Dishonored 2

Played missions 1 and 2 of the new one.

It's good.

Sure, it's no Clockwork Mansion or Crack in the Slab... but... yeah. Somehow I'm liking this one better already than most of D2.

I feel like they have this gameplay refined and tweaked to a tee. Levels like what you named there are all time masterpieces.


It's really going to be a shame if they abandon the broader concepts of what this series and game can be about.

We've seen in all of the games: This is a huge world and we've only seen a small part of it with this entire story arc. There's a lot of potential left here. New stories, new characters, different timeframes perhaps. I just see so much potential left here.

I sincerely hope Arkane continues to make games like these.
 
At the same time it is probably time for Dishonored to be put to rest. I thought the overall story of 2 was lame, and overall not as good as the last. I'd rather have them put it to rest than drag it on until the release a turd. They can always make a similar game, but sometimes it is best to have a story that ends.
 
Put in some more time over the weekend and am enjoying myself. Was getting random crashes to desktop, but apparently putting the .exe in Win 7 compatibility mode fixes it. At least it has for some people, including me. Not sure if that's crippling anything (it doesn't appear to and the game is still running in DX11 mode) but I'm not longer crashing.
 
(Still playing the normal game) It feels like Emily's power's are designed for more of a sneaky approach. I remember Corvo's powers in the first game leaning toward death and destruction. Her powers combined with the ability to block/choke people at will is almost forcing me to take a pacifist approach. No fatalities so far 4 levels in, so I'm just going to roll with it.

While the levels are more contained, there's definitely a Deus Ex vibe going on. I like that.
 
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how does Death of the Outsider rank versus the first 2 Dishonored games?

A perfectly fine expansion/epilogue to 2 and "end of story arc" of all the games thus far.

It doesn't have the jaw dropping level design that Dishonored 2 had with those two outstanding missions but it hasn't a lost a beat in my eyes. The gameplay and overall concept is as tight and refined as it's going to be and it's more than well worth it.

I sincerely hope Arkane doesn't abandon the concepts behind this series even if this story arc is finished because it's just damned good and as far as I'm concerned the Dishonored games are modern classics.
 
how does Death of the Outsider rank versus the first 2 Dishonored games?

It is the weakest in the series. I think it should have been left as a DLC for Dishonored 2 at a lower price point. Beat DotO twice in 9 hours playtime with doing the side contracts and the playthroughs felt the same, which I've never felt in a Dishonored game, since there is usually generally a variety of builds to do. It was a decent game, but I wouldn't say it was a great Dishonored game, I felt The Knife of Dunwall was superior. Original Game+ also feels pretty bad, like the level design was made specifically for Billie Lurks powers. I'd recommend the game only if you want more story and Dishonored like gameplay.

Just my opinion, maybe I was expecting too much since the series was always great to me. Though I had a similar feeling with Brigmore Witches when it came out then came back months later and enjoyed it. Might be too soon for me to be giving my opinion.
 
how does Death of the Outsider rank versus the first 2 Dishonored games?

It doesn't have the jaw dropping level design that Dishonored 2 had with those two outstanding missions but it hasn't a lost a beat in my eyes. The gameplay and overall concept is as tight and refined as it's going to be and it's more than well worth it.

It is the weakest in the series. I think it should have been left as a DLC for Dishonored 2 at a lower price point.
...
Just my opinion, maybe I was expecting too much since the series was always great to me. Though I had a similar feeling with Brigmore Witches when it came out then came back months later and enjoyed it. Might be too soon for me to be giving my opinion.

I'm still working my way through the game - it's different: no mana potions, no "builds" to spec, no chaos system, but I wouldn't say those are necessarily bad, just different. Like Daud's blink froze time, and allowed for a change of tactics, Billie Lurk's powers/weapons are (yet) another remix on top of everything seen before.

Currently I'm having fun revisiting the Dishonored universe - will I rate this the worst entry in the series? Maybe so, the bar was maybe too high already.
 
I'm still working my way through the game - it's different: no mana potions, no "builds" to spec, no chaos system, but I wouldn't say those are necessarily bad, just different..

I hear it was done to encourage players to experiment with powers more and chain them together to form interesting combos
 
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Just finished Death of the Outsider. 13 hours. Real happy with this overall. :)

Can't wait until I get back around to finishing Dishonored 2. I put it down for something else after playing a good chunk of it, and am just waiting for the right moment to resume it again. I'll follow it up with the expansion straight away too. I was enjoying it quite a bit. I don't remember what distracted me, but it's up near the top of my list of to-finishes.
 
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I'm about halfway through normal Dishonored 2 and I have mixed feelings. The level designs are really cool and I like the look/feel of the game. Yet I don't like Emily's powers at all. They're mostly geared for stealth and (after going that route for 1/2 the game) I've concluded that is a really boring way to play. Chokeouts and sleep darts, even with the "chain link" power = just plain unexciting. Her shadow power is basically just sneaking and chain chokeouts for people who are impatient...like me.

IMO, the way to go is to rock Corvo and to go Ezio all over everyone. You're missing out on too many fun things to do by going non-lethal or using Emily's powers. I'm too far to start over, but if I ever play again, I'm going to have a body count a mile long.
 
I'm about halfway through normal Dishonored 2 and I have mixed feelings. The level designs are really cool and I like the look/feel of the game. Yet I don't like Emily's powers at all. They're mostly geared for stealth and (after going that route for 1/2 the game) I've concluded that is a really boring way to play. Chokeouts and sleep darts, even with the "chain link" power = just plain unexciting. Her shadow power is basically just sneaking and chain chokeouts for people who are impatient...like me.

IMO, the way to go is to rock Corvo and to go Ezio all over everyone. You're missing out on too many fun things to do by going non-lethal or using Emily's powers. I'm too far to start over, but if I ever play again, I'm going to have a body count a mile long.

when playing D2 I went with Corvo because it felt like more of a natural continuation of the story since you play as him in the first game...I finished the game as Corvo and enjoyed it...was planning on going back to play as Emily but never got around to it...Emily seems more like an extra way of playing but the canon way is to play as Corvo
 
I'm about halfway through normal Dishonored 2 and I have mixed feelings. The level designs are really cool and I like the look/feel of the game. Yet I don't like Emily's powers at all. They're mostly geared for stealth and (after going that route for 1/2 the game) I've concluded that is a really boring way to play. Chokeouts and sleep darts, even with the "chain link" power = just plain unexciting. Her shadow power is basically just sneaking and chain chokeouts for people who are impatient...like me.

IMO, the way to go is to rock Corvo and to go Ezio all over everyone. You're missing out on too many fun things to do by going non-lethal or using Emily's powers. I'm too far to start over, but if I ever play again, I'm going to have a body count a mile long.

when playing D2 I went with Corvo because it felt like more of a natural continuation of the story since you play as him in the first game...I finished the game as Corvo and enjoyed it...was planning on going back to play as Emily but never got around to it...Emily seems more like an extra way of playing but the canon way is to play as Corvo

Emily's stealth powers are just different - the drop knockout (as opposed to drop lethal) was a massive game changer from D1 and you can go a bit faster. I thought Corvo's stealth in D1 was very restrictive in comparison. As for Domino (chain link), things can get creative if you combine a Doppleganger with your targets. Mesmerize (the shiny weird distraction thing) is a bit of a one-trick pony I will admit.

I actually thought two things:
- Going stealth->lethal->assault with Emily was pretty fun; far reach (her version of Blink) I feel helped separate the two's powers, being able to fling forward, or, grab things and fling them at you (then move out of the way, so it gets thrown behind you).
- I actually felt that Emily's game was more canon (as much as that means) - D1 was Corvo's revenge mission, and D2 was Emily's. Seems a bit odd to play Corvo going back to revisit his childhood home when we as the player have no familiarity with it (much like Emily would have no idea). But whichever character you choose, it seems that
Emily is restored to the throne at the end of D2
according to the lore in DotO - it sucks that since it's standalone it does not read your D2 savegame.
 
Like the idiot I am, I only just noticed that the "Stats" section of the pause menu tells you if you have killed anyone.
After being stuck replaying the Conservatory because I apparently accidentally killed someone (no idea how or where), that's pretty handy to check every now and then.

It is kind of funny how the game seems to reward you for going ham and killing a bunch of people. Whenever I accidentally chain kill people (mainly because I used the wrong weapon by mistake) I get a cascade of Achievements. Yet after making it through 6 straight levels with none, I have almost nothing to show for it.

I have discovered that the bosses might be carrying items that I probably should have been grabbing all along. Hitting Beanna with a sleep dart after non-lethally completing her quest netted me a couple new bone charms. I didn't think to try that with the other bosses.
 
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There still seems to be debate about what, if any effect, the chaos system has in this game. Maybe more guards and enemies if you kill more???

It ultimately comes down to two choices at the very end no matter what and to the best of my knowledge there are only two endings directly related to that. Correct me if I'm wrong anyone.

It was nice to have looser shackles on this lethal/non lethal situation and it made perfect sense for a character like Billie.
 
I finally won normal Dishonored 2 w/ Emily going no-kill throughout. The final level(s) were pretty challenging and satisfying. I appreciate that going no-kill doesn't mean you can't just run in and choke people out by the dozens. Creating a bonecharm with 4 faster choke-out abilities makes it so that you're choking people out in less than a second. When chained together, people are dropping like flies.
In fact, I'd say creating your own bonecharms is probably the single best way to get ahead in the game. It takes a lot of runes, but it's worth saving them for. By the halfway point, you can be incredibly powerful and fast while using minimal mana. IMO, Domino and High Jump + custom runes really gives you a leg up on the game.

Not sure if I'll do a NG+ playthrough right away, but I do plan on going through with Corvo and eradicating everyone in the exact opposite manner. If the DLC goes on sale I'll likely get that, too.
 
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These games and this series taken as a whole are modern day classics IMO. That doesn't mean they're perfect.
 
I think that in 10 years I'll look back fondly on the Dishonored games. They aren't perfect, but they're really good. In my hierarchy of things, I'd put 'em next to the Darksiders games.
Classic games that sold respectably, but are sometimes overlooked or forgotten.
 
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Quite frankly, I'm surprised how much I'm enjoying DotO, particularly since I felt Dishonored 2 was such a letdown after how good the original was.

To me, this feels like an organic extension of the first Dishonored and reminds me of the great DLC such as Brigmore Witches and Knife of Dunwall.

I'm enjoying it so much I'm reluctant to play it because I don't want it to end!
 
Creating a bonecharm with 4 faster choke-out abilities makes it so that you're choking people out in less than a second. When chained together, people are dropping like flies.

Bonecharm crafting straight up makes the game crazy (the same applies in Death of the Outsider). And speaking of 4x Strong Arms, I forgot I had made this:

 
Once I started playing around with making bonecharms (and got the 4x ability), I had lots of fun making certain abilities overpowered. The choke-out one being especially helpful since I was going non-lethal.
Whenever I go through all-lethal with Corvo I look forward to making similar charms using 4x increased pistol and crossbow damage.
I think my one mistake was choosing the premium blueprint that made killing the robo-soldiers easier. That was super helpful in my non-lethal playthrough since those don't count as kills. However the witches are far tougher enemies. I'd think instakilling them would be much more useful in a lethal playthrough.
 
Still playing Dishonored 2. At level 5 or something. High chaos because I can't be arsed to sneak around like a pussy.
 
Still playing Dishonored 2. At level 5 or something. High chaos because I can't be arsed to sneak around like a pussy.

This game begs for the 1000% carnage approach. I've experimented with pure stealth and I keep telling myself that I'll do a playthrough with pure stealth but I've not been successful and I do the same thing each time - sneak up and then slaughter.
 
Picked up Death of Outsider for like 6.00 last week during the Quake Con sale. Billie is super fast I mean I thought Left for Dead was a fast game this combat is on super crack.
I guess sales didn't do that well and I know t hey spent alot of time making the game. I didn't finish Dishonored 2 because it was Overwhelming later mid game and I got lost :p
I still like the colorfull oil painted world of Dishonored one better.
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This entire series is classic in my eyes and I hope we get more games like this.
 
I'm also hopeful there will be more of these. I really liked the atmosphere, controls, and the wide variety of ways you could approach all of the encounters. It's a little bit of Half-Life 2, a little Deus Ex, and a little Bioshock.

My one gripe could be alleviated pretty easily. The devs pushed you down a path of either killing everyone or saving everyone a la Bioshock. The rewards, achievements, plot points, etc. all favored an all or nothing approach. I'd like to see future rewards and plot points be less black and white.

With the amount of detail they put into the world, there's no reason they can't just call the Corvo/Emily story finished. There's plenty of room to tell a different Dunwall story.
 
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I'm also hopeful there will be more of these. I really liked the atmosphere, controls, and the wide variety of ways you could approach all of the encounters. It's a little bit of Half-Life 2, a little Deus Ex, and a little Bioshock.

My one gripe could be alleviated pretty easily. The devs pushed you down a path of either killing everyone or saving everyone a la Bioshock. The rewards, achievements, plot points, etc. all favored an all or nothing approach. I'd like to see future rewards and plot points be less black and white.

With the amount of detail they put into the world, there's no reason they can't just call the Corvo/Emily story finished. There's plenty of room to tell a different Dunwall story.

One idea I came up with based on potential ending of Death of the Outsider:

I have this wild idea that you go forward in time a bit and the next protagonist of the "series" would be the Outsider himself. Imagine it. He's back to reality, a normal human, and he has to reckon with so much. Talk about a complicated character! Then then gets into whatever storylines develop.
 
Me too actually. I think I'll get my fill of RAGE 2 first, and then jump back into these.

Also, I agree with Frraksurred: Many recent games look way better in motion. (including RAGE 2 for example) It must be something with the shaders or something not being full captured, since many seem to be time-based or spread over several frames maybe.
 
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