Dishonored: Death of the Outsider

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider thrives on contradiction. It’s a tale of repentance and redemption, but one that follows a dark road to get there. It’s both an epilogue and a new beginning – a game that closes a few key doors but opens still more.

In terms of narrative, Dishonored the first still hasn’t been topped. Corvo was the perfect vehicle for the player no matter how they wished to play. Want to roleplay as an assassin hell-bent on revenge? Corvo was perfect. Or would you rather play as the unseen savior of the kingdom? Corvo suited that role, too. The high chaos and low chaos paths in Dishonored both not only made logical sense, but also felt like organic developmental pathways for the protagonist – a feeling no other Dishonored game or DLC has been able to fully replicate.

It’s kind of a shame, too, because I’m quite fond of the Dishonored universe’s extended cast. This time around we play as Billie Lurk; she was great in Dishonored 2 and she’s just as effective as the lead. But I’m not entirely sold on the impetus for her quest. She hunts down Daud and then Daud sends her to kill the Outsider? It feels forced, a plotline lacking sufficient motivation. It’s epilogue for the sake of epilogue.

Still, the developers make the best of it. The level designs are as clever as ever – robbing a bank has never been more fun – and Billie Lurk gets a trio of supernatural powers that complement each other well. Playing as Lurk feels slightly less twitchy than playing as Corvo or Emily, but her power of Foresight offers the player greater ability to predict and plan around her enemies’ intentions.

Yet despite featuring a new character, Death of the Outsider can’t quite shake the feeling of “been there, pilfered that.” While playing I felt glad that Arkane Lyon put the series to bed and moved onto Deathloop, which felt innovative in ways that Dishonored hasn’t since part one.

Arkane Studios has been beset by choppy seas of late – Deathloop was a critical hit that didn’t pan out sales-wise, and Redfall was supposed to mark the beginning of Xbox’s return to relevance but instead misfired in embarrassing fashion (although I personally enjoyed it more than most). My hope, though, is that the studios in Lyon and Austin resist the temptation to retreat to the safety of Dishonored and instead keep pushing forward. There’s ample space for new ideas in the immersive sim genre, and I have faith that Arkane can suss them out.