From what I've read an absolute ton of shit was left on the cutting room floor. Basically the only thing that got seen to completion was the design of Prague, which is why it's really the only fully realized location in the game. At least we got two in Human Revolution. Not just game environments, but rushed mechanics and cut enemy ideas they didn't have time to balance because of Squeenix's harsh schedule and constant threats to cut off the money tap. That's absolutely why the game ends like 2/3rds of the way through the story, the writers have hinted as much.
Prague definitely felt like a more fleshed out Detroit and the depth of field trick did fall flat at the very end of the GARM facility when it felt like I could easily jump the game from the helipad to the large facility that was really a smaller model than the VTOL. It would also explain why the gold mask mercs are suddenly just reskinned gangsters from Human Revolution in the final level. Despite there being hints at a much grander experience via the Deus Ex GO puzzle game. The Criminal Past DLC was great though and felt like it belonged in the base game.
They really should have ditched the
wannabe watch dogs 2 Breach mode and focused entirely on the single player campaign for their single player video game. Since the hacking minigame was the weakest part of the game no one liked. There's no point in upgrading anything past level 5 hacking clearance because stealth is simply not an option even with the stealth software maxed out at -45% chance of detection and the new Stealth Software. You will
ALWAYS be detected no matter what. Just grab a few copies of nuke software and rush the Green nodes or the Red nodes if its on the way. It d
The "Augs as oppressed minorities" theme doesn't work for the same reason the "X-men as oppressed minorities" theme rarely works. Many of these people are quite dangerous compared to the rest of the population and you have to intelligently thread the needle to make comparing it with black people/gays not sound asinine. Which is why X-men is at its best when it's focusing on how people react to bigotry against them and the endless cycle of violence that can encourage, while "Aug Lives Matter" and literal police checkpoints like fascists in the 30's (why wouldn't the government, say, intensely surveil the augmented via their augs, you know, a much more intelligent and modern approach to dystopia?) ring hollower than HL2 did.
I agree. They did show some level of being able to do that during the Panchaea incident. When Darrow indirectly took control of their augs globally and turned it into a zombie survival game because they ran out of ideas at the end of HR. They won't shut up about it being the 9/11 of this iteration of Deus ex despite the original games never once mentioning something that important.
The idea of killswitches and other hidden augmentations being secretly installed in the augmented populace globally is the only real leg they have to stand on for "oppression" via the optional limb clinic update in HR and the kill phrases in the original game. But its kind of warranted when someone like Adam can single handedly wipe out most of Prague's militarized police force and several black ops military units. Unlike X men where mutants are basically goaded into violence, and not given the choice to be mutants in the first place. Contrasted by it being a literal in game trend for everyone to get augmented like it was buying a smartphone in Human revolution.
Shit, even with all that criticism levied against it your post has me wanting to do another playthrough just to go back to that world. Never did get a pacifist foxiest-of-the-hounds run on Mankind Divided, only Human Revolution.
There's an achievement for it just like HR, but you 100% need to immediately spec into wall smashing, level 5 hacking, and immunity to electricity to even have a chance to pull it off with how bugged the ai is with being able to see you through walls sometimes. Its dumb that level 5 hacking pads show up as early as the first chapter since there are rarely ways around them and the level design is so atrocious that stealth was definitely an afterthought compared to HR and more put into the fucking puzzle game "Deus Ex Go!" than the flagship title for some reason.
All you needed was a 10mm pistol with EMP rounds and a Revolver with Normal and AP ammo for literally anything that has a helmet or is not a person. Using EMP rounds does not set off alarms or even concern other nearby enemies but destroying cameras or robots will. You can't even stun meatbag enemies with EMP ammo. Definitely half implemented ammo types and even more half assed "advanced" versions of the basic weapons that can't slot normal ammo or use weapon attachments.
