it to quickly get close to an enemy for elimination. The problem is it feels oddly more limited than Blink. Its ledge-grabbing, enemy smashing ability requires Icarus Dash to first be charged for a moment, and the two options appear almost as prompts unlocked by acquiring the aug.
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In comparison, in Dishonored 2 gameplay Blink from the outset gives Corvo (Emily has her Far Reach, with different features) instantaneous mobility.
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It allows him to both access far-away ledges and close in to enemies for quick kill or incapacitation. When upgrades, it will even let Corvo stop time while aiming the ability, providing him with another layer of advantage. Precise, fast, immediately fully functioning, Blink makes Corvo a blur on the map to an extent unreachable by Jensen.
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In short, Icarus Dash’s essential functionality is hidden behind an upgrade and contextualised by game world elements, easily understandable and with clear use. Blink on the other hand is a tool given to the players with the permission to play with it and figure out how much can be done with it.
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Stealth gameplay
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Mankind Divided perfects the formula known from Human Revolution, and does it very well. With improved cover-to-cover movement and clearer information about Jensen’s visibility, Mankind Divided’s stealth is based on solid, clearly-defined framework. Hide behind a cover, wait, deploy stealth-boosting augmentations, move forward. Deal with an enemy as needed. Now switching between covers can be targeted, expanding the range from options immediately near Adam Jensen known from Human Revolution. Mankind Divided stealth is supported by a large number of augmentations, including enemy tracking, automatic display of their cones of view and other improvements to an already powerful and informative radar.
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On the other hand Dishonored 2 continues and perfects its own predecessor’s approach. Your chosen character won’t snap to conveniently placed chest-high walls or have a convenient interface cue notifying about enemy attention. During Dishonored 2 gameplay both Emily and Corvo hide by crouching behind anything big enough to cover them without being firmly tied to a surface, allowing them to move as they wish and disappear in an instant. Their only interface-assistance come in the form of occasional awareness markers above each individual enemy’s head, and whatever can be scouted with the Dark Vision power.
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As a result Deus Ex Mankind Divided does most of the observation and planning for the player, especially when the stealth enhancers are upgraded. Dishonored 2 leaves much responsibility to the players, trusting them to scout and proceed on their own.
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Freedom of choice
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The Deus Ex series has always been about exploring every ventilation shaft and every hole in every fence. It remains so in Mankind Divided, with some improvements over Human Revolution. The levels in Mankind Divided are much more vertical than in its predecessor, with even more hidden areas and access points waiting to give the player experience and useful loot. This is where the previously discussed Icarus Dash comes into play in the most significant way, opening ways that would be inaccessible even with improved jumping. Almost all missions have several ways of approach prepared for the players, it’s just a matter of finding them. Sneaking, hacking, and combat are viable methods, often supported by the options opened up by a social-skills enhancing augmentation using microexpression-reading and pheromones to win conversations. Exploration is rewarding and encouraged.
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Dishonored 2 gameplay seems like an equal match. The levels are large and free for the players to explore for extra bits of lore, useful items, new ways of dealing with your targets. Sometimes the three are one and the same. The Clockwork Mansion featured heavily in Dishonored 2 trailers and other promotional materials is an interactive, constantly changing building, and it lets the players to squeeze through shifting walls and panels to see all the machinery and walk around mostly hidden from enemy sight.
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The options are left for the players to discover or make on their own, as the game systems are flexible enough to support even interactions unforeseen by the developers.
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How do they compare?
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Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Dishonored 2 have slightly different approaches to gameplay. The former provides clearly defined options, with augmentations giving very specific gameplay options. The latter offers powers and abilities with quite broad applications, but does not give many additional support, fully trusting in the players’ skill. Neither approach is inherently better, and both games are a proof that even similar basic concepts can be executed in unique ways.
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Dishonored 2 comes out on 11 November 2016, giving anyone enough time to still get a pre order version and make their own opinion about the game on Day 1. Will Dishonored 2 gameplay be your kind of stealthaction mix? Only one way to find out.
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