Arkane Studios returns to the Empire of the Isles with Dishonored 2 and with this sequel, they’ve grown any ideas that weren’t fully fleshed out into one worthy of a sequel.

The first Dishonored was a throwback to the late 90s FPS games that shunned the high-octane trend most FPS games followed (most well-remembered is of course the Thief series) and in doing so, created a world that was not only unique but memorable amongst all the other modern shooters that were so desperate for attention.

The art direction and powerful narrative certainly helped too. The question is whether Dishonored 2 stacks up to the original and from what I’ve seen, it’s a resounding yes. 

Choosing Your Path

Set 15 years after the events of the first game, Dishonored 2 now gives players a choice to play as the original protagonist, the Royal Protector Corvo or as his daughter, Empress Emily, while the story progresses incredibly fast once players make a choice, the subtle nuances between the two characters makes for two very interesting playthroughs and viewpoints.

The world built by Arkane is certainly remarkable, I know a lot of developers like to throw the concept of how your actions shape the world but in Dishonored 2, your actions certainly affect how easy or difficult the game becomes as you progress.

You have the choice between lethal and non-lethal methods within the game and along the way you’ll be offered some supernatural help in the form of the mysterious Outsider, an entity who rules a parallel universe outside of the physical world. Accepting his assistance grants you with a plethora of powers and abilities but if you want a more Thief-like experience and a real challenge you can forgo the Outsider’s brand and forge your own path.

Choose a path of violence and the world becomes a grim place as bodies attract vermin and illness to the isle and if you choose a non-lethal path, the empire might be in a better position to rebuild and grow again. 

For Better or For Worst

Gameplay has been improved quite a bit since the first game but the improvements made to the enemy AI means that direct confrontation seems to be a bad idea until your character has gained a certain amount of abilities to confront multiple enemies out in the open, after all this is a stealth oriented game. Nevertheless, the choice lies in the hands of the player, be it to spread death and chaos or just a shadow in the night.

The abilities given to the players in terms of mobility allows you to navigate around certain conflicts and access the many buildings and shops within the world. I once thought Deus Ex Mankind Divided had a well fleshed out world but Dishonored 2 has taken that title by leaps and bounds as the city and environment is not only well planned out laterally but also vertically.

The rewards given to players for exploration not only helps the players upgrade their abilities but also the amount of world-building and flavour text hidden every weaves a very convincing story of a steampunk world full of wonders and nightmares.

Cause and effect are two words that comes to mind when playing Dishonored 2 and discovering and manipulating the world your own ends is a very enjoyable experience as it’s very easy to find yourself immersed in the world. What might seem as a non-lethal takedown may set a series of unfortunate events into play which could very well result in the deaths of some innocent guard down the alley.

This, frustratingly so, affects your non-lethal playthrough but I don’t see this as a negative point but proof that the simulation of the world has worked. Enemies don’t just react based on light and movement but also sound and line of sight which makes sneaking around a fairly tense affair but pull of a string of nigh-impossible parkour moves and you’ll feel like a Victorian Ninja in no time. Of course, failure comes often and quickloading is almost an instinctive response when you mess up. 

Verdict

Dishonored 2, with its beautifully designed world, incredibly subtle but impactful writing and proper character story arcs has certainly taken the game to another level and in a world where everything happens for a reason, immersion happens before you realise it.

While there were some performance issues during launch, I’m happy to report that fixes have been rolled out and shouldn’t be an issue by the time of writing. If you’ve been dying for a good stealth FPS and skipped Deus Ex Mankind Divided because it felt to angsty or claustrophobic, Dishonored 2’s large environments and properly fleshed out world will make you feel right at home.

Byline: By Amir Rothman

 Genre: Action

Developer: Arkane Studios

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Release Date: 11 November 2016

Score: 8.5/10