Dishonored 2 - Review

Developers of this game excel at creating a story where the heroes, who are of imperial importance, are betrayed. In Dishonored 2, a coup takes place in Dunwall Tower, however, unlike the previous time, the conspirators are not citizens of Dunwall city.

The hero, whom you’ll choose to play with, is going to trace the conspirators to Karnaca. In the first mission, you will be given the option to choose between two characters: Corvo Attano, the royal protector, the protagonist of Dishonored 1, and the father of Empress Emily, and Emily Kaldwin the Empress of the isles.

Playing with Emily Kaldwin seems to be the more logical option, as they struggle with the antagonist (a witch named Delilah) who has a familial nature. Delilah Copperspoon is Emily’s aunt, who thinks she is more worthy of the throne and has a dark and painful history with the late Empress Jessamine (Emily’s mother). Thus, making Emily go up against her seems to be the more rational option.

If you have played Dishonored 1 you will remember Emily Kaldwin, as a little, wayward girl with a sense of humor more appropriate to someone of older age, who witnessed the murder of her mother.

In Dishonored 2, you will find that this girl has matured accordingly. Her father’s discipline appears, on her, in the way she talks, rules over her people, and most of all, her training. Emily is a stern, yet kind empress; however, she has little knowledge when it comes to the matters of the citizens living outside of Dunwall city.

Her naivety gave the chance for the conspiracy in the south to brew. Thus, Emily learns the consequences of her actions and this constitutes a great part of her character development throughout the game.

One of the first things that players will notice, as they acquire Emily’s powers, is that it is more varied and congruous with the challenges of the new Serkonan environment. Playing with Emily and using these new powers is a new, fresh perspective.

Every character that is touched by magic could have different powers, yet Corvo and Emily seem to have, somewhat, similar powers, hinting that maybe people related by blood don’t differ when it comes to their abilities.

Developers like to bring back scenes that players enjoyed from Dishonored 1. For example, in the first installment Corvo saves Emily, while in Dishonored 2, Emily rescues him. In the first installment, Corvo kidnaps the royal inventor, Anton Sokolov, from his technological marvel of a mansion.

In Dishonored 2, Emily takes old, withering Sokolov from the terrible clockwork mansion, bypassing shifting walls and floors, and clockwork soldiers, which can kill you with as much as one strike.

Kirin Jindosh, the new royal inventor and the one who created the clockwork mansion, resembles Anton Sokolov in the old game with his genius and intent. However, he has a more malevolent nature than Sokolov. Patricians still thrive, and Plebeians suffer.

Despite the parallelism, we perceive in both games, Dishonored 2 is quite distinct from its predecessor, with new scenic locations, upgraded machinery like optics, electric carriages, and other implements, and the characters themselves.

Although players were introduced to witches in the “Brigmore Witches DLC” of Dishonored 1, we will get to see the full power of a coven of witches in Dishonored 2.

The creators of Dishonored 2 do a great job introducing the first mission, without giving you the feeling of a tutorial. Actually, a tutorial is given separately at the beginning of the game, and players have the option to skip it. Like the original game, Dishonored 2 is heavily centered on stealth. Players have the option to either play stealthily or go around slashing left and right.

Unlike killing everyone in the vicinity, going with the stealth option is a more intricate and complex matter. Players who choose the stealth option might take longer routes to achieve their objectives, and thus, require long hours to finish the game.

Players will have to find ways to neutralize their enemies and citizens, without killing them. They will take a longer time cracking safe codes, and solving puzzles. On the upside, they might unlock special events that wouldn’t have been found out, while playing high chaos.

Playing on high chaos, however, will offer more adrenaline-filled gameplay, as the game will provide special cut-scenes for killing targets and enemies. If you manage to get rid of all the enemies, the mission will be quite easy to finish.

Low chaos is more rewarding as not only will it grant a happy ending, but also positive character development, with less gore, and positive reactions from other NPC characters in the game.

On the other hand, high chaos will lead to a bloody ending, a dark, twisted and negative character development, and cynical reactions from NPC characters around the protagonist. Chaos system will also control some characters’ fates, as others die.

Dishonored 2 is a game that will keep you on your toes, constantly thinking of who to kill and who to spare, as you try to make moral choices. You will try to avoid or take actions that will make you avoid certain fates.

This makes Dishonored 2 one of the highly rated, highly recommended games in the stealth-gaming community. So, it is definitely worth a shot if you haven’t played it yet.