Dishonored 2

It's hard to concisely describe the entirety of Dishonored, hard in a sense of how utterly detailed it really is. How many wonders were being crafted say Arc Pylon, The Wall of Light, supposedly inspired by The Wall of Light: Nikola Tesla and the Venusian Space Ship, the X-12 however expanded and ingeniously executed in the Dishonored game. The level design alone is a backdrop of the whole atmosphere percolating players' emotions moreover. In the sequel, take the 4th mission of the game, known as The Clockwork Mansion, and that's where the designition ponders thoroughly, elevating the game's level design transformation to something otherworldly inventive. Oh, man! I don't know how they manage to pull this off, the amount of time and mind were being smoldered during its creation, a 'showpiece' serving as a greater example of sheer imagination, and how it's being done in a proper hands.
The Dunwall City accurately resembles mid 19th century, and the atmosphere it possess is splendid. It bears a history and bonds with your character. I'd tour myself on that map, simply exploring the corners and then claim up to a highest possible building, for the scenic view, just to enjoy with the panorama for a couple of minutes.

The plot basic, however wrapped in a mystified events scattered throughout the missions of the original game, this side however sparsely observed on the second game, but yet, redeemed by the detailed levels, allowing its players to venture furtherly on a different occasions.

One of the things I admire in Dishonored, is the given freedom. You can be the main protagonist, and an antagonist raiding the parade at the same time. Limitations scarcely disrupt the player to dwell freely wherever and whenever, the rest is assigned to you. The low and high chaos system is an interesting conception, its consequences relies upon your choice of means. The idea of this, is not only entertaining, but smart, it's the reason why I overplayed this game, and still play it when nostalgia kicks-in, every now and then.

I can't slip this through, I have to mention the art direction behind the design of the main character and NPCs. Corvo's costume and mask allures the attention, bring a cryptic feel to it. It's fascinating the amount of enjoyment a single detail would bring, regardless of whether you see your character or not. It feels fancy, and moving.
With all my sincerity, Dishonored was the first video game that made me to love first-person games. It was the first time that I really appreciated the magic of Unreal Engine. A sense to feel what you really do in the game.

The voiceovers are professionally done and worthwhile to listen to. As well as the dialogues of NPCs.
April Stewart who narrates The Heart, (Jessamine Kaldwin), gives a pristine and purifying touch to the game. Definitely my favorite aspect about the listening experience, which guides you and speaks through your actions, possibly the closest thing attached to Corvo, and the only thing that would really tame the character.

The soundtrack scurpulously chosen, carved on thematics of time set in 19th century. The symphonies you encounter through some of the missions played on phonographs, cathartic études of violin slowly coming in to play as a theme for certain maps.

The side missions are just as fun as the main ones.


The power of blackmagic and void verdicts the end result of the game, what can I say about it? It's a non-stop fun! The only thing as I previously said, is the absence of mystery in the second game, which was a bit of a downfall. Aside from nostalgia, that's perhaps the only thing separating me from loving the second Dishonored as much as I loved the original one.

Nevertheless, Dishonored is unmatched in its right, and can't be replicated by other games. It's unique at every aspect of it, and I wouldn't hesitate even for a second to call it a modern masterpiece.

Uma espécie de sequência perfeita. Amplia e aprofunda os conceitos e mecânicas do jogo original sem se desvirtuar da fórmula.

Acima de tudo, é notável como a Arkane ficou mais aguçada ao criar esses quebra-cabeças em forma de cenário para o jogador explorar livremente as possibilidades para resolver a fase. Os cenários maiores e mais povoados, os inimigos mais atentos e a maior riqueza na exploração fazem do mundo de Dishonored 2 imersivo e crível. E também há muitas melhorias no gameplay, especialmente pra quem joga de forma não-letal.

Se eu fosse apontar um defeito, diria que o jogo falha em criar algum tipo de climax. A última fase é tão legal e interessante quanto várias outras, e a Delilah é só mais um alvo no fim das contas. E talvez a narrativa como um todo seja menos bem construída aqui que no primeiro jogo. Pelo menos pra mim foi menos engajante.

Dishonored 2 > 1 > Death of the Outsider > DH1 DLCs (very overrated)

Dishonored 2 is worth playing for the sheer size of its levels alone. If you hate the feeling of "getting lost" in a level, you might have some grips with this. For me it felt more like "getting lost in a world." The level of detail never ceased to amaze me during my first play through, and if this is anything like the first Dishonored I will notice hundreds of other tiny details during my next one.

The game has plenty of straight-forward missions, but also knows when to throw in some variety with crazy environments like the Clockwork Mansion or the Dust District. These two missions are worth the cost of entry alone because of their special game mechanics, but the standard levels are all polished to a mirror shine as well. Some of the levels have surprising outcomes that you might miss on your first go through the game as well, which is a great feeling. You have to pay attention to the world to succeed. As a result, I highly recommend disabling quest markers. The game doesn't need them and I'm glad there's an option to disable them. Unlike the first Dishonored, I never got "lost" on my first pass through a level because they were turned off. Every level is designed in such a way that you can find where you need to go using a diegetic map, hints in the world, or by climbing to a vantage point.

Having two characters with unique powers adds replay value as well, which is a great touch. The first Dishonored was highly replayable because of the powers and the chaos system, which this game builds on. I'm sure you could go through this game 5-6 times and still find new routes, new conversations, new secrets, and new locations every time. The addition of a "no powers" mode adds a lot to the game as well, potentially locking off entire routes to the player. Many levels are very vertical, so losing the ability to blink up to the 2nd story of a building changes the way you deal with obstacles and the environment around you.

I think the story is weaker than both of the main narratives in the first Dishonored, but it is better than the average video game story. The background class conflict of the first game is brought front-and-center for this one, and many of the key conflicts you get involved with are directly related to Aristocrats exploiting the working class. The two main characters are sort of "called out" for being complicit in running such a system, but nothing beyond surface level criticism of their lifestyles is ever thrown at them. This is a huge missed opportunity. The endings are left open enough that you could assume whatever outcome you want, but I won't give the game credit for the ending I can imagine in my head. By beating the game and reclaiming the throne, all I had done was restore the status quo of a broken system. It's a shame that the antagonist is a Saturday morning cartoon villain instead of somebody fighting for a more just system as it would have added a lot more depth to the story. I understand the "revenge fantasy" angle of the game and its marketing, but I'm not convinced it was the right approach for this sequel.

I wish they had gone farther with working class figures like Paolo and given him more opportunities to speak to the player about his revolutionary ideals and motivations. We get to learn a great deal about the Abbey of the Everyman and the wealthy conspirators, but the representation of the working class is limited to environmental details, books and newspapers, folk songs, and a handful of conversations. I have a feeling a lot of this stuff was left out to prevent the "no politics in video games" crowd from noticing that this game does, in fact, have political themes. If there is any lessons to be drawn from the game's text, it's that the elites of a society like the ones seen in Karnaca and Dunwall might never be able to sympathize with the plight of the working class and those who have fallen through the cracks. This is, and might forever be, the main source of societal conflict in such a system.

Similar to the original, but definitely a lot of fun. If you liked the first one you will like this one.

Gameplay is smooth and enjoyable, story is good enough to keep you going. This is a game that asks to be played multiple times with multiple play styles, and because of that I can only recommend to go for the Platinum/achievements of this game. It will help you to get more out of the game. Usually I'm not a fan of Trophies that require you to play the game multiple times but this game is just made for it! Every time you play it you will be able to finish the game faster, and it is surprising how fast you can get in beating the game. Even if speed running or trophies is not up your alley it is still worth playing.

DIshonored II is a game with a great amount of passion and talent behind the project, but unfortunatly it just has some few flaws that prevent it from becoming one of the greatest action stealth games out there for me.

But first the positives. The game features a cartoony art style that is not afraid to be bloody, and it does well to paint poverty in Dunwell. A very bleak setting, that doesnt fall into the "brown and grey" trap of the 7th generation. I would like a bigger FOV though, as it seems at times you really have tunnel vision that compromises you during the fights against multiple oponents.

Storywise its interesting enough, particularly as you find out that your actions have consequences, but ultimatly i found it a bit too cliche and inpersonal for me too deeply care about it. There really isnt any character in here that stoodout to me as memorable.

Now the gameplay is everything that Dishonored is about, and it feels really close of greatness. You have a plethora of options at your disposition, and the level design is fantastic at showing these to the player. From early on it is possible to go both ghost and warrior, and even more later on as you gain upgrades to specialize in your favourite style of play. The issue at times lied with me, as i felt that the game should have pushined the full combat options a bit more, as it made me circumvent a lot of its great level design. Its still a bliss to explore the levels for unique loot, but the tension is gone after every guard has been massacred at my hands. Maybe that is not the case on the higher difficulties.

Fortunatly the combat gameplay is still really good, making parrying essencial, and almost feeling like a dance of death as you block, shoot and execute your way through fights. There are some new enemies that prop up in the later levels that keep things interesting.

It took me 6 months to finally beat this one, even if i enjoyed my time with all of it. I think an interconnect world ala Prey would make the transitions between levels less harrowing. Ultimatly a great game that i wished i enjoyed more.