Dishonored 2 is a masterclass in what it aims to be. And Arkane Studios is one for the history books on freedom choice and recognition. Having completed this title twice on the Xbox, I can confidently say that playing with a smooth 60 frames per second on PC along with a few personal rules.
I the options menu I turned off the waypoint, item glow and other parts of the screen that assist me I played with mare minimum stuff on the screen and assistance and it was amazing in turn of immersion. Actually looking for items and money with your own eyes and no having the game assist you. After this this time completing the game I hope to return to any many times over.
I applied delivered the absolute best experience I’ve ever had with the game. The Story Following the events of the first game, Emily now an adult and Empress of Dunwall and her protector and father, Corvo, soon become involved in an interfamily drama.
This conflict quickly places two countries, and perhaps the entire world, into a dire status. Usurped from her throne by an illegitimate step-sister who happens to be a witch, Emily and Corvo must travel over the sea to the island country of Karnaca where Corvo originally immigrated from. Their mission is to investigate the origin of the step-sister's powers and discover what must be done to restore order to a world on the brink of hell.
Gameplay & Freedom of Choice From the very beginning, you can choose to play as either Corvo or Emily. Both characters feature their own distinct sets of skills and unique dialogue, which adds an immense amount of replayability. The Immersive Sim Experience: The best way to describe this genre is that with every mission, you are thrown onto a map equipped with a specific set of physics, rules, AI behaviors, and objectives. It is entirely your choice how you execute and complete them.
Play Your Way, you can go loud and proud as a vicious murderer, or act as a stealthy assassin leaving death for every unsuspecting guard. Alternatively, you can choose to kill absolutely no one, pursuing alternative objectives to eliminate the main story targets without shedding a single drop of blood. Early on, before you are gifted powers by the benevolent dark god known as The Outsider, you can choose to turn down his offer. Playing the game completely grounded adds a layer of depth that forced the design team to conjure creative pathways for the player to discover. My Playthrough Style for my latest playthrough, I decided that I would kill no one except the main objective targets. Even in situations where my stealth failed and I had to figure out how to deal with guards on the fly, I still discovered ways to knock them out or eliminate them without it technically counting as a kill on my part.
For example, I would confuse the enemies so they would accidentally kill each other. Other times, I might grab an enemy, causing another guard to slice or shoot at me only to kill his own comrade. While the game still considers it a death, it was not by my hands, so the post-mission screen recognized my restraint. There are near-limitless options for how you can execute these missions.
The sheer amount of work Arkane Studios put into this game is second to none. Arkane is such a unique developer, and words can't quite do justice to the craftsmanship on display here. The missions themselves act as mini open worlds whether it’s a massive, complex mansion or a few sprawling city blocks. No matter the physical size of the map, you always feel like you’ve been placed in an open world because of how much freedom you have to play. You can create traps, distract or disorient the AI, kill enemies bluntly or creatively, sneak past everyone without a single notice, or combine your tools for really unique designs. It is entirely up to you to discover your playstyle.
While you can shoot everyone, confrontation usually gets ugly and leaves you with a pile of scattered bodies. The game primarily feels like a stealth title because it truly rewards you for understanding how the AI works, executing a plan, and watching it succeed or scrambling to correct it when everything falls into shambles. That is the true pleasure of the game. A Living, Reactive World On top of the mechanics, the world is gorgeous and incredibly detailed. Arkane is known for making highly detailed environments with environmental stories to tell, and this game feels like version 2.0 of everything they’ve done before.
Notes and books filled with lore and flavor text are scattered everywhere, often perfectly matching the surroundings where you find them. The game also shows an incredible amount of reactivity. The world actively recognizes whether you killed someone or did something unique, coming back later to remind you or punish you for it. In one instance, I killed a target fast and completely unseen early in a mission. When I went to speak to a story character later on, they were absolutely surprised when my character mentioned the deed was already done.
While there are choices that will affect future levels, to briefly compare it to the original, it doesn't take the concept quite as far as Dishonored 1 did with its final mission. But that is perfectly okay because there are still loads of choices this game recognizes that cannot be understated. If you played the first Dishonored, you already know what you are in for, and you will not be disappointed by this follow up. If you haven't played the first game, I would highly recommend playing it beforehand, though this title can technically be played on its own. You won't feel the full weight of the story material like you would if you played the original, but it is ultimately such a great sequel that it stands fine on its own. I will leave it at that. The knife is sharp, and it awaits your decision. Score: 8 out of 10. Pick it up cheap or buy it full price it is well worth it.
