Let’s take a minute to talk about Dishonored 2, the game that has invaded my Playstation 4 and my life with no signs of letting either of them go anytime soon. Now let me just say I enjoy stealth games, I always have. There is just something about playing stealth that makes a game feel just that much more real and intense for me. That feeling when you are afraid that your real life breathing will somehow give up your in-game location is invigorating for me… also frustrating, because even though I love it – I really, REALLY suck at playing stealthy.
That is one of the reasons I love the Dishonored games, it lets you adjust your play style from stealth to loud – providing you can pull it off and you are happy with dealing with the consequences. It’s a game that shines in the fact that it’s a game, it is there to entertain and not to drive you to murder… You know unless that’s the play style you’re going for, in which case, go you.
Now let’s go back to what Dishonored 2 is, it’s the squeal to 2012’s Dishonored.
I would describe it as a first-person, stealth, shooter, adventure game.
It takes place in the same universe as the first game did, just set 15 years later. It’s a story driven game that is much more about the journey you go on playing through it than the end. Everything in the game comes down to the choices you make, and then living with those consequences. From your first moments in-game you are already thrown with a game-changing choice, to play again as Corvo Attano from the original, or to play as the newly playable, now an adult, Emily Kaldwin.
As with all the choices in the game, there is no turning back after making it, no changing your mind and no hot swapping between the two. The choice you make isn’t just an ascetic one either, who you play changes how the world responds to you, and how you respond to it. But no matter who you choose there are three distinct ways to play the game, with two distinctly different outcomes. You can play loud and murderous, silent and peaceful or a combination of both, these paths will ultimately lead you to either a high or low chaos conclusion to the story.
One of the most satisfying things about the game for me is that it doesn’t spoon feed you or try to hold your hand while you play. It tells you what your main goal is and that’s as far as it goes.
Everything else is up to you.
From how you choose to achieve your goal, the side missions you choose to do on the way or to the amount of time you spend just exploring the vast and detailed world of Dishonored 2 is completely up to you. Because of this, every achievement in the game really feels like you deserve it and are entitled to it completely, you worked hard for it and this is yours to brag about. It also means this game has a difficulty curve like no tomorrow, of course, this is highlighted more depending on your play style.
I’ve been playing the game through on two separate play throughs, one with Corvo and a pacifist approach and one with Emily going crazy and I can honestly say that this is just one of those games that you need to replay more than once to truly appreciate and get the full story out of it.
Dishonored 2 took everything that I loved from Dishonored and improved it.
It nails the stealth mechanics and has a good combat system for if you’re like me and stealth continually fails you. It has enough powers to keep me entertained and a gripping story combined with beautiful levels that make me never want to leave. Now as I said I’m playing on my PS4 so my experience has been flawless but I’m well aware of the PC players having optimization issues with their game, and to that all I have to say is wait it out, these issues will be patched and fixed and when they are an adventure of a lifetime awaits you.
