The Honest Opinion - Dishonored 2 (Links to Completed Streams at the End, some spoilers are included)
Back in 2012, the first Dishonored game was released and I didn't even notice it. At the time, I wasn't a huge fan of Bethesda's big game franchises (Fallout and Elder Scrolls) so I wasn't really into following where they were going next. But, about a month after it dropped, a close friend of mine mentioned it to me, and since this was a friend that I shared a lot of gaming interests with, I decided to trust his word. So when Black Friday 2012 came around, I was shoving people (quite literally actually) out of my way so I could land myself a copy. Long story short, I loved the game entirely, and as soon as I caught word of a sequel coming, I waited impatiently for it.
Now, just over four years later, I have it, and also had replayed the first game in it's remaster edition. Can the sequel live up to the original? Will it improve? Or drop the ball by jumping on the immense popularity that the original game spawned?
A Whole New World...Well, City and Character at Least
This game picks up, and culminates, in the city that everyone remembers from the first game : Dunwall. Set fifteen years after the events of the first game, Emily Kaldwin now sits on the throne, with her rescuer, Corvo, standing behind the throne as her Royal Protector. The city is plagued by a string of murders by someone known only as the Crown Killer, simply for the fact that all the victims are enemies of Emily's. A rumor has begun to spread around that it is in fact Emily and Corvo committing the murders themselves.
While atop the throne, waiting for the arrival of the Duke, Emily is swiftly usurped when the Dukes companion, Delilah, claims the throne for herself. Delilah states that she is the long lost (and rumored to be dead) half-sister of Emily's mother, Jessamine Kaldwin, and that due to her sisters untimely demise fifteen years previous, the throne is rightfully hers. It is here that players make their first important decision of the game : Who do you want to play as?
You are given the option of playing through either as Emily, or Corvo. (Seeing as how I had just played the first one as Corvo, I thought it only fair to seek Emily's vengeance out as herself, so the rest of this review will reflect that choice). Once you make your choice, Delilah will give the other person the old Han Solo treatment (sort of) and turn them into a stone statue before knocking out the character you've chosen.
Emily later wakes up and has to escape from her own palace down to the docks, when on her way she runs into Megan Foster who was actually sent by an old friend, Anton Sokolov, to warn Corvo and Emily of the Dukes impending arrival and the coup he was bringing with him. (Sorry Meg, a little late there). Meg takes you aboard her ship, the Dreadful Wale, and it is from here that you begin your true mission : finding out more about Delilah and reclaiming your throne.
Your mission takes you to Karnaca, the main setting for this game. Unlike Dunwall, which thrived off the use of whale oil, Karnaca is a city that harnesses the power of the wind. Nestled in a small valley, huge wind turbines capture the ferocious winds that roar through, turning it out throughout the various districts to power the buildings and numerous security measures such as the Wall of Lights and Arc Pylons. Karnaca is also riddled with a gang war, between The Howlers and The Overseers, who are hold opposing loyalties to the new Duke Abele with one wanting to praise him while the other wants to tear him down.
Emily must thread the needle throughout the city, in her attempts to discover the true identity of the Crown Killer, rescue Sokolov from his captivity, and gather whatever information she can to take down Delilah and her other-worldly powers.
Powers On Both Sides Of The Board
The main feature of Dishonored is the magic powers that are bestowed upon Corvo by receiving The Outsiders mark. These powers are back, and some others, in the new game.
If you choose to play as Corvo (i researched this part since I didn't actually play as him), after your encounter with Delilah you are set back to square one when you meet The Outsider, and all of his original powers can be re-learned in this game.
Emily, however, gets some different ones. Domino can be used to link multiple people together, forcing them to share the same fate if you throw one of them into a Wall of Light. Mesmerize can put your enemies in a hypnotized-like state, Shadow Walk allows her to morph into a cloud-like figure to make it easier to get by undetected, and Doppleganger creates a clone-image of herself to distract enemies.
The fun doesn't stop there, though. In the first game, the most mystical foe you came across were others who could tap into the same arcane powers as Corvo. This time around, you get to deal with a whole new realm of things : the spirit world. There are witches in this game, as well as some animalistic creatures, that are pulled directly from the underworld.
Even so, your normal guards aren't without enhancements, at least in comparison with their original game counterparts. These guards are better at detecting you, more determined to find you when you go into hiding, and they coordinate with each other a lot better than they used to. They make look the same, but these guards are a lot harder to trick than they used to be.
Travelling The Districts
The other big feature from the first game was being able to choose your path through all the levels, including where you climb or drop down, and who you kill or spare as you come across guards. Thankfully, all of this returns to Dishonored 2, and once again you have the potential of completing the entire game without killing a single person. Each area you are in offers plenty of options for how to get to your objectives. A new feature is marked territories between neutral and ones that are locked down by enemies.
While in the neutral territories, you are free to walk about as you please. As long as you don't use your weapons or any of your powers, the civilians won't pay any attention to you. Once you're in the guarded areas, that's where you need to be careful and either rely on stealth, or hope your weapon skills surpass those of the guards.
The missions themselves follow the same pattern as in the first game. Each one is "broken down" into phases, where you must get through the first "zone" to reach the second, and repeat until you reach your end target and then typically return all the way back. You can also travel to varying side objectives that may offer you alternative routes to your objectives, or just a way to get there without dealing with any enemies.
Final Verdict : Does It Clear The Big Hurdle?
When a sequel comes out to a first-of video game, the biggest question is will it improve on the first game and offer a more exciting experience for the players? Or will it change too much (or not enough) and drop the ball?
Dishonored 2 does more than a great service to the first game. The main mechanics that made the first one stand out, all return with minimal to no changes whatsoever. Having complete freedom to traverse the levels as well as killing as many or as few people as you want, was amazing in the first game, offering endless replayability options. Your powers that you can use are more than useful in any situation you come across, but at the same time are not even required to play the game, since when you meet the Outsider, you can completely reject his assistance and go in testing your own skills.
What's new to this game fits in so perfectly that you don't even really notice how new it is. The addition of playing as Emily is a beautiful asset in this game, and you can seek out her personal quest to reobtain her throne instead of having Corvo do her bidding and save her once again. Karnaca itself is a joy to walk through, and even though it's a completely new city, it retains enough familiarity from the original game's Dunwall that it feels like home.
This game crosses some new territory by bringing in the spirit realm, and at first it seems ridiculous and unnecessary. But as this area of the story unfolds, all the pieces come together and you slowly begin to realize that without it, this game would really just be a carbon copy of the first game.
My personal favorite thing about this game is that it brings people and places back from the first game, but they are back burner material for the rest of the game. You get to see Dunwall, but only for the very beginning and end of the game. Sokolov, who became a main force in the second half of the original game, is only present in short spurts of this one, assisting you with some briefings before some of your missions.
I honestly have to say that Dishonored 2 is my perfect, ideal vision of what a video game sequel should be. The first game was great and didn't have much about it that fans complained about. So they didn't change any of that. Instead, they added to it, and they made it fit which is an area that a lot of sequels that I have played missed completely. New features in games seem to be tawdry and flashy, just something cool that the character(s) can do. But what's added in Dishonored 2, and I could repeat this a million times but I won't, is perfectly harmonious with everything else about the first game.
If you ever played the first one, then there should be no hesitation on picking this one up to play as well. These games offer great opportunities at a multitude of gameplay styles that just about any player can drop into it and have fun. Whether you prefer a sneaky, stealthy approach where nobody notices you, a blunt force approach where everyone knows your name, or somewhere in between, I can promise you that you'll enjoy every moment of Dishonored 2 (but play the first one too because the story is great, and it does have some easter egg-like connections to this one.
Here, you can find links to my YouTube channel, and playlists of my complete story runs of each of these games on the PS4, but it's available on Xbox One as well. Bethesda and Arkane, you guys did a hell of a job with this one and I'm already hoping and waiting for Dishonored 3.
Dishonored Playthrough
Dishonored 2 Playthrough
Now, just over four years later, I have it, and also had replayed the first game in it's remaster edition. Can the sequel live up to the original? Will it improve? Or drop the ball by jumping on the immense popularity that the original game spawned?
A Whole New World...Well, City and Character at Least
This game picks up, and culminates, in the city that everyone remembers from the first game : Dunwall. Set fifteen years after the events of the first game, Emily Kaldwin now sits on the throne, with her rescuer, Corvo, standing behind the throne as her Royal Protector. The city is plagued by a string of murders by someone known only as the Crown Killer, simply for the fact that all the victims are enemies of Emily's. A rumor has begun to spread around that it is in fact Emily and Corvo committing the murders themselves.
While atop the throne, waiting for the arrival of the Duke, Emily is swiftly usurped when the Dukes companion, Delilah, claims the throne for herself. Delilah states that she is the long lost (and rumored to be dead) half-sister of Emily's mother, Jessamine Kaldwin, and that due to her sisters untimely demise fifteen years previous, the throne is rightfully hers. It is here that players make their first important decision of the game : Who do you want to play as?
You are given the option of playing through either as Emily, or Corvo. (Seeing as how I had just played the first one as Corvo, I thought it only fair to seek Emily's vengeance out as herself, so the rest of this review will reflect that choice). Once you make your choice, Delilah will give the other person the old Han Solo treatment (sort of) and turn them into a stone statue before knocking out the character you've chosen.
Emily later wakes up and has to escape from her own palace down to the docks, when on her way she runs into Megan Foster who was actually sent by an old friend, Anton Sokolov, to warn Corvo and Emily of the Dukes impending arrival and the coup he was bringing with him. (Sorry Meg, a little late there). Meg takes you aboard her ship, the Dreadful Wale, and it is from here that you begin your true mission : finding out more about Delilah and reclaiming your throne.
Your mission takes you to Karnaca, the main setting for this game. Unlike Dunwall, which thrived off the use of whale oil, Karnaca is a city that harnesses the power of the wind. Nestled in a small valley, huge wind turbines capture the ferocious winds that roar through, turning it out throughout the various districts to power the buildings and numerous security measures such as the Wall of Lights and Arc Pylons. Karnaca is also riddled with a gang war, between The Howlers and The Overseers, who are hold opposing loyalties to the new Duke Abele with one wanting to praise him while the other wants to tear him down.
Emily must thread the needle throughout the city, in her attempts to discover the true identity of the Crown Killer, rescue Sokolov from his captivity, and gather whatever information she can to take down Delilah and her other-worldly powers.
Powers On Both Sides Of The Board
The main feature of Dishonored is the magic powers that are bestowed upon Corvo by receiving The Outsiders mark. These powers are back, and some others, in the new game.
If you choose to play as Corvo (i researched this part since I didn't actually play as him), after your encounter with Delilah you are set back to square one when you meet The Outsider, and all of his original powers can be re-learned in this game.
Emily, however, gets some different ones. Domino can be used to link multiple people together, forcing them to share the same fate if you throw one of them into a Wall of Light. Mesmerize can put your enemies in a hypnotized-like state, Shadow Walk allows her to morph into a cloud-like figure to make it easier to get by undetected, and Doppleganger creates a clone-image of herself to distract enemies.
The fun doesn't stop there, though. In the first game, the most mystical foe you came across were others who could tap into the same arcane powers as Corvo. This time around, you get to deal with a whole new realm of things : the spirit world. There are witches in this game, as well as some animalistic creatures, that are pulled directly from the underworld.
Even so, your normal guards aren't without enhancements, at least in comparison with their original game counterparts. These guards are better at detecting you, more determined to find you when you go into hiding, and they coordinate with each other a lot better than they used to. They make look the same, but these guards are a lot harder to trick than they used to be.
Travelling The Districts
The other big feature from the first game was being able to choose your path through all the levels, including where you climb or drop down, and who you kill or spare as you come across guards. Thankfully, all of this returns to Dishonored 2, and once again you have the potential of completing the entire game without killing a single person. Each area you are in offers plenty of options for how to get to your objectives. A new feature is marked territories between neutral and ones that are locked down by enemies.
While in the neutral territories, you are free to walk about as you please. As long as you don't use your weapons or any of your powers, the civilians won't pay any attention to you. Once you're in the guarded areas, that's where you need to be careful and either rely on stealth, or hope your weapon skills surpass those of the guards.
The missions themselves follow the same pattern as in the first game. Each one is "broken down" into phases, where you must get through the first "zone" to reach the second, and repeat until you reach your end target and then typically return all the way back. You can also travel to varying side objectives that may offer you alternative routes to your objectives, or just a way to get there without dealing with any enemies.
Final Verdict : Does It Clear The Big Hurdle?
When a sequel comes out to a first-of video game, the biggest question is will it improve on the first game and offer a more exciting experience for the players? Or will it change too much (or not enough) and drop the ball?
Dishonored 2 does more than a great service to the first game. The main mechanics that made the first one stand out, all return with minimal to no changes whatsoever. Having complete freedom to traverse the levels as well as killing as many or as few people as you want, was amazing in the first game, offering endless replayability options. Your powers that you can use are more than useful in any situation you come across, but at the same time are not even required to play the game, since when you meet the Outsider, you can completely reject his assistance and go in testing your own skills.
What's new to this game fits in so perfectly that you don't even really notice how new it is. The addition of playing as Emily is a beautiful asset in this game, and you can seek out her personal quest to reobtain her throne instead of having Corvo do her bidding and save her once again. Karnaca itself is a joy to walk through, and even though it's a completely new city, it retains enough familiarity from the original game's Dunwall that it feels like home.
This game crosses some new territory by bringing in the spirit realm, and at first it seems ridiculous and unnecessary. But as this area of the story unfolds, all the pieces come together and you slowly begin to realize that without it, this game would really just be a carbon copy of the first game.
My personal favorite thing about this game is that it brings people and places back from the first game, but they are back burner material for the rest of the game. You get to see Dunwall, but only for the very beginning and end of the game. Sokolov, who became a main force in the second half of the original game, is only present in short spurts of this one, assisting you with some briefings before some of your missions.
I honestly have to say that Dishonored 2 is my perfect, ideal vision of what a video game sequel should be. The first game was great and didn't have much about it that fans complained about. So they didn't change any of that. Instead, they added to it, and they made it fit which is an area that a lot of sequels that I have played missed completely. New features in games seem to be tawdry and flashy, just something cool that the character(s) can do. But what's added in Dishonored 2, and I could repeat this a million times but I won't, is perfectly harmonious with everything else about the first game.
If you ever played the first one, then there should be no hesitation on picking this one up to play as well. These games offer great opportunities at a multitude of gameplay styles that just about any player can drop into it and have fun. Whether you prefer a sneaky, stealthy approach where nobody notices you, a blunt force approach where everyone knows your name, or somewhere in between, I can promise you that you'll enjoy every moment of Dishonored 2 (but play the first one too because the story is great, and it does have some easter egg-like connections to this one.
Here, you can find links to my YouTube channel, and playlists of my complete story runs of each of these games on the PS4, but it's available on Xbox One as well. Bethesda and Arkane, you guys did a hell of a job with this one and I'm already hoping and waiting for Dishonored 3.
Dishonored Playthrough
Dishonored 2 Playthrough
