In the grand tradition of Deus Ex, the latest game in the series Mankind Divided is filled with odd references and opaque Easter eggs. Here we’ll reveal weird secret tasks that’ll net you unique trophies or achievements to straight-up call-backs or influential items originating from FPS contemporaries. Anything that’s bizarre and interesting belongs right here.
The world of Deus Ex is overflowing with devious conspiracies, and apparently those plots include Aperture Science’s own Weighted Companion Cube. Then there’s the gold penguins, and the strange case of the cucumbers. There’s bound to be plenty more where those came from.
Check out more Deus Ex: Mankind Divided guides, Easter eggs and extras:
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Security Codes & Passwords List
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Free & Rare Weapons Locations
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – All Praxis Kits Locations Guide
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – All Debate / Conversation Solutions
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – PC Performance Tweaks & Fixes
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – All Side-Quest Starter Locations
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Earn Infinite Cash With Weapon Dupes
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – How to Win the Talos Rucker Debate
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Triangle Codes Collectibles Guide
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – eBooks Collectible Locations Guide
Easter Eggs, Secrets & References Guide
Work-in-Progress: Check back soon as we discover more secret stuff.
Voltar 3000
Located near Palisade Station in northern Prague, one peculiar magic shop houses a mysterious machine. The Voltar 3000 spits out cryptic fortunes for 250 credits a pop. If you’re really lucky, a jingle will play after your fortune, indicating that you’ve just won a credit chit! The odds are pretty poor, though, so don’t look at Voltar 3000 for any get-rich-quick schemes.
Personally, I dumped over 7000 credits into the Voltar — his quotes are always cryptic, and don’t provide any meaningful insight or reference to the events of the main game or the Deus Ex series as a whole.
The Voltar 3000 is in reference to the Zoltar fortune teller from the Tom Hanks film Big — in that film, a boy instantly becomes an adult, thanks to the magic of Zoltar. That doesn’t exactly happen with the Voltar machine, but there is something unique to gain with enough credits.
If you’re really lucky, the Voltar machine provides something unique. A “lucky card” that’s added to your story items list. The black Jack of Hearts. This “lucky” card randomly pops out of the Voltar 3000 machine. I had to put in about 2,000 credits to earn it.
What does this mysterious card do? No idea. We’re still working on this conundrum.
The Weighted Companion Cube
The lovable, heart-festooned Weighted Companion Cube makes an appearance in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Find the ambulatory crate in the locked basement of Future-Past Antiky — nestled right between the L.I.M.B. Clinic and the Police Station.
Bust open the locked backdoor to get inside the cellar. There’s plenty of stuff to check out down there, but it’s the Weighted Companion Cube that matters the most. This pink-and-white crate is decorated with festive markings to make sure every Aperture Science test subject gains a deep and longing connection with the inanimate object.
The Weighted Companion Cube originally appeared in Portal, and made a return appearance in Portal 2. Not so long ago, these Valve-produced FPS puzzle adventures were the talk of the internet. “The Cake is a Lie” is a phrase most fans (or regular internet denizens) won’t soon forget.
Source: [1]
So Many Cucumbers?
Want cucumbers? Possibly… too many cucumbers? More cucumbers than you can deal with responsibly? Well, they exist in Mankind Divided. You can find a mess of cucumbers, but only at the very end of Mission 7.
It isn’t about finding the cucumbers so much as getting enemies to shoot them. Before reaching the extraction on Mission 7, you’ll encounter farms growing loads of cucumbers. Get some of the goons to blast a cucumber, and you get the “So Many Cucumbers” trophy / achievement.
We’re going to guess the level designers went nuts with the cucumber paint tool, and dropped tons of these things all over the level. So many that the Eidos staff had to comment. Actually, it’s surprisingly easy to get a guard to blast one of these cucumbers — just run around wildly toward the extraction, and its very likely to happen all on its own. So many cucumbers, indeed.
Source: [1]
The Gold Penguin & The Colony
Looking over the list of challenges in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, one might raise a few questions. For example, the trophy / achievement “The Golden Rookery” — to unlock this one, Adam Jensen needs to take a gold penguin to a hidden stash of gold penguins. That’s the aforementioned “colony” described in the trophy / achievement description.
Here’s the deal — this challenge can be missed. It’s located on M7: The Rucker Extraction, which takes Jensen to an area he can’t return to after finishing the quest. You’ll need a few augment upgrades and items before attempting to reunite gold bird with gold colony:
- Level 5 Hacking Skill -or- Multi-Tool
- ‘Punch Through Wall’ Augmentation
In the opening alley, you’ll get scanned in a short cutscene. Climb the ladder to your left, and continue forward — cross the bridge on your right, and pass the people standing near a barrel fire. Climb another ladder ahead, and you’ll come face-to-face with a door. Open it to discover your first objective — the Penguin Prince! You can grab him and take him with you.
After grabbing the penguin, drop down and enter Sokol’s apartment. Re-collect your precious penguin, and continue toward the Narrows. You’ll reach an area where a group of people are gathered — go left and head down the steps where the green “Svoboda Narrows” sign is located.
Underneath these stairs, you’ll find a (sorta-semi) hidden vent. Open the vent cover and toss the penguin inside. Crawl through, and don’t forget to bring the prince with! Take care of the guard, and continue through to the next main waypoint.
Continue on to the market and set the penguin down when you find the guard with your elevator key. Wait for the chatty cop to finish his conversation, then follow him somewhere private to knock him out and grab the key off his unconscious body.
Take the elevator up, along with your gold penguin, and complete the conversation ahead. Go back for your penguin and just as you pass the wall of laser trip-wires, you’ll reach a balcony with a security terminal. Hack it or unlock it with a multi-tool.
Deploy the moving platform and break the lock off the gate, then ride yet another elevator. We’re getting closer to our objective! Entering the restricted zone, you’ll encounter another cutscene. Enter the left structure and sneak through the store-room and past the kitchen. Rush past the central area and drop through the hole, turning left to find an interior workshop-like area.
This workshop features a weak vent wall. Punch through it and climb in. Throw your penguin pal over the electricity arcs ahead. After shutting down the electricity, you’ll find the colony of gold penguins! Place the prince on his throne — there’s a red chair with a crate, set him down on that.
For your hard work, you’ll unlock a “The Golden Rookery” — along with a Praxis Kit reward! Not half bad for a weird Easter egg challenge.
Source: [1]
A Time Paradox?
When it comes to canon, let’s just call Deus Ex continuity “loose” — plenty has changed in the series, and Human Revolution, along with Mankind Divided, feature their own unique art style that doesn’t quite mesh with the Unreal engine graphics of the original. What we’re trying to say is… whenever you get into a prequel, things are bound to change.
Knowing the future doesn’t usually help video game protagonists. Until now. That’s right, Adam Jensen can use his knowledge of future events to earn the weird “Time Traveler” achievement / trophy.
A certain character named Koller needs something called the Neuroplasticity Calibrator — he asks Adam Jensen to acquire it on Mission 3. Here’s the thing; Jensen can bring Koller the item he needs before the guy even asks. Take the train to Palisade Station and enter the sewers in the Tubehouse Electronics alley.
Hack the keypad on the right to open the sewer gate and enter the restricted area. Sneak up the stairs on the right, and enter the security room through the metal grates. Hack the terminal in this room to open a safe containing the item you need.
Now, simply complete the rest of Mission 3 like normal and return to Koller with the weird thing he needs to earn an odd achievement / trophy. Usually games are like railroads, you’re stuck following the tracks — it isn’t often you can complete objectives before someone tells you to do them first. That totally makes this an Easter egg.
Source: [1]
Found something awesome we missed? Let us know in the comments!
