The Latest ‘Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’ Trailer is an Easter Egg Extravaganza

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the sequel to 2011's terrific cyberpunk stealth-'em-up (and then brutally murder them all for good measure) Deus Ex: Human Revolution, falls firmly into the category of Really Rather Hyped Right Now, in the gaming calendar.

The Eidos Montreal-developed, Square Enix-published title was first announced in April 2015, and expectations have been growing since. Come its worldwide release day, August the 23rd, there's a fair chance that several franchise fans will have already popped, rendering themselves very dead and therefore unable to pick up a pad for some adventure time with augmented protagonist Adam Jensen.

To help you, assuming you're one of these frothing, likely-to-explode sorts whose anticipation is becoming unsafe for both you, your friends and co-workers, feel a little more connected to what's coming up in Mankind Divided, here we have a neat breakdown of all the Easter egg-style winks and nods and nudges that are present and correct in the game's most recent trailer, "The Mechanical Apartheid". Not sure about that title, personally, but it's a swanky clip that sets up the situation for the game: the year is 2029, and augmented humans have become outcasts in society after violent incidents that may or may not have been entirely self-controlled. Something, something, Illuminati. Take a look below.

'Deus Ex: Mankind Divided' – The Mechanical Apartheid

Courtesy of Square Enix, with some fleshing out by muggins, here's a list of little nuggets of fan-servicing goodness that pop up in the above trailer. Did you catch them all? Should I have prepared a download-and-print-at-home Spotter's Guide tick-sheet in advance? Are you even reading this bit or are you already down around 01:36? Why am I still writing here?

00:08: There's your throwback to the Sarif Industries commercial that served as publicity for Human Revolution in 2011. Sarif is a biotech company based in Detroit, producing some of the best prosthetics in the Deus Ex Universe. It was attacked by the Tyrants, a paramilitary group, at the beginning of Human Revolution.

00:13: And there's the company's logo on the female character's robotic arm.

00:33: Does that mean-looking saw seem familiar? That's because it's the same one seen in the introductory sequence to Human Revolution. Still gives me the willies. Like, proper brrr shakes.

00:39: The Picus Group there, reporting the news. Picus is the biggest media corporation in the game's world. Sort of like Fox, but not quite so evil.

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01:12: You might've seen the "Be Aug Aware" website (here) that's gone live to support Mankind Divided. This "caught on camera" security footage is from said promotional site. And at 01:14 you briefly catch the triangular Deus Ex Universe logo on a column inside the shop.

01:16: The Czech Republic's "voice" in this matter is in relation to Útulek Station, aka Golem City, a prison camp-like ghetto for augs that's based on Hong Kong's Kowloon Walled City. "Útulek" roughly translates as "refuge", and the settlement was originally established to house Prague's working classes. It will be a major setting in Mankind Divided.

01:24: She's injecting herself with Neuropozyne, or "Nu-Poz", which prevents the body's flesh and blood from rejecting the mechanical augmentation that's now a part of it. What you don't want to do in such a situation is accidently inject yourself with "N-Dubz", of course, as that can lead to sending threatening texts to strangers and swearing at kids on domestic flights. Did I really just go there? I did, didn't I. Looking back at it now, that was just a terrible move on my part. Apologies.

01:36: That woman on the advert for "The Debate" is one Eliza Cassan, anchor on Picus TV. Why is this important? Because she's not a woman at all – she's an advanced AI, and played a significant part in the story of Human Revolution. What role she's set to play in Mankind Divided remains to be seen. Top collar game, though.

01:43: Those film posters are all part of the wider Deus Ex Universe. Two tickets to Rogue Hand, please. Said nobody, ever. IRL, a Deus Ex movie was teased back in 2015, around the time of Mankind Divided's reveal. I've not seen anything about it since then, though (has anyone?), but it was said to be based on the events of Human Revolution.

01:55: Here are posters – "Rise Up!", "Augs For Equality!" – produced by and supporting the Augmented Rights Coalition, a major faction in Mankind Divided. The ARC is non-governmental but seen to exert a degree of influence in many nations where augmented individuals reside. Then again, it's also considered a terrorist organisation by its rivals. Headquartered in Germany, the ARC's leader is Talos Rucker, who is hesitant to trust Jensen. Probably because of his penchant for punching people. Skip to 03:06 to hear Rucker speak: "We lost everything…"

02:30: Here we have a voice over from another NPC in Mankind Divided, Ivan Berk. Bad name, that; I'd have requested a rethink. Makes me think of The Trap Door. Remember The Trap Door? Of course you don't, because you're young. Anyway, Ivan was in the initial Mankind Divided announcement trailer. Likewise that explosive (terrorist) attack.

Thorough enough? Or did we miss anything? You can expect to read more about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided in the weeks leading up to its release, as we'll hopefully be seeing it at E3. Meantime, here's its official website.

@MikeDiver

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