Let me just go out and say it: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is the hottest macOS game right now.

With a heavy focus on customization and providing different ways to tackle your objectives, Mankind Divided is one of the most top FPS games for Mac.

And naturally, we all want to know what it takes to run such a demanding game. Feral Interactive added support for Metal 2, but will it be enough?

DiRT Rally, the last game we reviewed, was an amazing port that could run on an amazing variety of Macs. But is it the case for Mankind Divided too? Let’s find out…

First things first, is the game any good?

Released just a few weeks ago, Mankind Divided is the latest port from Feral Interactive and one of 2017’s best-looking macOS games.

As always, there are more than enough reviews available to figure out if this game is any good. I will focus on the game’s Mac performance in a minute, but first, let’s see how good it really is.

Performance aside, is it worth the $60 it costs?

Profesional reviewers tend to agree: it is. The Windows PC version of the game has an impressive 83 Metascore (which is a weighted average of scores given by critics). IGN gave it a 9.2/10 score while PC Gamer gave it an 88/100 score, calling it:

A beautiful, smartly designed game set in a gorgeous futuristic city, but with a story that doesn’t quite do it justice.

Steam users seem less convinced. The game received a mixed score with only 66% positive reviews.

Digging a little deeper, many users were upset because of the DRM used on the Windows version, microtransactions, and apparently poor DLC. Knowing how easily Steam users can review bomb a game, I would take this with a grain of salt.

My take? This is a solid game that got perhaps too much hate because of DRM and microtransactions. If you’re looking for a good action game with RPG mechanics and great graphics, Mankind Divided is a safe bet.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Mac requirements

These are the game’s official system requirements:

OS: Mac OS X 10.13.1

Processor: Intel Core i5 (Mac) 3.0 GHz

RAM: 8GB

Hard Disk: 67GB

Graphics: 2GB AMD Radeon R9 290M or better

The game is officially supported on the following Macs:

All 15″ MacBook Pros released since late 2016

All 21.5″ Retina 4K iMacs released since 2017

All 27″ Retina 5K iMacs released since late 2014

All Mac Pros released since late 2013

The following Macs are capable of running the game but are not officially supported:

All 15″ Retina MacBook Pro released in mid-2015 with an AMD Radeon R9 M370X

If you don’t have one of these, I’m afraid this game isn’t for you…

The Test: Can you run Deus Ex: Mankind Divided on Mac?

But can your Mac run it? To give you a proper answer, we went ahead and tested the game on four different models:

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017) : 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, Intel Radeon Pro 560 (4GB)

: 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, Intel Radeon Pro 560 (4GB) iMac (5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) : 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, AMD Radeon R9 M290X (2GB)

: 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, AMD Radeon R9 M290X (2GB) MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2016) : 2.0 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, Intel Iris Graphics 540 (1.5GB)

: 2.0 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, Intel Iris Graphics 540 (1.5GB) MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017) with eGPU: 3.5 GHz Intel Core i7, eGPU Mantiz Venus Radeon RX Vega 56 (8GB)

You’ll notice these models represent three distinct categories. You have the brand new top of the line MacBook Pro, the older top of the line iMac, and a new but basic MacBook Pro. And a MacBook Pro with an eGPU for the fun!

⚠ Be aware the 2016 MacBook Pro and eGPUs are not officially supported. Feral is working on eGPU support and should make an announcement as soon as it’s ready.

These are the settings we used to run the game’s internal benchmark :

1280×800 (or equivalent 1344×756) resolution

Medium Preset

V-Sync off

Remember, the aim is not to get the most frames per second possible, but to see how these machines would run the game under normal conditions.

The Results: You’ll need a lot of horsepower…

The game looks undoubtedly great, but that comes at a price. This is a very demanding game that requires a powerful machine:

Both the 2017 MacBook Pro and iMac passed the test, while the 2016 MacBook Pro couldn’t even launch it. Not surprising, but let’s take a closer look at the results.

The brand new top of the line MacBook Pro

Taking into account that we’re for 30 frames per second or more, with an average of 40 frames per second, you can comfortably play Mankind Divided on this machine.

The thing is, it only did 40 fps. For one of the most expensive MacBooks available, sporting an Intel Radeon Pro 560 with 4GB of video RAM, this is a clear sign that Mankind Divided is a very demanding game.

The slightly old top of the line iMac

Indeed, my 2014 iMac is starting to show its age, but with a Radeon R9 M290X card and 2GB of video RAM, I was confident it would easily run it too.

With an average of 36 fps, it can run the game at acceptable levels, but just as before, this is once again proof that is a very demanding game that should be reserved to those with a top of the line Mac.

The new but basic MacBook Pro

The results on my 2016 MacBook Pro confirmed my suspicions. This is a very demanding game that needs a powerful graphics card. Anything else won’t cut it.

In this case, the game wouldn’t even launch, which is why you cannot see a gray bar on the graph above:



If you have a Mac with integrated graphics, you now know what to expect… Feral Interactive did warn us, this is a game with huge system requirements.

A MacBook Pro with an eGPU

One solution if you’re stuck with a recent but lacking MacBook Pro would be to give eGPUs a try. The performance improvement is phenomenal (going from “can’t run it” to better results than a 15-inch MacBook Pro), but it’s an expensive setup still in beta. I would wait for Apple’s official support first…

We still like to test machines that are below them anyway, just to see what would happen (hoping something can be eeked out on the lowest settings), but that comes at the risk of buying a game you won’t be able to play.

This is yet another reminder that you should…

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Download Deus Ex: Mankind Divided for Mac

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is available for download from all the major digital stores including Steam and Humble Bundle.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided on Mac Whether Mankind Divided is as good as the excellent Deus Ex: Human Revolution can be debated. What is certain, though, is that Mankind Divided is one of the best-looking Mac games. And in spite of being an excellent Mac port from Feral, it remains extremely demanding. Editor's Rating:

3.5

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