Dishonored is a mostly good game with some deep flaws. For a game that at its core is a stealth assassin game with non-lethal options, even for your main assassination targets, Dishonored's non-lethal play was largely dull as you had few toys to play with. It was also a game with very deep lore and world building, but characters that didn't seem to change with anything happening around them. Only assassination targets got more than basic characterization which is a problem because a major twist in Dishonored is having most of your co-conspirators turning against you, killing many loyal to you, and doing so for painfully obvious reasons. All these rich guys are loyal to the true heir and recruit you because you're the empresses secret father....yeah something doesn't sit right there.
Dishonored 2 attempts to fix these mistakes. It leads to a game that is better than the original, and probably the best out of the 5 I've played from this old blogpost from forever ago (haven't played two of them yet), but still falls short of being an all time great.
The Dishonored team cares about its narrative but only to a point. In D2, the main plot is pretty similar to the first game. The empire is overthrown by a coup, only this time the empress isn't killed as she is the optional player character. A woman named Delilah comes out of nowhere with the Duke of Serkonos claiming she is Empress Emily's long lost Aunt. She usurps the throne even as Corvo, protagonist of the first game, stabs her in the chest. She survives with powers, and turns to stone whoever you decide not to play as. (I decided to play as Emily as I thought the story would be better suited to that character). You then need to escape the imperial capital city of Dunwall by fleeing to Serkonos where the coup plot was hatched.
I'd say Emily is "Antifa as fuck", but that collar. Oh and being an Empress.
Having the main plot being another coup is probably a by product of making (the now adult) Emily a playable character along with Corvo. There has to be a reason for the empress to go around stealth assassinating people after all. That said, it is a little odd that this developer treats their narrative so basic while giving the world of Dishonored so much detail. More about the technology is expanded upon this time, plus a lot more about the geography and even some about the far off Pandyssian Continent. It was obvious these islands are not on Earth in the previous game so more detail on just where the hell we are is much appreciated. Also, there is far more about the supernatural elements of the world. Witches are a common enemy later in the game and have powers similar to yours. There is more about the void and a lot more about the Outsider too (more on him later).
The fuck is with the collars in this game?
Emily being a playable character and Delilah being the main villain is a good step in the right direction from a common criticism of the first game, in that Dishonored's treatment of women in the first game was trash. Sorry if I'm going super SJW on you for a second, but it's ridiculously true.
Women in the previous game are just sort of there. They get very little characterization, including pre-teen Emily who is the rightful heir, and the ones that get some characterization are given just a handful of personality traits tops. For example, we know two things about Callista, one of your co-conspirators. She tutors Emily and you can spy on her taking a bath. Actually, you can barge in, jump into the bath with her still in it and get a unique Game Over screen as the developers knew players would try this. Kinda weird to put into the game to begin with. But that is NOTHING compared to Lady Boyle's non-lethal assassination, which has you knocking her out and handing her over to some creeper who has loved her forever. Dude is going to take her far away and he is going to teach her to love him. Ah yes. The moral high ground of not killing her by giving her away to the most obvious rapist ever.*
*There's also a degree of slut shaming here as the only reason she is even an assassination target in the first place is because she banged the wrong dudes. Trash.
There is nothing like that in Dishonored 2. There are two women assassination targets other than Delilah and they get a good amount of characterization. There is also a main secondary character, Meagan Foster, who is with you through the whole game and gets a great deal of pathos. You gradually learn more about her as the game goes on and you eventually learn why she is so distant with you. Even the dudes get better characterization as your inner circle is much smaller this time. The only returning secondary character is Anton Sokolov, and don't worry, his inclusion isn't really a spoiler. Shouldn't be that surprising as he was the most fleshed out character in the first game other than maybe Daud. Other old secondary characters are just given brief notes about their whereabouts only found in letters in the game world. The developers knew the old characters were bunk.
Delilah has a permanent scowl.
Emily could have used more though. Most of her dialogue is making statements or asking questions the player is likely to do anyway. Early in the game, she makes observations on every damn thing you interact with, so much so that I was ready to mute her. I mean, yes Emily, I know what a Globe is. Luckily this only really happens in the first mission and it's more natural through the rest of the game. Plus, a lot of her dialogue seems to be focused on self reflection on the lethal vs non-lethal paths to progress the game and at least that stuff was well done.
Dishonored is known for tying its narrative to your playstyle with a chaos mechanic. Kill a bunch of people, high chaos, don't kill many (or any), low chaos. In the first game, low chaos was the only way to get the good ending, although I don't know how not killing people would cure the rat plague. In Dishonored 2, chaos only really effects the ruthlessness of the ending. Spoilers: Kill a lot of people and you return to the throne to rule with an iron fist. Don't kill people and you rule as a benevolent leader who suddenly seems open to listen to other leaders...? However, other than the ending, plus a handful of dialogue and Sokolov's painting, your playstyle doesn't really effect anything else. This isn't so much of a criticism as wishing more games would rip off MSGV here.
Non-lethal play is better in this game but still not quite as fun as lethal play.* Sleep darts are still here but you also get a dart that makes enemies forget they saw you, stun mines as a non-lethal wire mine, and a non-lethal takedown while in combat !!!!!!!......that kind of sucks. You can only do it while parrying. If you are being shot at, just stick to the tried and true "run and hide" or you are fucked (you can upgrade your parry to block bullets but it is possible to deflect a bullet back, getting a kill and screwing a non-lethal playstyle). You also get some new powers that help with stealth and non-lethal takedowns but they are still outweighed by the many more lethal powers and weapons. Overall, it's more balanced than the first game, but not equal yet.
The clockwork soldiers have eyes on the back of their heads. Had to get creative to stay stealthy.
*Perhaps stupidly, I did my lethal runthrough second. Since I knew my way around now, I was better able to stay in stealth mode as I was spotted far less. I uh, I felt like a serial killer. However, it was nice to stand and fight the few times I did get spotted and could actually take down multiple enemies. It is damn near impossible to do a non-lethal takedown in combat with more than one enemy on you. The 2 seconds it takes to choke a guard out is long enough for the other guard to attack you and there is no counter except throwing the guard you're choking into the other guard....usually right into the other guards firing gun, leading to a death. Fucking bullshit.
Unlike other games that offer non-lethal play, I do kind of like Dishonored's morality system in a narrative sense. The vast majority of enemies are just city guards, doing their jobs for a paycheck. They don't care who sits on the throne.....buuuuuuut, if they spot you and kill you, they talk mad shit. Like, yeah, I probably shouldn't be killing these people who are my subjects, but they aren't exactly loyal either. Hmmmmm....
This is my favorite part of Dishonored 2 (along with the great stealth action gameplay and fantastic level design rivaling the last Deus Ex). How do you treat those who work in the system but may not really have a stake in it? Do you fight back against the coup by executing literally everyone even remotely involved in it? How do you secure a better future? With brute force and an iron fist, or with leniency and forgiveness?
Too bad it's still more fun to be evil.
It's my favorite part while also being sloppy in execution. The non-lethal options are better this time with assassination targets, a couple are quite sympathetic and can be saved, though most non-lethal options are arguably just as bad as killing them. One you brainwash into a incoherent, jabbering, idiot. One you have imprisoned for a completely false charge. Delilah Spoiler: You trap her in a magical dimension where she thinks she has won...and that one might not be so bad actually, even if it isn't real. She literally no longer exists in reality cause magic.
I also don't understand what the coup and assassinations had to do with The Outsider (I told you I'd come back to him). For those that don't know, he is a....dude in the void who gives you your powers. Later on, you learn Delilah also has these powers. In the first game, The Outsider is kind of a trickster God who doesn't seem to care that much about what Corvo is doing, instead, giving him powers mostly out of entertainment and getting more people to worship him. He definitely likes it better when you go the lethal route in the first game, but is mostly indifferent as long as people find out he exists. In Dishonored 2, he has a stake. He says Delilah has "a part of him" and he is definitely rooting for you this time. You also kiiiiiiind of get to learn about his origin buuuuuut....hey what's the name of the first DLC?
Hold on. Googling.
On a game design point, I want to mention two excellent missions. One has you either siding with some gangsters or some religious nutjobs who are fighting one another (NOT the religion of the Outsider but one that is similar to Christianity only with more Sun worship. People who worship the Outsider are considered heretics). You can side with one or the other, OR you can side with neither and kill both leaders, OR take a non-lethal approach to get rid of them, OR you can ignore them entirely if you figure out a riddle to open a door to your destination in that mission. Who you side with effects the ending along with what you do on the mission to assassinate the Duke. Who rules Karnaca (the Capital of Serkonos) at the end of the game depends on these actions. There are like 9 outcomes here and it's great.
The other excellent mission, and I can't believe I'm about to say this, has a great time travel mechanic. The mansion you go to in present day is falling apart, has many dead ends, the guy you need to talk to is bonkers, and there are corridors with bloodflies*. The answers you need are in the past when the mansion was in a better state but filled with guards. The Outsider actually intervenes here and gives you a time travel machine with a lense that lets you look at one timeline, while being in the other, and it's really, really cool. You can be in the dilapidated mansion, walk around with the lense up, and see guard movements in real time. It's so fucking cool. It's also cheap because if a guard spots you you can instantly warp to the present timeline like nothing happened. Not sure why the guards are not freaked out by somebody vanishing in thin air all the time but hey, cool nonetheless.
It's so cheap.
I should also mention, certain decisions in the time travel mission will change small things about the present, especially with Meagan Foster. I have....MANY questions about the narrative here but I will let it slide for such a cool mission.
Dishonored 2 is close to my favorite game I played last year. It's really good, but not great, and it's hard to explain why. D2 is basically just Dishonored again, a game I liked, only with improved characterization, improved non-lethal play, and improved level design with fun gimmicks. But its story is a little worse than Dishonored despite having a near identical plot. Dishonored doesn't even have that good of a story but it least it had a cool plot twist when your co-conspirators turn on you. D2 doesn't have that. Not really. You could make the argument that some of the revelations about Delilah are this games "plot twist" but one occurs too early (and I'm not sure if it is true)*, and the other is obvious. I don't really care how she got her powers and the fact that she got her powers practically the same way Corvo and Emily did is...yawn. Also, some of that seemed to be held off for DLC and I'm not pleased about that. Not. Pleased.
*I've played this game twice and still don't know if Delilah is lying about being Emily's Step-Aunt. (I wouldn't even consider it a lie if Emily didn't openly question it several times). This is a problem with "immersive sims" in general like Bioshock, Prey, and even Deus Ex. They often hide story critical information on some letter or audio log you have to find somewhere. Now don't get me wrong, I like this mechanic in these games. I even like seeing important information on these items but there is a line. Something crucial like the villain's motive should probably not need to be found. Weirdly, Deus Ex Mankind Divided made the same mistake with its main villain.
The story is the only thing holding Dishonored back from being great. It's closest relatable game is Deus Ex which has a much better story. The story of Deus Ex is much larger than Adam Jensen. Dishonored has a more personal story despite great world building, and there is nothing wrong with that in general, it's just that THIS personal story is about an Empress reclaiming her throne. Not exactly the most relatable thing. Also, pretty hard sell in this political climate. Game of Thrones at least has a worldwide threat to overshadow the many wars for the Iron Throne. Dishonored 2 has a bloodfly infestation that doesn't relate to anything except for being proof that the Duke of Serkonos is a bad leader...I guess? How? The bloodflies are only local to Serkonos anyway. The throne is in Dunwall.
Story aside, Dishonored 2 is really solid. I'd like to see a potential Dishonored 3 fix the flaws of D2 the same way D2 did of the original. Maybe then we can finally get a Dishonored game that can really use the great world it's built and not be about the very, very tired trope of "the rightful heir reclaiming their throne."
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