The machinations of the Illuminati continue with a new expansion Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Square Enix has officially announced the second add-on, titled A Criminal Past, will be coming to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC versions of the game on February 23rd.
The content will be a sort of prequel to the main game. Taking place sometime after the previous installment, Human Revolution, cyberpunk sleuth Adam Jensen is tasked with tracking down and retrieving sensitive information from a fellow undercover agent who has gone dark. But rather than have this mission happen in Prague or an old returning location like Detroit, A Criminal Past will have Jensen going into a maximum security prison in the middle of Arizona made specifically for those with mechanical augmentations.
Given the overall themes of segregation and having the augmented people being a clear allegory for oppressed minorities, it can be a safe bet that A Criminal Past will be additional commentary on these elements. Also, since this downloadable content isn’t tied to the main game in a concrete matter, plus the fact that Jensen will be entering the prison as a prisoner if the game’s promo art is to be believed, this content will be self-contained with all equipment and levels reset.
No official price for this content has been announced but chances are it will be in the range of twelve dollars much like the last piece of single-player additional content, System Rift.
The release of this content continues the controversial support of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. While many outlets have praised the game’s technical polish and presentation, the overall story and pacing of the main game was criticized for being too slow with not much of substance happening, as if a lot more content was taken out of the main game. While new content is being added to the game through DLC, they are sectioned off as separate experiences rather than flawlessly woven into the main game’s presentation, leading to an even more fragmented experience.
