History YMMV / DeusExMankindDivided

* WhatAnIdiot: [[spoiler:When Viktor injects Adam with the Orchid and leaves him to die at the GARM facility, it didn't cross his mind to disarm Adam of all his weapons and gear. The result is that Adam still has all the tools he needs to fight his way out of the facility. To be fair, Viktor had no idea that Adam was immune to the Orchid, but he still could have impounded his gear for Illuminati use.]]
** Or just stabbed him in the head. Or shot him. Or blew him up with a grenade.

** The plot involving the true Eliza Cassan and her fusion with the Hyron Drones, her attempts to evade and resist the Illuminati while becoming more sentient and her getting closer to Adam had a great deal of story potential that could have been explored more thoroughly over the course of the game and be part of the main storyline, instead of being mostly relegated to am interesting side mission that ultimately amounts to very little.

** Thankfully, when the game was released on Website/GOGDotCom, the removal of Denuvo has greatly improved the experience, leading at last to smooth and consistent gameplay.

* GeniusBonus: Golem City is in Prague as well as a ghetto, referring to when the golem was the protector of Prague's Jewish ghetto.

* ContestedSequel: While gameplay has been significantly improved along with a tighter focus on stealth and exploration and the graphics have greatly improved, the story is widely considered to be worse than the first game due to it obviously being the second game in a trilogy (and thus ending unsatisfyingly) and the game has had a lot of issues with its rather notable microtransaction service, which has been widely criticized. It's also significantly shorter than ''Human Revolution'', which could take 15-20 hours for a single playthrough compared to this game's 10-15.

* PortingDisaster: A really mixed bag on this one- while the in-game options for the PC port are varied and massive almost to the point of absurdity, with every little possible thing being able to be turned on and off, the actual port ''itself'' is a jumbled mess of horrible code and terrible optimization, along with being a massive resource hog. Gamers have reported hourly crashes, FPS drops despite well exceeding the required hardware and more, along with long (and frequent) loading screens. This is especially jarring since the same company handled the PC porting of the previous game without any issues. Thankfully, by late 2017, the issues seem to have been smoothed over, if recent reviews and firsthand accounts are anything to go off.

** Thankfully, when the game was released on Website/GOGDotCom, the removal of Denuvo has greatly improved the experience, [[AndTheFandomRejoiced leading at last to smooth and consistent gameplay]].

** Thankfully, when the game was released on Website/GOGDotCom, the removal of Denuvo has greatly improved the experience, leading at last to smooth and consistent gameplay.

* PortingDisaster: A really mixed bag on this one- while the in-game options for the PC port are varied and massive almost to the point of absurdity, with every little possible thing being able to be turned on and off, the actual port ''itself'' is a jumbled mess of horrible code and terrible optimization, along with being a massive resource hog. Gamers have reported hourly crashes, FPS drops despite well exceeding the required hardware and more, along with long (and frequent) loading screens. This is especially jarring since the same company handled the PC porting of the previous game without any issues.
** Thankfully, by late 2017, the issues seem to have been smoothed over, if recent reviews and firsthand accounts are anything to go off.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Despite ostensibly being the main villain, Viktor Marchenko is nothing more than a pawn for the Illuminati. Many players were interested in the idea of a man who was rebelling against them with violence as well as fighting for Augmented rights. The fact he's nothing more than a FalseFlagOperation pawn makes him a less interesting character.

** Aria Argento has a rare condition which requires double the amount of Neuropozyne. Adam Jensen does not need his job-prescribed Neuropozyne. The ShipTease writes itself, but these two plot points are never elaborated on.

* HarsherInHindsight:
** The bombing in Prague by augmented terrorists seemed to be very close to home following the Paris 2015 terror attacks and the Brussels 2016 bombings.
** An in-universe example: when Adam meets Rucker in his office at Utulek Station, the latter says that Adam is being used by [[AncientConspiracy the Illuminati]], and that the real enemies are hidden in the shadows. [[spoiler:In TheStinger, it's revealed that Adam is being used (unknowingly) by Lucius Debeers and Dr. Auzenne in order to contact Janus, thus leading the Illuminati right to their biggest enemy]].

* BrokenBase: Some players aren't fond of the idea of playing as Adam Jensen again, pointing out how the previous ''Deus Ex'' games always used a new protagonist in each new game. Others are fine with it, being fans of the character or welcoming the new change.
** And others remembered [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks how well changing the protagonist worked out]] for ''VideoGame/DeusExInvisibleWar''.
** With the game's release, the PortingDisaster, the [[BribingYourWayToVictory cash shop,]] the DLC that contains useful augmentations (like turning spare/unneeded weapons into crafting parts), and most especially the main story being far shorter than expected as it leaves off on a CliffHanger at what feels like a halfway point, people aren't the happiest campers right now.
** Thus far, DLC missions haven't exactly been received well - but not for the reasons you may think. In fact, they're vanilla game level in quality if not more so. But the game essentially relegates them to a menu option, where you have to start the mission(s) separately of your main game save and progression. This means not only do you have to use whatever Praxis Points and items these missions start you with, but the missions are designed with standard play in mind, and ''even give you Praxis Points'' for completing objectives despite not being able to transfer any of it back into the main game. The fact that the missions feel like sidequests doesn't help, and probably could've easily been added into the game like with ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' instead of this awkward, segregated feeling.

* HeroOfAnotherStory: Many, many [=NPCs=], whether the focus of side quests or points of interest, important secondary characters, or simply background characters there to provide a more vivid world:
** The proprietress of a bar around the corner from Jensen's apartment, who accepts indefinite separation from her husband and daughter in order to smuggle needed supplies into Golem City.
** Aria Argento, the only other augmented [=TF29=] agent in Prague, who lost her arm in the line of duty and is fighting to be reinstated as a field agent.
** Peter Chang, former BoxedCrook, now in charge of the team's cyber security.
** An unnamed honest Prague policewoman, who bears a grudge against the dirty cop at the head of a fake document scam.
** A virtuous cop helping to run an escape line out of Golem City, as well as a number of people transiting said line.
** Medical aid workers within Golem City, in particular one attempting to get the word out about the horrifically high infant mortality rate inside the complex.
** An unnamed fellow "patient" of Kohler, who used his augmentation to scam the Dvali out of a significant amount of money... and who before fleeing the city turned his apartment into a giant DeadlyGas trap for any Dvali thugs who came looking for him.
** Kohler himself, seemingly the only person in Prague willing to provide medical/technical support for the city's remaining Augmented population.
** Oleg Drago, a secretly augmented man who has managed to so convincingly pass as a natural as to not only have a penthouse apartment on the rich/natural side of town, but also have passed the background check for an account at a prestigious bank... but whose secret may about to be blown thanks to a migraine...
** Arun Singh, [=TF29's=] mole inside the Jinn, caught in the ambush at the climax of the game's prologue, but who volunteers to go back undercover immediately afterwards.[[note]]Assuming the player doesn't let him die during said ambush.[[/note]]

* ContestedSequel: While gameplay has been significantly improved along with a tighter focus on stealth and exploration and the graphics have greatly improved, the story is widely considered to be worse than the first game due to it obviously being the second game in a trilogy (and thus ending unsatisfyingly) and the game has had a lot of issues with its rather notable microtransaction service, which has been widely criticized.

** All the people treating the situation in the game as parallel to various form of historical apartheid miss one crucial point - as far as anyone is concerned, augmented people are extremely dangerous, because they are prone to unexplained homicidal rage and thus are very dangerous. Maybe a dozen people in the world (mostly the Illuminati and Jensen) know that the augs' actions have been triggered on purpose. There would be little support for nuclear energy if most power stations went through the Chernobyl-scale incident. But if you're looking for shaping the public perception by orchestrating events behind the scenes, this game is one of the finest examples.
* WhatAnIdiot: [[spoiler:When Viktor injects Adam with the Orchid and leaves him to die at the GARM facility, it didn't cross his mind to disarm Adam of all his weapons and gear. The result is that Adam still has all the tools he needs to fight his way out of the facility. To be fair, Viktor had no idea that Adam was immune to the Orchid but still, but he still could have impounded his gear for Illuminati use.]]

** Aria, the only other augmented [=TF29=] agent in Prague, who lost her arm in the line of duty and is fighting to be reinstated as a field agent.

** A virtuous cop helping to run an escape line out of Golem City, as well as a number people transiting said line.

* GoodBadBugs: If Adam is drunk when he uses Miller's NSN, he'll not only remain so through the hacking segment, he'll be permanently drunk even after leaving the chair. (Fortunately, the drunken screen shaking effect can be removed by drinking some more alcohol) If you want a real challenge, you can play the latter half of the game complely drunk. Cutscenes aee particulary hilarious, as everyone's faces will twist randomly every moment.

* PlayTheGameSkipTheStory: The gameplay is basically an improved version of that of ''Human Revolution''. The story however, is pretty short, ends on a cliffhanger, and feels more like the half-way point than the end of a game.

* IKnewIt: [[spoiler:Daria is the Harvester. Her eyewitness report of the killing is very inconsistent, and given the non-linear nature of the game, it's entirely possible the player has hacked her computer and learned she's a little off.]]
* InternetBackdraft: Square Enix got '''savaged''' online after it unveiled a controversial pre-order system that forced people to choose one of several possible bonuses instead of getting them all, as would be the case in other pre-order programs. Notably, the announcement video has around a hundred likes... and over ''twenty thousand dislikes.'' After much backlash, [[https://www.deusex.com/news/aypo-cancelled they relented and cancelled the program]]. As of January 2017, all of the pre-order content is available to all Mankind Divided owners.
** They didn't completely learn their lesson though, as of late August 2016, there are in game purchases that allow the user to [[BribingYourWaytoVictory items and such in the game.]] Many reviews on Steam are pretty much: "the game is good, but it isn't getting a good rating because of this."
** Turns out that for whatever reason, the devs also made questionable decisions like putting extra augmentations in DLC packs, and making it so that the DLC items (both pre-order and purchased) are one-use; once it's taken out of storage and put into your inventory, it's tied to that save and can never be added to another save again (unless you intentionally make a mule save with the items to start your game from every time after that, or clear your data on the console so you 'get them fresh' again).
** The LeftHanging ending, where [[spoiler: after defeating Marchenko, Adam centers his focus on Janus while the Illuminati secretly usher him on.. and then the game just ends.]] Whether it's for expansions, DLC or making a third game in the prequel saga, many people feel like the game was basically unfinished or cut in half.

* IKnewIt: [[spoiler: Daria is the Harvester. Her eyewitness report of the killing is very inconsistent, and given the non-linear nature of the game, it's entirely possible the player has hacked her computer and learned she's a little off.]]

** The [[spoiler: LeftHanging]] ending, where [[spoiler: after defeating Marchenko, Adam centers his focus on Janus while the Illuminati secretly usher him on.. and then the game just ends.]] Whether it's for expansions, DLC or making a third game in the prequel saga, many people feel like the game was basically unfinished or cut in half.

* PlayTheGameSkipTheStory: The gameplay is basically an improved version of that of ''Human Revolution''. The story however, is pretty short, [[spoiler:ends on a cliffhanger, and feels more like the half-way point than the end of a game.]]

** With the game's release, the PortingDisaster, the [[BribingYourWayToVictory cash shop,]] the DLC that contains useful augmentations (like turning spare/unneeded weapons into crafting parts), and most especially the main story [[spoiler: being far shorter than expected as it leaves off on a CliffHanger at what feels like a halfway point,]] people aren't the happiest campers right now.

** The game has also become a BaseBreaker over this among fans with [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-social-satire-of-deus-ex-mankind.html some believing the game has a valid political message]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMEMsjKpas8 others thinking it's just a bunch of meaningless symbolism]].

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Did Viktor Marchenko believe any of his Pro-Augment rhetoric or was he just a SmugSnake {{Hypocrite}}? Was he actually doing any of his actions willingly or just ThePawn for the Illuminati?

* FandomRivalry: A minor one with ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps3'' (Considering ''Black Ops'' came out in November 2015 and this is set for August 2016). One started by the creator even when [[https://twitter.com/DeusEx/status/591328359197462528 they remarked the similarities in them in a BO3 trailer]]. Due to the rather jovial nature of the tweets, it may evolve into FriendlyFandoms.

** Duncan [=MacCready=] is a BadassNormal no nonsense guy who has quite a few legitimate gripes against Augs, but is nonetheless a dedicated professional. While he only shows up in the beginning and end, there was potential to run more ops with him and develop Jensen’s relationship with him from TeethClenchedTeamwork to VitriolicBestBuddies to FireForgedFriends. And show contrasting styles between an augmented and non augmented operative, between Jensen the policeman and [MacCready=] the soldier.

** The Church of the Machine God is only examined further superficially if you choose to save the bomb maker instead of the Orchid cure - and otherwise, you are only treated to a “PostApocalypticLog” of sorts if you chose the Heist instead. However, the premise could have been continued - a quasi religion appeals to disaffected Augs to assimilate in and become more machine than human. It could have explored TheSingularity, common fears about it etc.