MadCap's Game Reviews - "Dishonored 2"

Yep, time once more to step back into the shoes of Corvo Attano, the greatest assassin in Dunwall who nonetheless keeps getting duped every few years or so by someone. But it's okay, because the game gives us the lovely option that any adventurer in a Dungeons & Dragons game will eventually go for: mass executions!

And, much like the original, Dishonored 2 delivers on that pretty much in the same way that you expect...as well as a completely different way, as you can now play as Emily Kaldwell, Corvo's daughter who is now the Empress in place of her mother, who was killed in the first game. Emily has likewise been trained by Corvo in the ways of the assassin, no doubt him hoping that he can prevent the mistakes of the past.

Yes, you have the very different playstyles of Corvo and Emily except...they're really not that different beyond aesthetics. Do you want the voice of Mercer Frey or a less gruff, more feminine voice narrating in a game where narrating wasn't necessary in the first one? Corvo being suddenly voiced is...weird, to say the least. Kind of like Isaac Clarke in the sudden shift between Dead Space and Dead Space 2.  And, much like those games, we're just expected to take the change with no real issue. And, if I hadn't just slayed him in order to save the Thieves' Guild, I might have been able to do that.  Alas, no dice there, Bethesda and Arkane.

Even the campaign pretty much plays out exactly the same way with only a few changes in dialogue. Indeed, even either Corvo's or Emily's meeting with the Outsider (the maybe good maybe evil maybe God maybe Satan figure who gave Corvo powers in the first game) plays out much the same regardless of who you pick, with you even being given the option to completely turn away from the Outsider and play the game without powers.  While I do appreciate the commitment to giving us a choice here, why would I ever choose to be a super badass assassin without magical powers?

Seriously. Why?

But yes, if you played the first one, this pretty much goes the same way.  There are some new powers, but you can pretty much blitz through the entire game with just Blink maxed out as Corvo or Far Reach as Emily and you're pretty much okay. There are, of course, the options to use runes to beef up your attributes as well, and that's pretty much the only thing I ended up using the Runes to upgrade for in the end.

Oh, and Bonecharms. For some reason now, you have the option of crafting your own bonecharms. There's...really no reason to do it, and you also have the problem of Corruption, which amounts to a negative effect on Corvo/Emily while still giving a benefit. There are also naturally corrupted Bone Charms out in the world, which can be found with their clean counterparts and the various Runes out in the world, via the mechanical heart gifted to Corvo/Emily by the Outsider.

Again, much like the last game.

That's actually the truth with a lot of the game. Unfortunately, once you've done the revenge plot to regain your innocence plot, you really can't do the same thing over for the sequel. To the credit of Arkane, they did put in enough variation plot-wise to keep it interesting. The game really emphasizes a "play it your way" mechanic, where you can do everything between sneaking around and killing only essential enemies or go through making all of Dunwall look like the set of an Eli Roth film.

Sure, you get the "bad" ending, but bite me. I had to save my daughter from spending eternity as a statue. It's the Corvo Way. You petrify my daughter, I hunt down every last one of you, make you take back your lemons, and then I make a combustible lemon that...

[EDITOR'S NOTE: He goes on like this for a while. Just smile and nod and it'll be over soon.]

In conclusion, it is literally more of the same as the first game with a few minor cosmetic touches, and that's not bad. As much as I ragged on it, the option to play without powers is kind of interesting and tells me that it's possible to play through the game without powers, not that I would.  While there's not much variation, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Familiarity is often a very good thing, and there really was no need to fix what wasn't broken to begin with.

So, as I predicted, decent sequel. Might see more, might not. Time will tell.

Dishonored 2 is now available from Arkane Studios and Bethesda for PC, Xbox One, and PS4.

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