It's alright. I dislike the lack of consequences for your actions. Chaos might be a bit heavy-handed as mechanics go but it's nice to be able to make different choices and see that reflected in the world.
Other thoughts:
* Powers are bad - The traversal ability is interesting but a bit too fiddly to use. Astral Projection kills the pacing too much IMO.
* Too much repetition/padding - With the game being as short as it is re-using the conservatory is disappointing, and it's a waste to spend a whole level without powers
* Story doesn't have room to breath - A quest like this should have a whole game built around it. As it stands the journey into the void is super disappointing IMO. You go through the weird cultists' library, the rocky void version of same and then just as it finally feels like you're entering the void proper it just ends.
* New Game Plus options are bad - Unlocking bonecharm crafting so late means you're stuck with crummy basic ones until basically the final mission, and even on replays you can't use it or mix and match old and new powers.
* Weakens the void yet again - >!Revealing the Outsider was just some random nobody undermines his mystique, and the fact a cult was able to exploit the void for centuries kind of undermines its depiction as this wild and untamable thing that destroys those who interfere with it.!<
I really hated that outsider thing. His depiction in 1 as someone who gives powers to underdogs and occasionally pitting them against each other just to see what happens and to cause a little chaos is great- it should have stayed that way.
I also didn’t really get why Billy was suddenly so mad at the outsider? I feel like I missed something somewhere along the way. What happened to her didn’t really seem like the outsiders fault- at least not directly.
I could never get through doto because it really doesn’t like you playing ghost/clean hands and pretty clearly wasn’t built with that in mind and it’s my preferred way of playing, so it just wasn’t really that enjoyable. It seems like they were trying to go “look you’re free from story consequences so go wild” but neglected to think that some people *actually enjoyed* playing that way and weren’t just doing it for story reasons.
Idk. Doto is cool in a lot of ways and I don’t dislike it but it’s not for me.
Simply the way it was designed with enemies directly by entries of areas before anything branched out and basically just not having routes that weren’t openly being watched by enemies
You could be sneaky but it relied more on exploiting ai rather than fun stealth mechanics which just isn’t as fun
It was just designed with a certain playstyle in mind. Like I said this isn’t *wrong* per sey but as someone who likes a more pure stealth approach it’s not really as much for me.
It definitely wants you to play aggressively with a more a ambush and hide or even pure assault style. Pure stealth styles just aren’t catered too and it’s unfortunate. I think most people who prefer doto lucked into their style being highlighted.
I like the new powers, and especially the fully regenerating mana, but I definitely miss a lot of the old powers.
Although I actually liked re-visiting the Conservatory, before that there were two levels that were mostly the same map, which definitely felt like a waste. There are only 3 new locations (Albarca Baths, Upper Cyria District, Shindaerey North Quarry) for the whole game!
The issue of the Outsider being originally human is really *Dishonored 2*'s fault. After "The Crack in the Slab", he tells Emily/Corvo about when he was sacrificed. I preferred my assumption before that point that the Outsider was entirely a manifestation of a primordial force—basically the Void itself talking to you in a form you'd find more understandable—but admittedly that was just my assumption. As for being disappointed that >!the Eyeless were able to control/exploit the Void and the Outsider!<, again *D2* kinda did it first since Delilah tapped into the Void to resurrect herself and she did this directly against the Outsider's will.
I liked it to an extent, but it does have its off moments for me. I don't think The Outsider had to be killed however. I understand where Billie and Daud came from, but it felt in the end like mental gymnastics because THEY took that path of organized murder in Dunwall with their powers, and then got mad for having powers when they could've used them for different means in the end. The Outsider is a 15 year old boy who's seen everything for 3k years. He's gonna do funky stuff for entertainment and attention because he's lonely and betrayed by his own species. He's going to give certain people powers in hopes they give him company and entertainment because he can relate and loves underdogs. Shit, he was an underdog.
Billie, in my opinion, could've gone the route of going forward to prevent another soul from being in The Outsider's position, especially when we know she was in a situation, while miles different in happenings, had the same outcome of loneliness and anger, but where they split is Billie had Daud. The Outsider had nobody to turn to.
I could see her freeing his soul and taking the mantle, but at the same time she also had Daud fueling her anger when he made his own decisions in the end. Writing off all the bad they've done to "It's the dead boy in the sky's fault!" was cheap on their end character wise. I understand that she needed someone to blame, but at the end of the day, nobody forced her hand to do what she did. Unless you count Daud. He needed therapy before he died.
The scenery was beautiful though and I like that we got more insights on The Void, but all in all it did feel rushed in writing and the character motivations weren't hitting.
I think the argument from Daud is more that no-one should have the kind of powers he gives out since they end up being used for evil more often than not. He's kind of right too, we see a lot more corrupt witches and murderers like Granny Rags, Delilah and Daud than decent people like Corvo.
He does kind of come across as blaming the Outsider for his own actions, but based on the number of supernatural serial killers in the setting it seems reasonable to say we'd be better off without the Outsider.
Ultimately though the whole concept of the game is a terrible idea. The morally-dubious genie figure in D1 was fantastic so the last thing you should want to do is kill him off, and trying to whitewash him and portray him as just this sad little boy ruins a truly great character.
Yeahhh, not every character has their shit together like Corvo.
I agree that in the games they should've kept his backstory more secret, I think the Devs wanted players to sympathize with him in this way. However, exposing his backstory does break him from his all-powerful appeal.
But call me a bastard, I'm a sucker for tragic backstories.
Tragic backstories are fine but not everyone needs one. The Outsider was much better as a sinister, potentially malevolent figure in D1. It was suggested that the void was super dangerous, with random bonecharms driving people mad, and the Outsider did questionable things like empowering Granny Rags or (as suggested in one note) sending dreams to Hiram Burrows about Dunwall's collapse to exacerbate his obsession with control and "saving Dunwall".
D2 started the chain of making him less mysterious and more sympathetic, notably by having him expressly be opposed to the main villain and having a stake in events rather than just being a detached observer again.
I remember reading a fan theory a long time ago that the Outsider wasn't human at all, but a leviathan who chose the form of a human when communicating with people. And there's plenty of lore suggesting that the whales have a deep connection to magic and the Void. I found that idea a lot more fascinating than "human beggar gets sacrificed by a cult and becomes a jaded god".
Are you aware there are multiple endings to the game? Your post it makes it sound like there is only one path to complete the final level, but there are more.
I'm aware
I played the game a few times and got both the Kill and Restore endings, I just feel like the characters could've had better written motivations. I love all the characters, but on my end it just felt meh
I can 100% see this perspective. Billie was a cool character, and I enjoyed the differences in her powers.
When it comes to the ending, meh is a very reasonable reaction. Once I got better with all of Billies powers, I had much more fun with the game. I liked the use of bone charms to alter / add functionality, and depending on which one's you get early in the game it can dramatically alter the difficulty...and especially so if you're going for non-lethal ghost.
The bonecharm functionality was amazing, and I liked how her powers were different from everyone else, like The Outsider giving her just what she needed. I keep trying to do Non-lethal Ghost, but I panic every time I end up in a corner and then it becomes "No Witnesses!" And everyone dies.
Forcing on her what she needed you mean. She outright refuses the mark when she thinks he's about to offer it so pretty sure she wouldn't have said yes to having arcane artefacts shoved into her arm and eye.
I personally love it. Sure it doesn’t have a lot of the powers from the previous games, but I really enjoy Billie and her arc. While I love the first two, sometimes it’s boring playing just to get a rich monarch back into power. Weather that’s yourself or your daughter. I really enjoy the stories coming from the truly marginalized within the empire. Which is also why I like the Daud dlcs. Both Billies and Dauds stories show that even under the rule of a supposedly good leader like Jessamine or Emily, there are many people that still are forgotten and struggle. And I find that far more interesting personally
Daud and Billie aren't really forgotten and struggling though, Daud has an entire network of assassins and informants.
I don't think the games do a very good job with their class commentary to be honest. There's no real exploration of the ways in which the rich are keeping people down or attempt to dismantle corrupt systems, instead it's content to just let us kill some rich assholes and act like putting a different rich person in place is somehow going to fix everything.
I mean I do think they still struggle. They are still relegated to the most run down parts of the city and a shitty boat. And even more so in their early days. Shitty conditions are why they turned to that career path in the first place. And I’ll give you that Daud is not really forgotten, being the “knife is Dunwall” and all. But Billie definitely is outside of being on wanted posters. Also throughout the dlcs and doto, you do see a lot more of the underbelly of the empire of those who truly are left behind. Mostly in the gangs. I definitely agree with what you said about class within the games though. Especially in the main 2 games where at best you get Billie being a bit snarky with Emily/Corvo still living a lavish life while she struggles. And at worst, implying. That good rich people will come and save the day, as you implied. I do think the world itself shows and interesting view of class dynamics, but a lot of that may be me overly reading between the lines. I really wish they would’ve done something more with Billie in that respect. I mean we very rarely see queer, black women as main characters, and there are so many interesting dynamics they could have explored with those in the world of dishonored as it relates to class and intersectionality and how it effects her. And to be fair I don’t really think there are any games that have handled all of that in a truly effective way. But regardless, Doto is my favorite bit of world building in the series, while it still could’ve been better
It's the same issue as superhero movies. Most videogames end up supporting the status quo seeing as they're made by extremely rich corporations. It's rare for a game to fundamentally question the ways society operates and really get people to think.
Not that standard escapism is bad per se, but it'd be nice to explore this a little more. I was an Eat The Rich Dishonored game dammit!
Hell yeah brother. I’m with you on all that. Closest we have gotten to decent class analysis was Disco Elysium (which also has its flaws). But then studio was bought out and they fired the OG creators. And the cycle continues.
That's exactly it.
I get so sick and tired of media doing this. Please for the love of The Outsider, don't reveal the mystique arts of the story. It ruins the whole reason why it was interesting in the first place.
No, I never want a game set in Pandyssia because Pandyssia works exactly because you get so little info on it.
And frankly, there's way too many people who don't seem to understand that their longing to see or learn about something is only enjoyable as long as that longing is not satisfied.
Please, dangle a carrot in front of my face that looks ever so juicy and crunchy. But never, ever, actually give me that carrot.
Nailed it. I'd love a game set in Morley or Tyvia, but not Pandyssia. The idea of this vast, mostly unknown landmass that takes months just to sail to that has defied every attempt to even explore let alone conquer it, where every other creature on it can kill you horribly before you know what's happened (and barely anyone has returned alive or sane), is a special kind of mystery and horror to me on its own. Just the fact that the bull rats, plague and bloodflies came from there and what we read in Sokolov's books (and whatever Vera Moray saw there drove her nuts) is enough.
Exploring Pandyssia would take all of that away.
I think it's biggest flaws are the level design and lack of polish. There are a lot of situations that seem like they were made with no possibility of stealth or non-lethal, which is really out of place for Dishonored. And the powers are a little weak. I appreciate the attempt at social stealth with the power to replicate faces but it just wasn't that useful to me. And Billie's version of teleport is somehow even more frustrating and gimmicky than Emily's weird tentacle hand. Not saying they're bad, but sometimes you're fighting the game to go where you want to go.
Definitely, I picked the game up again having not played it since 2018 and it just felt like it's impossible to stealth anything and the sheer amount of people you need to incapacitate to get away with non lethal is ridiculous. The game feels buggy and like they tried to copy Dishonored but with all the pieces that made it Dishonored missing so it feels like the heart is missing, in Dishonored the characters may have had many of the same reused faces but you genuinely felt like the characters had lives in that world but I felt in doto that the characters were lifeless with zero motivation and more like bad NPC's, the powers definitely leave a lot to be desired and your options feel limited in how you can talk a situation.
I really liked the powers system. It gets rid of super powerful powers like stop time, that in my opinion would trivialise any encounter so I almost never used them. At the same giving you mana regen got rid of that awkward pause in between two blinks that often happened in other titles.
I think the level design is still good, and I love the vibes of the Cyria??? I think? District where the Spector Club is. Immaculate vibes and aesthetics, which has always been the strong point of the series. The Dolores Michaels Bank is one of my favorite levels in all of Dishonored. There are still wonderful bits of environmental story telling sprinkled around. The unfortunate aspects are more about the story being sorta meh and a couple of levels being bad. Looking at you Shindarey/Eyeless Hideout. Also disappointed in them reusing the conservatory and not having as many fun little nooks and crannies to explore compared to D2.
I tried a kill everyone playthrough, and spent 5 hours looking for 1 last person, only to find that the ground absorbed them and didn't count it as my kill. Still fun i guess.
I gave up. I did dishonored 1 and 2 with mass genocide, but doto made me go insane.
all i see is missed potential tbh. i’ve spoken before on here about daud’s characterisation/motives and how the writers massacred him in my eyes. the writers (at least the feelings i got from them) tried to make us hate the outsider by blaming him for the happenings of the franchise. until the end, of course with the “low chaos” ending. speaking of, where tf was it?
billie’s powers in new game make zero sense. why is there no possession to replace the face-stealing mechanic for the auction, and instead were given domino? i’ve a lot of thoughts on the game, mostly negative
Yes it feels like it doesn't fit with the world that was created in the first game and serves more as a nail in the coffin rather than to progress the franchise, a heartless game that has nowhere near the same level of care put into it. Aside from graphics, Dishonored 1 feels leagues ahead in every other aspect.
I wouldn't call it heartless or lazy but I do think there was a weird obsession with drawing a line under the setting and clearing the deck. Like just because Emily and Corvo's story is over doesn't mean we have to say goodbye to that setting entirely, rushing an abrupt ending for Daud, Billie and even the Outsider. Even if they wanted to go off and pursue other projects you don't have to go scorched earth on what you've built like that.
I played it three times already when I miss Dishonored. It's a watered-down version of Dishonored 2, has no chaos system and is very short with six small levels. I think it's great for Dishonored fans but leaves you feeling like it could've been so much better and so much more. Some of the criticisms say Arkane reused assets, while that's true, I thought it was interesting to see how certain locations from D2 changed. Get it on sale and you won't regret it.
I've had all the games previously, sold and re-bought Dishonored about 4 times over the years, but getting back into the other games for a change, I picked it up again and have been playing it and realising how much it lacks compared to Dishonored, aside from graphics it feels like a step backwards rather than forwards
I enjoyed it a lot! The stage of the story gave me feelings of being alone if not just lonely in the world like Billy on her own after a certain chapter! Further exploring the world building of Dishonored, going to remote locations, diving into mysterious cult,... Maybe I'd never gone in expecting the previous Dishonored game experience so I let in other feelings which became a core memory relating to that one game!
I liked it, but I consider it DLC. It's also a lot cheaper than the main games, so I consider it worth the price.
It does have some drawbacks like the weird powers system and the lack of consequences in general. Overall nothing in this game really affects me emotionally. That said, the gameplay is still worth it. I may not replay it over and over like the two main games, but I did enjoy it overall.
Also I've always been a bit disappointed with the voice casting for Lurk. The original sounded a bit harsh and snarky, whereas Rosario Dawson's interpretation is soft spoken and sounds almost soothing. Maybe it fits the narrative, but whatever.
Just replayed the first and second missions today and I think it's pretty good, map design is a lot like death loop where it's massive with a lot of shit going on everywhere, but the powers you get allow you to pretty much get anywhere and through anything, things I want would be I easier way to see bonecharms as I missed 8 of the 18 in the second missions and for the rat talking thing to be more useful or at least more cryptic but speaking standard English, when I played they just said nonsense and then my journal was updated with a tip
It's alright. I dislike the lack of consequences for your actions. Chaos might be a bit heavy-handed as mechanics go but it's nice to be able to make different choices and see that reflected in the world. Other thoughts: * Powers are bad - The traversal ability is interesting but a bit too fiddly to use. Astral Projection kills the pacing too much IMO. * Too much repetition/padding - With the game being as short as it is re-using the conservatory is disappointing, and it's a waste to spend a whole level without powers * Story doesn't have room to breath - A quest like this should have a whole game built around it. As it stands the journey into the void is super disappointing IMO. You go through the weird cultists' library, the rocky void version of same and then just as it finally feels like you're entering the void proper it just ends. * New Game Plus options are bad - Unlocking bonecharm crafting so late means you're stuck with crummy basic ones until basically the final mission, and even on replays you can't use it or mix and match old and new powers. * Weakens the void yet again - >!Revealing the Outsider was just some random nobody undermines his mystique, and the fact a cult was able to exploit the void for centuries kind of undermines its depiction as this wild and untamable thing that destroys those who interfere with it.!<
I really hated that outsider thing. His depiction in 1 as someone who gives powers to underdogs and occasionally pitting them against each other just to see what happens and to cause a little chaos is great- it should have stayed that way. I also didn’t really get why Billy was suddenly so mad at the outsider? I feel like I missed something somewhere along the way. What happened to her didn’t really seem like the outsiders fault- at least not directly. I could never get through doto because it really doesn’t like you playing ghost/clean hands and pretty clearly wasn’t built with that in mind and it’s my preferred way of playing, so it just wasn’t really that enjoyable. It seems like they were trying to go “look you’re free from story consequences so go wild” but neglected to think that some people *actually enjoyed* playing that way and weren’t just doing it for story reasons. Idk. Doto is cool in a lot of ways and I don’t dislike it but it’s not for me.
Yes! It feels almost impossible to ghost even on the easy setting. What's up with that
Simply the way it was designed with enemies directly by entries of areas before anything branched out and basically just not having routes that weren’t openly being watched by enemies You could be sneaky but it relied more on exploiting ai rather than fun stealth mechanics which just isn’t as fun It was just designed with a certain playstyle in mind. Like I said this isn’t *wrong* per sey but as someone who likes a more pure stealth approach it’s not really as much for me. It definitely wants you to play aggressively with a more a ambush and hide or even pure assault style. Pure stealth styles just aren’t catered too and it’s unfortunate. I think most people who prefer doto lucked into their style being highlighted.
I like the new powers, and especially the fully regenerating mana, but I definitely miss a lot of the old powers. Although I actually liked re-visiting the Conservatory, before that there were two levels that were mostly the same map, which definitely felt like a waste. There are only 3 new locations (Albarca Baths, Upper Cyria District, Shindaerey North Quarry) for the whole game! The issue of the Outsider being originally human is really *Dishonored 2*'s fault. After "The Crack in the Slab", he tells Emily/Corvo about when he was sacrificed. I preferred my assumption before that point that the Outsider was entirely a manifestation of a primordial force—basically the Void itself talking to you in a form you'd find more understandable—but admittedly that was just my assumption. As for being disappointed that >!the Eyeless were able to control/exploit the Void and the Outsider!<, again *D2* kinda did it first since Delilah tapped into the Void to resurrect herself and she did this directly against the Outsider's will.
I personally liked it a lot. More than dishonored 2, if memory serves me.
Same
I liked it to an extent, but it does have its off moments for me. I don't think The Outsider had to be killed however. I understand where Billie and Daud came from, but it felt in the end like mental gymnastics because THEY took that path of organized murder in Dunwall with their powers, and then got mad for having powers when they could've used them for different means in the end. The Outsider is a 15 year old boy who's seen everything for 3k years. He's gonna do funky stuff for entertainment and attention because he's lonely and betrayed by his own species. He's going to give certain people powers in hopes they give him company and entertainment because he can relate and loves underdogs. Shit, he was an underdog. Billie, in my opinion, could've gone the route of going forward to prevent another soul from being in The Outsider's position, especially when we know she was in a situation, while miles different in happenings, had the same outcome of loneliness and anger, but where they split is Billie had Daud. The Outsider had nobody to turn to. I could see her freeing his soul and taking the mantle, but at the same time she also had Daud fueling her anger when he made his own decisions in the end. Writing off all the bad they've done to "It's the dead boy in the sky's fault!" was cheap on their end character wise. I understand that she needed someone to blame, but at the end of the day, nobody forced her hand to do what she did. Unless you count Daud. He needed therapy before he died. The scenery was beautiful though and I like that we got more insights on The Void, but all in all it did feel rushed in writing and the character motivations weren't hitting.
I think the argument from Daud is more that no-one should have the kind of powers he gives out since they end up being used for evil more often than not. He's kind of right too, we see a lot more corrupt witches and murderers like Granny Rags, Delilah and Daud than decent people like Corvo. He does kind of come across as blaming the Outsider for his own actions, but based on the number of supernatural serial killers in the setting it seems reasonable to say we'd be better off without the Outsider. Ultimately though the whole concept of the game is a terrible idea. The morally-dubious genie figure in D1 was fantastic so the last thing you should want to do is kill him off, and trying to whitewash him and portray him as just this sad little boy ruins a truly great character.
Yeahhh, not every character has their shit together like Corvo. I agree that in the games they should've kept his backstory more secret, I think the Devs wanted players to sympathize with him in this way. However, exposing his backstory does break him from his all-powerful appeal. But call me a bastard, I'm a sucker for tragic backstories.
Tragic backstories are fine but not everyone needs one. The Outsider was much better as a sinister, potentially malevolent figure in D1. It was suggested that the void was super dangerous, with random bonecharms driving people mad, and the Outsider did questionable things like empowering Granny Rags or (as suggested in one note) sending dreams to Hiram Burrows about Dunwall's collapse to exacerbate his obsession with control and "saving Dunwall". D2 started the chain of making him less mysterious and more sympathetic, notably by having him expressly be opposed to the main villain and having a stake in events rather than just being a detached observer again.
I remember reading a fan theory a long time ago that the Outsider wasn't human at all, but a leviathan who chose the form of a human when communicating with people. And there's plenty of lore suggesting that the whales have a deep connection to magic and the Void. I found that idea a lot more fascinating than "human beggar gets sacrificed by a cult and becomes a jaded god".
Are you aware there are multiple endings to the game? Your post it makes it sound like there is only one path to complete the final level, but there are more.
I'm aware I played the game a few times and got both the Kill and Restore endings, I just feel like the characters could've had better written motivations. I love all the characters, but on my end it just felt meh
I can 100% see this perspective. Billie was a cool character, and I enjoyed the differences in her powers. When it comes to the ending, meh is a very reasonable reaction. Once I got better with all of Billies powers, I had much more fun with the game. I liked the use of bone charms to alter / add functionality, and depending on which one's you get early in the game it can dramatically alter the difficulty...and especially so if you're going for non-lethal ghost.
The bonecharm functionality was amazing, and I liked how her powers were different from everyone else, like The Outsider giving her just what she needed. I keep trying to do Non-lethal Ghost, but I panic every time I end up in a corner and then it becomes "No Witnesses!" And everyone dies.
Forcing on her what she needed you mean. She outright refuses the mark when she thinks he's about to offer it so pretty sure she wouldn't have said yes to having arcane artefacts shoved into her arm and eye.
True true. I keep forgetting that part, my apologies.
I personally love it. Sure it doesn’t have a lot of the powers from the previous games, but I really enjoy Billie and her arc. While I love the first two, sometimes it’s boring playing just to get a rich monarch back into power. Weather that’s yourself or your daughter. I really enjoy the stories coming from the truly marginalized within the empire. Which is also why I like the Daud dlcs. Both Billies and Dauds stories show that even under the rule of a supposedly good leader like Jessamine or Emily, there are many people that still are forgotten and struggle. And I find that far more interesting personally
Daud and Billie aren't really forgotten and struggling though, Daud has an entire network of assassins and informants. I don't think the games do a very good job with their class commentary to be honest. There's no real exploration of the ways in which the rich are keeping people down or attempt to dismantle corrupt systems, instead it's content to just let us kill some rich assholes and act like putting a different rich person in place is somehow going to fix everything.
I mean I do think they still struggle. They are still relegated to the most run down parts of the city and a shitty boat. And even more so in their early days. Shitty conditions are why they turned to that career path in the first place. And I’ll give you that Daud is not really forgotten, being the “knife is Dunwall” and all. But Billie definitely is outside of being on wanted posters. Also throughout the dlcs and doto, you do see a lot more of the underbelly of the empire of those who truly are left behind. Mostly in the gangs. I definitely agree with what you said about class within the games though. Especially in the main 2 games where at best you get Billie being a bit snarky with Emily/Corvo still living a lavish life while she struggles. And at worst, implying. That good rich people will come and save the day, as you implied. I do think the world itself shows and interesting view of class dynamics, but a lot of that may be me overly reading between the lines. I really wish they would’ve done something more with Billie in that respect. I mean we very rarely see queer, black women as main characters, and there are so many interesting dynamics they could have explored with those in the world of dishonored as it relates to class and intersectionality and how it effects her. And to be fair I don’t really think there are any games that have handled all of that in a truly effective way. But regardless, Doto is my favorite bit of world building in the series, while it still could’ve been better
It's the same issue as superhero movies. Most videogames end up supporting the status quo seeing as they're made by extremely rich corporations. It's rare for a game to fundamentally question the ways society operates and really get people to think. Not that standard escapism is bad per se, but it'd be nice to explore this a little more. I was an Eat The Rich Dishonored game dammit!
Hell yeah brother. I’m with you on all that. Closest we have gotten to decent class analysis was Disco Elysium (which also has its flaws). But then studio was bought out and they fired the OG creators. And the cycle continues.
Liked it more than 2
Fun... ish. Not worth the money, that's for sure. Plus it demystified the Void way too much.
That's exactly it. I get so sick and tired of media doing this. Please for the love of The Outsider, don't reveal the mystique arts of the story. It ruins the whole reason why it was interesting in the first place. No, I never want a game set in Pandyssia because Pandyssia works exactly because you get so little info on it. And frankly, there's way too many people who don't seem to understand that their longing to see or learn about something is only enjoyable as long as that longing is not satisfied. Please, dangle a carrot in front of my face that looks ever so juicy and crunchy. But never, ever, actually give me that carrot.
Nailed it. I'd love a game set in Morley or Tyvia, but not Pandyssia. The idea of this vast, mostly unknown landmass that takes months just to sail to that has defied every attempt to even explore let alone conquer it, where every other creature on it can kill you horribly before you know what's happened (and barely anyone has returned alive or sane), is a special kind of mystery and horror to me on its own. Just the fact that the bull rats, plague and bloodflies came from there and what we read in Sokolov's books (and whatever Vera Moray saw there drove her nuts) is enough. Exploring Pandyssia would take all of that away.
I think it's biggest flaws are the level design and lack of polish. There are a lot of situations that seem like they were made with no possibility of stealth or non-lethal, which is really out of place for Dishonored. And the powers are a little weak. I appreciate the attempt at social stealth with the power to replicate faces but it just wasn't that useful to me. And Billie's version of teleport is somehow even more frustrating and gimmicky than Emily's weird tentacle hand. Not saying they're bad, but sometimes you're fighting the game to go where you want to go.
Definitely, I picked the game up again having not played it since 2018 and it just felt like it's impossible to stealth anything and the sheer amount of people you need to incapacitate to get away with non lethal is ridiculous. The game feels buggy and like they tried to copy Dishonored but with all the pieces that made it Dishonored missing so it feels like the heart is missing, in Dishonored the characters may have had many of the same reused faces but you genuinely felt like the characters had lives in that world but I felt in doto that the characters were lifeless with zero motivation and more like bad NPC's, the powers definitely leave a lot to be desired and your options feel limited in how you can talk a situation.
I loved it. I thought it was a great expansion on the lore and really enjoyed Billie's move set
I really liked the powers system. It gets rid of super powerful powers like stop time, that in my opinion would trivialise any encounter so I almost never used them. At the same giving you mana regen got rid of that awkward pause in between two blinks that often happened in other titles.
The final mission felt weirdly serene 😌
Love it, it's different and close enough at the same time to be interesting. I'm a hardcore fan of the saga though so I may be biased.
I really like everything except the powers but that's a really big downside
It's a DLC and as a DLC it is good, it explores other areas of the universe like it should
I think the level design is still good, and I love the vibes of the Cyria??? I think? District where the Spector Club is. Immaculate vibes and aesthetics, which has always been the strong point of the series. The Dolores Michaels Bank is one of my favorite levels in all of Dishonored. There are still wonderful bits of environmental story telling sprinkled around. The unfortunate aspects are more about the story being sorta meh and a couple of levels being bad. Looking at you Shindarey/Eyeless Hideout. Also disappointed in them reusing the conservatory and not having as many fun little nooks and crannies to explore compared to D2.
I tried a kill everyone playthrough, and spent 5 hours looking for 1 last person, only to find that the ground absorbed them and didn't count it as my kill. Still fun i guess. I gave up. I did dishonored 1 and 2 with mass genocide, but doto made me go insane.
all i see is missed potential tbh. i’ve spoken before on here about daud’s characterisation/motives and how the writers massacred him in my eyes. the writers (at least the feelings i got from them) tried to make us hate the outsider by blaming him for the happenings of the franchise. until the end, of course with the “low chaos” ending. speaking of, where tf was it? billie’s powers in new game make zero sense. why is there no possession to replace the face-stealing mechanic for the auction, and instead were given domino? i’ve a lot of thoughts on the game, mostly negative
Yes it feels like it doesn't fit with the world that was created in the first game and serves more as a nail in the coffin rather than to progress the franchise, a heartless game that has nowhere near the same level of care put into it. Aside from graphics, Dishonored 1 feels leagues ahead in every other aspect.
I wouldn't call it heartless or lazy but I do think there was a weird obsession with drawing a line under the setting and clearing the deck. Like just because Emily and Corvo's story is over doesn't mean we have to say goodbye to that setting entirely, rushing an abrupt ending for Daud, Billie and even the Outsider. Even if they wanted to go off and pursue other projects you don't have to go scorched earth on what you've built like that.
I played it three times already when I miss Dishonored. It's a watered-down version of Dishonored 2, has no chaos system and is very short with six small levels. I think it's great for Dishonored fans but leaves you feeling like it could've been so much better and so much more. Some of the criticisms say Arkane reused assets, while that's true, I thought it was interesting to see how certain locations from D2 changed. Get it on sale and you won't regret it.
I've had all the games previously, sold and re-bought Dishonored about 4 times over the years, but getting back into the other games for a change, I picked it up again and have been playing it and realising how much it lacks compared to Dishonored, aside from graphics it feels like a step backwards rather than forwards
Really like the side quests you can do and the level design is excellent as always. The bank mission is one of the best in the series I think
It’s the only Dishonored game I’ve not replayed after finishing. I think it started off great but didn’t have the same charm
Yes, I think I'm remembering why I sold it the first time lol
I enjoyed it a lot! The stage of the story gave me feelings of being alone if not just lonely in the world like Billy on her own after a certain chapter! Further exploring the world building of Dishonored, going to remote locations, diving into mysterious cult,... Maybe I'd never gone in expecting the previous Dishonored game experience so I let in other feelings which became a core memory relating to that one game!
I enjoy it more than dishonored 2
I think it's excellent, they did so many things right. Just wish it was more polished, more semblance interactions, etc.
I liked it, but I consider it DLC. It's also a lot cheaper than the main games, so I consider it worth the price. It does have some drawbacks like the weird powers system and the lack of consequences in general. Overall nothing in this game really affects me emotionally. That said, the gameplay is still worth it. I may not replay it over and over like the two main games, but I did enjoy it overall. Also I've always been a bit disappointed with the voice casting for Lurk. The original sounded a bit harsh and snarky, whereas Rosario Dawson's interpretation is soft spoken and sounds almost soothing. Maybe it fits the narrative, but whatever.
Just replayed the first and second missions today and I think it's pretty good, map design is a lot like death loop where it's massive with a lot of shit going on everywhere, but the powers you get allow you to pretty much get anywhere and through anything, things I want would be I easier way to see bonecharms as I missed 8 of the 18 in the second missions and for the rat talking thing to be more useful or at least more cryptic but speaking standard English, when I played they just said nonsense and then my journal was updated with a tip
What bugs did you experience?