Dishonored 2 Review

Dishonored is certainly one of the more popular new IPs to have come around in years and it left a lot of people excited for the inevitable sequel. It was also a rare step outside the box for a AAA title. I certainly got my kicks out of the original and so I was looking forward to seeing how they built on such a strong start. Dishonored’s gameplay was impressively varied and entertaining despite the stealth being questionable and the artificial intelligence lacking…well…intelligence. The characters and world were intriguing too and certainly begged for an elaboration, so just how well did Dishonored 2 do?

The game opens with an elaborate story framing cutscene that leads you up to a choice between playing as Corvo, the grizzled assassin you played as in the original, and Emily, the now grown woman you protected as a child currently reigning as Empress. Most of the differentiation between the two characters lies in their available skill sets, though of course character interactions vary as well. Emily’s skills lean more towards a lethal playstyle while Corvo is the better of the two at stealth. Of course, both are perfectly capable of tackling either style of play – I played a ghost run with Emily – but they do specialize to a degree. Having this choice is great in that it adds a good chunk of replayability. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the playthroughs will vary wildly, but it’s safe to say it’ll be enough for many folks to hop back in for a second or third completion.

Dishonored 2 plays much the same as its predecessor though it’s slightly more polished. Most of that polish comes from the level design which is top notch and gives you a good range of options for getting around. It’s a real step up from the first game and you get an appreciation for it the more you use your various skills. Veterans of the first game and creative newcomers will have a lot of fun, but those with a serial killer stripe will often have a more enjoyable experience.

That’s because while the game handles quite well the AI rarely plays by the rules. It’s not particularly obvious when you’re out for blood but ghosting levels shows Dishonored 2’s weaknesses. Frequently you’ll be uncertain as to why you were spotted, or reach the end of a level to discover you somehow killed someone. Sometimes enemies will investigate the sound of you throwing a glass bottle, but other identical enemies won’t move short of throwing a grenade. You could walk almost directly in front of an enemy unnoticed for ages one moment, then get spotted from a country mile while hiding behind a wall in another. One such example includes me being spotted crawling inside a building two stories up by a guard on the street. It can be brutal, if not heartbreaking when ghosting a level only to have it ruined by such occasions. Of those I know who also played through the game, stealth always seemed to be the difference between a mixed experience and a more pleasing one.

The story and characters do just enough to push you along though they aren’t presented particularly well. While there is a fair amount of story here it’s awkwardly told and the characters don’t get much of a chance to be fleshed out. You sort of stumble through adding characters to your cause though they don’t do much for you, and the meat of their stories is hidden in notes and audio logs. You’re expected to feel for people you have little knowledge of or interaction with and it makes for a sort of dull ride. The base plot is good, if not a bit unimaginative, however, the real shame is that it doesn’t make substantial use of the world’s history and lore to do more than just prop it up. What this means is that for anyone wanting a reasonably rich story, you’re forced to read a lot of disjointed pieces of paper and listen to a lot of audio logs which wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t have to always find them first. Everyone else will likely be satisfied with what’s put in front of them but I’d imagine they’ll still feel a bit left out by the story provided.

Dishonored stood out when it first hit the scene with its unique visuals and Dishonored 2 builds on that aesthetic in pleasing ways. The oddly proportioned, almost Fable-like characters and steampunk architecture are very much still on display but with a painted styling that looks great. Performance-wise wise it was a bit hit or miss on launch, so take a second to check if that’s been sorted out first if you’re concerned about that kind of thing. Even my powerful rig with a 980ti had points where the FPS dropped out severely, regardless of what graphical settings I used. These areas weren’t particularly common though, but your mileage may vary. As far as audio goes your ears aren’t going to cry tears of joy but the music is ok. Voice acting is across the board mediocre with some being less so and few reaching beyond. The main antagonist is particularly silly sounding, though sometimes it’s hard to tell if it’s the actor or the writer’s fault.

Overall Dishonored 2 is a good follow-up to what was a solid first entry in the series. It may not be as good as it could have been but that’s not to say it isn’t worth playing. With the option to play as either Corvo or Emily and with such stellar level design, it presents a lot of replay value hard to find in most games today. It’s a pretty game, and if you can look past its gameplay and story awkwardness you’ll likely enjoy yourself a great deal. Perhaps in the future, we’ll see more proper use of the interesting world Dishonored resides in but for now, Dishonored 2 continues to show that AAA games can still take risks and be successful.