I've been splitting my time this past week. I was originally intending to be playing Deus Ex: Mankind Divided now, and I have been... a bit. I've gotten it running, done the tutorial and the first couple quests and side quests and explored Prague a bit. The game is beautiful, especially with DLDSR and the RenoDX mod installed for HDR. I'm really enjoying what I've seen so far, though I've barely scratched the surface in terms of main quest. Prague is a great hub city and the themes of the setting with the segregation and the almost apartheid like conflict are interesting and well realised. The gameplay feels very solid, though still a little too anchored in the "cover-based shooter" era.

However, with the F1 season kicked off I got the urge to play around a bit with F1 Manager 2024. It was free on Epic a few weeks ago so I already had it installed. It's much like the previous iterations of the series - great presentation but a little vapid and shallow underneath. It's a real shame, because there are things about it that are compelling. Having all those real team radios and proper circuits and gorgeous cockpit views during races and all the official branding does make a difference. The presentation really is top notch. In-race management is also pretty damn fun, especially this year where we finally have mechanical failures. Race simulation still has some flaws - it's way too easy to overtake in Monaco for instance - but overall it's pretty good.

I've used the 2025 DLC mod to update the game and grid to the current season, and the Andretti mod to see if Andretti Global can make Logi Sarge a world champion. Hopefully will be an amusing diversion this week, as there's no race.