But before we jump into analyzing PC performance and how it manages to be a step above the console version, let us take a look at the graphical settings.
Provided you have the hardware, the PC version easily trumps both the PS4 and Xbox One. We could have been a bit forgiving if these issues were only limited to NPCs but given that the game’s lead also suffers from such issues is quite disappointing.ĭeus Ex Mankind Divided is in many ways a true representative of each platform’s technical prowess. It’s perhaps this aspect that hurts the game most and distances itself from your so called next-gen title. Whether it be Adam Jensen himself or the NPCs, the animations feel awkward, out of place…not to mention that lip syncing is totally off at times. In fact, the engine shows its muscle during the later stages of the game and its here we see almost all of the technologies that I discussed earlier.ĭespite overwhelming positives with how the game handles its rendering technology, we can’t help but feel disappointed with the character animations. May be it’s the color scheme of this area which results into the said effect but when you compare it to some of the indoor areas or the later sections of Prague there is a massive difference. Honestly, the lighting looks flat in this section…it just doesn’t look right for some reason. For example, when you land in Prague you are treated to a mostly dull lighting scenario. However the implementation of lighting could be weird at times. Suffice to say that Eidos Montreal’s plans were rather ambitious and within the current climate of highly challenging industry scenarios, it’s literally a miracle that their tech demo almost matches with what they have achieved in-game with Mankind Divided, at least on the PC build anyway. The main goals behind the engine was to further delve into its rendering capabilities, physics methodologies and at the same time improve existing and introduce new technologies such as enhanced depth of field, screen space reflection, post processing effects, color correction, parallax occlusion, global illumination, volumetric lighting and most importantly support for DirectX 12 and Tress FX 3.0 and huge areas to explore. Based on IO Interactive’s Glacier Engine II, the Dawn engine was first announced during the latter half of 2014 and was said to support all Deus Ex games of the future. The heart of any game is its engine and in the case of Mankind Divided, it’s the Dawn Engine that is pulling off all the strings behind the scenes. It might not be the best looking game this generation but it implements enough modern technology that puts it right there among the best in recent years.
Mankind Divided finds itself in an interesting proposition. Technologies have been updated, most popular engines have made the shift to support realistic lighting properties or in more technical words physical based renderers, new consoles are on the horizon and the PC platform is growing stronger by the day.
It’s been close to five years since the last Deus Ex game came out.