Overall Impression
Dishonored 2 is a first person narrative driven action stealth game with some of the most inventive level design in modern gaming. The narrative provides the driving force to explore various areas of the world. The main approach to most exploration is via being stealthy and taking enemies by surprise. Combat is also deadly with encounters lasting seconds in a kill or be killed fight once you are detected. Altogether there is a unique offering here with a compelling story, interesting stealth gameplay and outstanding level design.
Target Audience
Gamers that enjoy a story based narrative with stealth based gameplay should check out this title. The voice acting and narrative is well executed and is the main driving force behind the game. The mix of stealth exploration, deadly combat encounters and unique level design leaving a lasting impression.
Gameplay
The core gameplay loop revolves around stealth gameplay. Usually you are tasked with exploring a section of the world to uncover elements of the narrative. You can approach with guns blazing and try to take out as many enemies as possible or go with a non-lethal approach or anything in between. The game adjusts to your choices with various consequences along the way that is reflected in the narrative.
The stealth exploration of the world is fairly well done. This is due to the combination of interesting supernatural skills that allow you to feel like a deadly assassin combined with the threat that any encounter could be potentially fatal. This makes it so that you have to decide when to lay low and when you can dispatch your enemy easily without significant consequences.
One of the standout features of this game is the level design. Without giving away spoilers, there are 2 levels that are very unique in how they are designed and how they function giving the player the ability to transform the level. If you have experienced it you know exactly what is being referred to. If you haven’t, all I can say is that it’s a unique experience that will leaving a lasting impression. It’s not too often that you see this much creativity in level design. One major reason I believe this is possible is because it’s not an open world game. I believe this gave the developers more time to be able to plan and execute such unique, iconic and imaginative levels. I have yet to come across another game with this degree of creativity in its design. It’s something that you just have to experience.
The progression systems allow you to customize your gameplay. You can upgrade your supernatural abilities throughout the experience as well as gain new bone charms that provide various buffs to your character. In addition, there is the ability to upgrade gear. Altogether there are various ways to customize your character and playstyle to suit your approach to the game.
Narrative
Dishonored 2 takes place several years after the events of the initial game. The narrative follows the story from the perspectives of Emily Kaldwin and her father Corvo Attano. The story focuses on themes of political rivalries, conspiracy and revenge within a royal family. The overall story and voice acting is well executed and remains one of the core pillars of the game that works seamlessly with the gameplay. A unique aspect of the narrative and gameplay is that your choices and actions in the world influence the condition of the environment and how the overall story plays out.
Art & Design
The overall art direction is one of the key factors that makes the game standout. It’s a blend of steampunk with Victorian era architecture all mixed together into a stylized painterly aesthetic that gives a unique look to the characters and world. Exceptional art design is one of the ways a game can distinguish itself and forge a unique identity. This is a critical factor especially when trying to stand out in a crowd of hundreds of other games. Dishonored does exactly this through it’s well executed design aesthetic.
Challenges
This game is geared towards stealth and because of that elements of combat aren’t as deep. This isn’t necessarily a major flaw in the design as it does work when players have a more assassin type approach to the game where they are mainly trying to avoid detection and each encounter is potentially deadly. However, when you look a bit deeper into the enemy ai, enemy types and the nature of combat encounters there’s a lot less depth than other aspects of the game. This means that once you understand the basic mechanics there’s a lot less variety or depth to fights. It’s an element that can be overlooked because of the style of gameplay. This doesn’t necessarily detract from the game as it matches the genre, but those looking for deep combat mechanics, or sophisticated AI should be aware of what is offered.
Closing Thoughts
Dishonored 2 is an exceptional game in the stealth genre. Its combination of stylized art direction, stealth exploration and outstanding level design make for a memorable experience that marks a significant milestone in the genre due to its unwavering ability to innovative and present a genuinely unique experience.
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GAME DETAILS
PLATFORMS: PS4, Xbox One, PC
RELEASE: Nov 2016
DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER: Arkane Lyon / Bethesda
GENRE/TAGS: Action adventure, Stealth, First Person, PVE, Assassin, Narrative
TARGET AUDIENCE: Players that enjoy a stealth experience with unique level design and a well crafted narrative that adapts to your actions within the world.
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