Finalmente minha última pendência com a franquia Dishonored está finalizada e preciso acrescentar: que forma legal de terminar o que se tornou uma coisa instável em questão de enredo, mas divertida em gameplay.
Death of the Outsider tem como protagonista a conhecida Billie, uma personagem bem mais carismática que os outros dois, pois transmite um lado sarcástico, frio, triste e ao mesmo tempo real. Talvez seja sua vivência em relação ao mundo que estamos explorando e todo o mistério de sua transformação ou a combinação de ter noção do que nos espera, mas essa é uma personagem que a Arkane precisa tomar como exemplo.
Sendo sincera, senti que enredo foi bem mais complexo do que os anteriores, porém nem sempre complexidade significa melhoramento. Existem alguns problemas que não foram bem explicados e a visita a certos locais deixou um pequeno gosto amargo quando analisado de forma micro.
O final também foi de longe a coisa mais duvidosa sentimentalmente, pois diferente dos jogos anteriores suas escolhas durante toda a campanha não fazem a mínima diferença, então não existe necessidade de passar por tudo em modo furtivo ou se quer sair matando.
A gameplay é, como o esperado, a melhor parte e ao mesmo tempo a mais diversificada, o que já é de se esperar pois ficou óbvio que esse jogo carrega todas as mecânicas do anterior, pois teoricamente deveria ser uma DLC.
Apesar de ter detestado o fato do final ser uma simples escolha de diálogo, o jogo realmente causa uma certa satisfação quando penso sobre a possibilidade de estarmos livres para sair correndo de um ponto ao outro sem se importar com absolutamente nada.
De forma geral, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider supera o primeiro, mas se mantem um pouco inferior ao segundo, o que não é algo negativo. Além disso, a Billie mostra a importância de se ter uma personagem "pé no chão" em uma franquia da Arkane (sério, o que essa galera toma que só coloca gente estranha).
Death of the Outsider tem como protagonista a conhecida Billie, uma personagem bem mais carismática que os outros dois, pois transmite um lado sarcástico, frio, triste e ao mesmo tempo real. Talvez seja sua vivência em relação ao mundo que estamos explorando e todo o mistério de sua transformação ou a combinação de ter noção do que nos espera, mas essa é uma personagem que a Arkane precisa tomar como exemplo.
Sendo sincera, senti que enredo foi bem mais complexo do que os anteriores, porém nem sempre complexidade significa melhoramento. Existem alguns problemas que não foram bem explicados e a visita a certos locais deixou um pequeno gosto amargo quando analisado de forma micro.
O final também foi de longe a coisa mais duvidosa sentimentalmente, pois diferente dos jogos anteriores suas escolhas durante toda a campanha não fazem a mínima diferença, então não existe necessidade de passar por tudo em modo furtivo ou se quer sair matando.
A gameplay é, como o esperado, a melhor parte e ao mesmo tempo a mais diversificada, o que já é de se esperar pois ficou óbvio que esse jogo carrega todas as mecânicas do anterior, pois teoricamente deveria ser uma DLC.
Apesar de ter detestado o fato do final ser uma simples escolha de diálogo, o jogo realmente causa uma certa satisfação quando penso sobre a possibilidade de estarmos livres para sair correndo de um ponto ao outro sem se importar com absolutamente nada.
De forma geral, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider supera o primeiro, mas se mantem um pouco inferior ao segundo, o que não é algo negativo. Além disso, a Billie mostra a importância de se ter uma personagem "pé no chão" em uma franquia da Arkane (sério, o que essa galera toma que só coloca gente estranha).
This review contains spoilers
Arkane studios is quickly becoming one of my favourite developers, Death of the Outsider along with D1 D2 and Prey are some of the most inventive games.
Shout out to Dana Nightingale for her creative ideas and for helping to give us some banging levels.
I enjoyed Death of the outsider a lot, it’s short but what there is packs a punch! The Bank job mission is now up there with my top 3 levels of the franchise. Gameplay wise it’s better than ever, faster, more fluid than previous games.
Billie Lurk is awesome (coolest name ever) and having Daud as a supporting character works, I feel that it all comes full circle with Daud.
I wish this game was longer, I wanted to keep playing so badly, but the ending was my favourite of the franchise as it was so unique.
Shout out to Dana Nightingale for her creative ideas and for helping to give us some banging levels.
I enjoyed Death of the outsider a lot, it’s short but what there is packs a punch! The Bank job mission is now up there with my top 3 levels of the franchise. Gameplay wise it’s better than ever, faster, more fluid than previous games.
Billie Lurk is awesome (coolest name ever) and having Daud as a supporting character works, I feel that it all comes full circle with Daud.
I wish this game was longer, I wanted to keep playing so badly, but the ending was my favourite of the franchise as it was so unique.
Despite its steep pricepoint at launch, I always thought Dishonored: Death of the Outsider was quite the fitting ending to the series. It is a bit shorter than Dishonored and Dishonored 2, but still manages to introduce new mechanics and missions to the collection.
My one wish for this game would be to make it a bit more difficult. The bank theft mission is basically already laid out in front of you with the existence of the tincture in the black market, which is such a bummer in my opinion. It would have been a lot more interesting to have to either steal it from the auction, or bid on it using someone else's face.
The new powers are also pretty overpowered, allowing you to pass through almost any blockade using foresight + displace. I do love these powers though, they feel great to control and provide a new way to look at stealth missions.
The new lore to the Outsider, although ultimately too revealing, is quite interesting as well. I would have preferred him to have stayed mysterious, but what else could this final game have been about...
Finally, I was pleasantly surprised to find out the developers kept working on both Dishonored 2 and Death of the Outsider after release, to increase performance and accessability. Both these games have improved vastly since launch, and are a joy to play now.
My one wish for this game would be to make it a bit more difficult. The bank theft mission is basically already laid out in front of you with the existence of the tincture in the black market, which is such a bummer in my opinion. It would have been a lot more interesting to have to either steal it from the auction, or bid on it using someone else's face.
The new powers are also pretty overpowered, allowing you to pass through almost any blockade using foresight + displace. I do love these powers though, they feel great to control and provide a new way to look at stealth missions.
The new lore to the Outsider, although ultimately too revealing, is quite interesting as well. I would have preferred him to have stayed mysterious, but what else could this final game have been about...
Finally, I was pleasantly surprised to find out the developers kept working on both Dishonored 2 and Death of the Outsider after release, to increase performance and accessability. Both these games have improved vastly since launch, and are a joy to play now.
Note: I played all the Dishonored games back-to-back, so my thoughts on Death of the Outsider directly follow my review of Dishonored 2.
Well, here it is. A Dishonored game that trusts in the player. The chaos system is gone, you don’t have to restrict yourself to one playstyle anymore, and decisions can be made organically. Instead of being told to go kill someone, then getting pulled to the side for a nonlethal option, you’re simply presented with a situation and handle it as best you can. It’s a bit more in the vein of Deus Ex, where the choice-based gameplay is about the way you move through the world, rather than narrative branching points. As such, the Outsider never feels the need to pop in and explain the idea that choices have consequences, and Billie doesn’t pontificate to the audience either. The game just… goes. It breathes. It lets you do what you already know how to do and doesn’t treat you like an idiot.
The downside, of course, is how it was designed this way as a result of its smaller scope. Dishonored games are known for being short, and this expansion pack is shorter, so the possibilities are the most restricted they’ve ever been. Billie only gets three powers: a blink, a scouting tool, and a way to impersonate other characters, and there are no runes to upgrade them or unlock more. Unlike before, the tools here a directly stealth-oriented, so I get the sense that the idea was to make up for a smaller scope with a tighter focus. This is about as close to a pure stealth game as Dishonored has ever gotten, which might compound with the removal of the chaos system to disappoint players who value experimentation and replayability. The game also isn’t very good at explaining what makes its limited toolset interesting, since the first level is done without powers, and one of the most important features in the game is hidden behind an optional bone charm. This charm, which I feel the need to highlight/spoil because I find it so key to making the game play smoothly, is called Third Eye. Billie’s version of blink is the shortest in the series, and it’s meant to be mitigated with how she can blink to locations she tags in the scouting mode. It’s an interesting idea, but in practice, it can end up meaning that doing a single blink involves standing still, using Foresight, placing the marker, switching back to blink, blinking, then doing it again. It can feel painfully clunky until you find Third Eye, which allows for the placement of two markers at once. Not only does this shorten the amount of time spent placing markers, it more than doubles the amount of clever tricks you can use the ability for, chaining blinks and creating contingency plans in interesting ways. When I see people say the powers in this expansion are useless, I wonder if they just never found this feature and were stuck playing a much clunkier version of the game than I was.
When evaluating Death of the Outsider, these are the situations that keep coming up. I really loved the new spin on the blink ability, but some people might miss an essential piece and not enjoy themselves. I always played these games in full-stealth, so focusing on that was great, but others might miss having a kit of assault abilities. The patronizing nature of the chaos system and choices always bothered me, so I appreciate how they were removed, but seeing the changes associated with each chaos level was a boon for replayability. When summarized this way, it becomes apparent that what makes this expansion interesting to me is in the ways it deviates from, rather than iterating upon, the Dishonored formula. After two games and a sizable DLC, this sort of departure is everything I wanted, but an expansion pack relying on being tired of its own series is in a tenuous situation. At the very least, it might explain why Arkane has gone on to make games so aesthetically different from Dishonored; they may have felt like they had done a fine job exploring the idea and it was time to do something new. I really commend them for that, I’m glad I could replay the entire franchise in one go and enjoy it all the way through, instead of reaching Dishonored 5: Dude Where’s My Honor and wishing it ended a long time ago. As much as I’ve complained about the narratives in these games, at least Arkane has shown they know how to wrap up a franchise in style.
Well, here it is. A Dishonored game that trusts in the player. The chaos system is gone, you don’t have to restrict yourself to one playstyle anymore, and decisions can be made organically. Instead of being told to go kill someone, then getting pulled to the side for a nonlethal option, you’re simply presented with a situation and handle it as best you can. It’s a bit more in the vein of Deus Ex, where the choice-based gameplay is about the way you move through the world, rather than narrative branching points. As such, the Outsider never feels the need to pop in and explain the idea that choices have consequences, and Billie doesn’t pontificate to the audience either. The game just… goes. It breathes. It lets you do what you already know how to do and doesn’t treat you like an idiot.
The downside, of course, is how it was designed this way as a result of its smaller scope. Dishonored games are known for being short, and this expansion pack is shorter, so the possibilities are the most restricted they’ve ever been. Billie only gets three powers: a blink, a scouting tool, and a way to impersonate other characters, and there are no runes to upgrade them or unlock more. Unlike before, the tools here a directly stealth-oriented, so I get the sense that the idea was to make up for a smaller scope with a tighter focus. This is about as close to a pure stealth game as Dishonored has ever gotten, which might compound with the removal of the chaos system to disappoint players who value experimentation and replayability. The game also isn’t very good at explaining what makes its limited toolset interesting, since the first level is done without powers, and one of the most important features in the game is hidden behind an optional bone charm. This charm, which I feel the need to highlight/spoil because I find it so key to making the game play smoothly, is called Third Eye. Billie’s version of blink is the shortest in the series, and it’s meant to be mitigated with how she can blink to locations she tags in the scouting mode. It’s an interesting idea, but in practice, it can end up meaning that doing a single blink involves standing still, using Foresight, placing the marker, switching back to blink, blinking, then doing it again. It can feel painfully clunky until you find Third Eye, which allows for the placement of two markers at once. Not only does this shorten the amount of time spent placing markers, it more than doubles the amount of clever tricks you can use the ability for, chaining blinks and creating contingency plans in interesting ways. When I see people say the powers in this expansion are useless, I wonder if they just never found this feature and were stuck playing a much clunkier version of the game than I was.
When evaluating Death of the Outsider, these are the situations that keep coming up. I really loved the new spin on the blink ability, but some people might miss an essential piece and not enjoy themselves. I always played these games in full-stealth, so focusing on that was great, but others might miss having a kit of assault abilities. The patronizing nature of the chaos system and choices always bothered me, so I appreciate how they were removed, but seeing the changes associated with each chaos level was a boon for replayability. When summarized this way, it becomes apparent that what makes this expansion interesting to me is in the ways it deviates from, rather than iterating upon, the Dishonored formula. After two games and a sizable DLC, this sort of departure is everything I wanted, but an expansion pack relying on being tired of its own series is in a tenuous situation. At the very least, it might explain why Arkane has gone on to make games so aesthetically different from Dishonored; they may have felt like they had done a fine job exploring the idea and it was time to do something new. I really commend them for that, I’m glad I could replay the entire franchise in one go and enjoy it all the way through, instead of reaching Dishonored 5: Dude Where’s My Honor and wishing it ended a long time ago. As much as I’ve complained about the narratives in these games, at least Arkane has shown they know how to wrap up a franchise in style.
Death of the Outsider é basicamente uma DLC do Dishonored 2 vendida como produto separado (por razões que eu mesmo desconheço). Por um lado, isso significa que ele é basicamente "mais Dishonored" (o que é sempre bem vindo), mas por outro também quer dizer que é uma versão mais simplificada e reduzida do jogo anterior.
Billie Lurk, a protagonista do jogo, só conta com 3 poderes, e não existe nenhum sistema de upgrade equivalente as runas dos seus antecessores, além de que a única forma de customizar a sua "build" é através dos amuletos de osso, que também são quase todos idênticos aos encontrados em Dishonored 2.
O jogo também conta com bem menos missões, sendo que duas delas se passam no mesmo mapa (em horários diferentes do dia), e uma outra reutiliza uma parte de uma das missões de Dishonored 2.
Depois de falar tudo isso, pode parecer que eu não gostei de Death of the Outsider, mas é exatamente o contrário. É verdade que ele não inova muito e é relativamente curto, mas como eu disse antes, mais Dishonored é sempre ótimo. Quase tudo que o segundo jogo faz de bom tá nesse aqui também, e apesar de não ter tanta novidade no gameplay, ainda tem o suficiente pra fazer você pensar em maneiras criativas e diferentes de passar pelos níveis.
Além disso, DotO foi o primeiro jogo da saga que colocou a lore do universo como ponto central da narrativa (ao invés de ser só parte da construção de mundo que você encontra por aí nos jogos anteriores). Não quero entrar em detalhes pra evitar spoilers, mas o título já diz: A história gira em torno da Billie tentando matar a entidade misteriosa que está por trás de tudo que acontece na franquia.
Enfim, se analisado como um "produto completo", Dishonored: Death of the Outsider realmente deixa a desejar. Mas se você encara o jogo como o que ele realmente é, uma DLC, ele é ótimo e vale muito a pena.
Billie Lurk, a protagonista do jogo, só conta com 3 poderes, e não existe nenhum sistema de upgrade equivalente as runas dos seus antecessores, além de que a única forma de customizar a sua "build" é através dos amuletos de osso, que também são quase todos idênticos aos encontrados em Dishonored 2.
O jogo também conta com bem menos missões, sendo que duas delas se passam no mesmo mapa (em horários diferentes do dia), e uma outra reutiliza uma parte de uma das missões de Dishonored 2.
Depois de falar tudo isso, pode parecer que eu não gostei de Death of the Outsider, mas é exatamente o contrário. É verdade que ele não inova muito e é relativamente curto, mas como eu disse antes, mais Dishonored é sempre ótimo. Quase tudo que o segundo jogo faz de bom tá nesse aqui também, e apesar de não ter tanta novidade no gameplay, ainda tem o suficiente pra fazer você pensar em maneiras criativas e diferentes de passar pelos níveis.
Além disso, DotO foi o primeiro jogo da saga que colocou a lore do universo como ponto central da narrativa (ao invés de ser só parte da construção de mundo que você encontra por aí nos jogos anteriores). Não quero entrar em detalhes pra evitar spoilers, mas o título já diz: A história gira em torno da Billie tentando matar a entidade misteriosa que está por trás de tudo que acontece na franquia.
Enfim, se analisado como um "produto completo", Dishonored: Death of the Outsider realmente deixa a desejar. Mas se você encara o jogo como o que ele realmente é, uma DLC, ele é ótimo e vale muito a pena.
This review contains spoilers
Fixes the few short comings of the second game and brings back some of the highlights of the first and The Knife of Dunwall. More games need to feature lesbians with magic powers who talk to rats and kill gods. It's only flaw is it feels maybe 2 levels too short...
It's more Dishonored so its fun. Kind of lacks the sauce the others have, but its a comfort game series for me so I'm enjoying it. The new powers are pretty cool, especially displace and the free cam one, really allows for quick thinking brain moments. The free cam is kind of annoying since it replaces Detective Mode vision and the filter they use makes it way harder to see objects, but the fact it is a free cam can lead to dope ass shit. Semblance is kind of whatever to me, I can see how it would be fun but I barely used it.
The story is pretty dope conceptually, but it doesn't really do enough because this is just a small expansion.
The story is pretty dope conceptually, but it doesn't really do enough because this is just a small expansion.
é o mais fraquinho de todos, mas é bonzinho
A master class in level design
Okay, they're DEFINITELY not getting a squad after what happened last night.
This standalone expansion is a fairly dramatic downgrade from a gameplay perspective when compared with previous Dishonored content. The broad array of powers present in the base game is trimmed down to just three here, and they aren’t as useful as previous Outsider abilities. The unfortunate result is that stealth / non-violence feels a lot less viable (the removal of the chaos system also eliminates any consequences for just killing everybody throughout the level). I spent a lot of time here just straight-up fighting dudes. I’ve always thought of the basic sword-and-gun play of Dishonored as a fallback plan for when you didn’t have the mana to remain undetected or wreak absurd chaos with the Outsider powers, so operating frequently in shoot-and-strike mode was a bit of a downer.
With that significant caveat out of the way, here’s where I should mention that Arkane’s ridiculously dense level design and stellar world-building acumen kept me hooked throughout the game. In any normal video game series, the wonderfully complex bank heist mission, for instance, would be a towering, singular achievement. However, because this is Dishonored, it will have to be content competing with Jindosh’s Mansion and Aramis Stilton’s Manor from the base game for the title of best level of the past console generation. Such is the level of quality we are talking about here.
The world-building here continues the Dishonored tradition of being extremely creepy and evocative. Bizarre rituals, malevolent cults, languages that can only be spoken by the dead - these are just a few of the tropes expertly deployed to maximum effect. If Edgar Allan Poe and HP Lovecraft had collaborated, this is the sort of world I would’ve expected them to create.
Our protagonists, Billie Lurk and Daud, are arguably the most interesting characters this series has produced. The writers at Arkane have definitely not received enough credit for the ballsy way they have gradually transformed their supposed antagonists into complex antiheroes. The interplay between these characters consistently feels real and engaging, aided by the superb voice acting.
The removal of most of the outsider powers and the chaos system notwithstanding, this is pretty much everything I hope for in a Dishonored game. It may not stack up gameplay-wise to the best in the series, but there is more than enough quality content here to compensate.
With that significant caveat out of the way, here’s where I should mention that Arkane’s ridiculously dense level design and stellar world-building acumen kept me hooked throughout the game. In any normal video game series, the wonderfully complex bank heist mission, for instance, would be a towering, singular achievement. However, because this is Dishonored, it will have to be content competing with Jindosh’s Mansion and Aramis Stilton’s Manor from the base game for the title of best level of the past console generation. Such is the level of quality we are talking about here.
The world-building here continues the Dishonored tradition of being extremely creepy and evocative. Bizarre rituals, malevolent cults, languages that can only be spoken by the dead - these are just a few of the tropes expertly deployed to maximum effect. If Edgar Allan Poe and HP Lovecraft had collaborated, this is the sort of world I would’ve expected them to create.
Our protagonists, Billie Lurk and Daud, are arguably the most interesting characters this series has produced. The writers at Arkane have definitely not received enough credit for the ballsy way they have gradually transformed their supposed antagonists into complex antiheroes. The interplay between these characters consistently feels real and engaging, aided by the superb voice acting.
The removal of most of the outsider powers and the chaos system notwithstanding, this is pretty much everything I hope for in a Dishonored game. It may not stack up gameplay-wise to the best in the series, but there is more than enough quality content here to compensate.
Dishonored 2 was a pretty big let down for me. I went into this game with pretty low expectations, and it turned out ok. Other than the last mission which was shit, the levels were fairly interesting and fun to play through. The story was fine, the lack of a chaos system was preferred honestly. I probably enjoyed playing through this more than 2 just because it was shorter and didn't perform like complete ass.
This review contains spoilers
Being a smaller, standalone adventure, I expected this game to pale in comparison to Dishonored 2. However, I think it stands shoulder to shoulder with that game, and in some ways surpasses it. This review has become a lot longer than I originally intended it to be, so if you don't care to read through all of it, the bottom line is this: I recommend this game, especially if you can grab it on a sale.
Billie is a much more charming protagonist than Emily, and charismatically performed. The occasional snide remark or sarcastic comment lends Billie a relatable energy while she remains a confident and stoic character. You get the sense that Billie has an inner world and a depth of character, that she contains multitudes. A stark contrast indeed from Emily, whose character was so murky and unclear that the game had to stop at points to tell you exactly how she was developing as a person.
To that point, the story is an improvement, but a slight one. The mystery of Billie's arm and the slight incongruities in the setting make for a surprisingly compelling opening hour or so, even if these aren't quite satisfyingly resolved in the long run. The return of Daud and, of course, Billie herself marks this as a bit of a farewell tour for the original Dishonored's DLC, and DotO's story certainly feels like an organic, logical terminus for these two.
To be frank, the story still isn't terribly interesting. However, there is a somewhat subtextual depth there. The final decision in the game presents the Outsider as a victim himself, albeit a victim who has endangered others through the granting of void magic to those in the outside world. Having the two former Whalers decide on how best to ensure that the Outsider's magic doesn't cause any further harm is quite a interesting idea, on paper.
In reality, the choice between killing the Outsider and granting him mercy isn't plumbed as well as it should have. The seemingly omnipotent, playfully meddlesome Outsider is shown as a scared, hurt young man, frozen in time in a moment of trauma. It's a reminder that he was once human, much like those granted power through him were. Killing him is an anticlimax in a shockingly strange way, even having Billie change her whole tone of speaking from a sympathetic one to an angry, ruthless one. It presents a wild tone shift in the scene, and not one that feels well considered.
My opinion on the matter is that the merciful option in this scenario is the intended one, as it more cathartically ties into the motivations of the two Whalers, and their shared history. Granting mercy has Daud forgive the Outsider, much as he forgave Billie during the events of Dishonored. It's a dignified end to his character, and a richer story moment than the typically surface-level melodramatics of Dishonored 2. With that said, it still feels somewhat half-baked. This series seems desperate to get you out of the game the second you're done hitting buttons, and this entry is no exception. Given the chance to breathe a bit more, I think this ending would land a lot better.
That's a lot about the plot there, more than I honestly thought I'd write. That's because I was very close to intrigued by this story, and I find it interesting to explore why it very nearly worked for me, but ultimately didn't. At the end of the day, the story isn't a main focus for me in these games, and it doesn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the experience in any significant way.
Speaking of the experience of playing this game... it feels very good! It's a slightly different flavor than Dishonored 2 with a pretty similar mouthfeel. Billie's toolkit is a reinvented mix of powers you would expect from a mainline entry, with nuances that make them feel fresher, more expressive, and more rewarding to use properly.
Displace is Billie's mobility tool, and it works a bit like Blink but with a twist of lime tossed in. Rather than placing your marker and dashing straight towards it like you would with Blink, Displace allows you to place a marker and swap places with it whenever you would like, assuming you're within range of it and you maintain a clear line of sight. This allows you to preemptively place your marker as a way to escape from enemies, ambush guards while they walk along patrol routes, or perform a risky action and withdraw to safety in a mere moment. It's a clever evolution of the design philosophy of Emily's kit, rewarding planning and prep work, while also working in emergency snap-second moments.
Foresight is the Dark Vision replacement. I ADORE this power. Dark Vision is imminently useful no matter the situation, but applies an ugly filter that muddies the look and atmosphere of the environment. Foresight works differently. Upon the use of the power, time freezes and you can fly around your camera and explore the environment in the frozen time, marking enemies, items, and other points of interest. When you end the power, you return to your body, with all you marked remaining clearly visible. It's both a more powerful information gathering tool than Dark Vision was, and a less intrusive one. It also synergizes wonderfully with Displace, allowing you to drop your marker while you fly around the environment, meaning you can scout an area and set up a Displace location far ahead of time if you'd like. If the mainline series takes anything from this game forwards, I desperately hope it's Foresight.
Finally, Semblance allows one to steal the appearance of a target and use it for short time to walk through areas undetected and solve puzzles. It's a very cool power in concept and has some genuinely useful applications, but it certainly feels the least flexible of Billie's kit. There are a few social situations in which you can participate if you have the correct stolen face, but this power is desperately crying for a densely populated, Hitman-style level to really shine in. As it stands, a welcome power, but one that could maybe use more situations designed to let you be creative with it in future games.
As far as non-magical weapons go, Billie's crossbow equivalent is the voltaic gun, a wrist-mounted launcher that pleasantly reminds one of the rebar crossbow from Half-Life 2. The voltaic gun is extraordinarily strong, especially with the abundance of ammo you'll receive if you buy the upgrade that lets you fire improvised bullets, like scalpels and fountain pens. Launching a pen at a guard is great fun that reinforces the scrappy, underdog energy/power fantasy tightrope this series excels at. The new grenade types are welcome, if not particularly exciting. Hook Mines are certainly a standout addition, a mechanically exciting replacement for stun mines that are delightfully physics-driven and can lead to grimly violent Looney Tunes-esque situations.
Finally in regards to mechanical differences, Death of the Outsider removes the iconic chaos system and revamps mana. Honestly, I enjoyed not having to consider chaos at all during my time with this game. Being able to use my whole kit, even the lethal parts, and not having to worry about long-term ramifications on the plot was refreshing. Likewise, the mana rework is welcome, and instead grants you three "pips" on a mana bar that you can spend on powers. These all regenerate automatically, meaning that you no longer feel wasteful using powers in quick bursts while traversing. It instead more forcefully limits your power use during scenarios like stealth and combat, meaning you need to carefully consider how you use them in a pinch, lest you find yourself briefly powerless while in a poor position. I hope both of these changes make their way into the next entry, or at least just the mana system.
Levels in this game are as sprawling, well-designed, and detail-rich as is the norm of this series. None reach the outstanding heights of the clockwork mansion in Dishonored 2, but they're a joy to explore and lurk through nonetheless. A special shoutout to the bank heist level for offering a great deal of ways to approach it, with each offering a substantially different experience. That level in particular feels quite like a self-contained little story arc, with you starting at the bottom and slowly becoming stronger and more confident, leading to a fun climax with, if you can find it, a gratifying way to exert mastery over the level by exerting control over clockwork sentinels, security systems, and human enemies with the information and powers you earn in the bank's vault.
I also liked the final level for the halfway point where you backtrack through the level, now with a fully void-infused environment that puts a twist on a location you had already explored fairly well.
Overall, I think this game offers a very worthwhile experience, even with its relatively short runtime. My run sat at about 11 hours in total, although I progressed fairly slowly. If one can grab it on sale like I did, it's a great value for money that you can beat over a weekend. Or play it like I did, with a level every evening after work. If you dig this style of game or you've already enjoyed a previous game in the series, this is a total no-brainer. Give it a shot!
Billie is a much more charming protagonist than Emily, and charismatically performed. The occasional snide remark or sarcastic comment lends Billie a relatable energy while she remains a confident and stoic character. You get the sense that Billie has an inner world and a depth of character, that she contains multitudes. A stark contrast indeed from Emily, whose character was so murky and unclear that the game had to stop at points to tell you exactly how she was developing as a person.
To that point, the story is an improvement, but a slight one. The mystery of Billie's arm and the slight incongruities in the setting make for a surprisingly compelling opening hour or so, even if these aren't quite satisfyingly resolved in the long run. The return of Daud and, of course, Billie herself marks this as a bit of a farewell tour for the original Dishonored's DLC, and DotO's story certainly feels like an organic, logical terminus for these two.
To be frank, the story still isn't terribly interesting. However, there is a somewhat subtextual depth there. The final decision in the game presents the Outsider as a victim himself, albeit a victim who has endangered others through the granting of void magic to those in the outside world. Having the two former Whalers decide on how best to ensure that the Outsider's magic doesn't cause any further harm is quite a interesting idea, on paper.
In reality, the choice between killing the Outsider and granting him mercy isn't plumbed as well as it should have. The seemingly omnipotent, playfully meddlesome Outsider is shown as a scared, hurt young man, frozen in time in a moment of trauma. It's a reminder that he was once human, much like those granted power through him were. Killing him is an anticlimax in a shockingly strange way, even having Billie change her whole tone of speaking from a sympathetic one to an angry, ruthless one. It presents a wild tone shift in the scene, and not one that feels well considered.
My opinion on the matter is that the merciful option in this scenario is the intended one, as it more cathartically ties into the motivations of the two Whalers, and their shared history. Granting mercy has Daud forgive the Outsider, much as he forgave Billie during the events of Dishonored. It's a dignified end to his character, and a richer story moment than the typically surface-level melodramatics of Dishonored 2. With that said, it still feels somewhat half-baked. This series seems desperate to get you out of the game the second you're done hitting buttons, and this entry is no exception. Given the chance to breathe a bit more, I think this ending would land a lot better.
That's a lot about the plot there, more than I honestly thought I'd write. That's because I was very close to intrigued by this story, and I find it interesting to explore why it very nearly worked for me, but ultimately didn't. At the end of the day, the story isn't a main focus for me in these games, and it doesn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the experience in any significant way.
Speaking of the experience of playing this game... it feels very good! It's a slightly different flavor than Dishonored 2 with a pretty similar mouthfeel. Billie's toolkit is a reinvented mix of powers you would expect from a mainline entry, with nuances that make them feel fresher, more expressive, and more rewarding to use properly.
Displace is Billie's mobility tool, and it works a bit like Blink but with a twist of lime tossed in. Rather than placing your marker and dashing straight towards it like you would with Blink, Displace allows you to place a marker and swap places with it whenever you would like, assuming you're within range of it and you maintain a clear line of sight. This allows you to preemptively place your marker as a way to escape from enemies, ambush guards while they walk along patrol routes, or perform a risky action and withdraw to safety in a mere moment. It's a clever evolution of the design philosophy of Emily's kit, rewarding planning and prep work, while also working in emergency snap-second moments.
Foresight is the Dark Vision replacement. I ADORE this power. Dark Vision is imminently useful no matter the situation, but applies an ugly filter that muddies the look and atmosphere of the environment. Foresight works differently. Upon the use of the power, time freezes and you can fly around your camera and explore the environment in the frozen time, marking enemies, items, and other points of interest. When you end the power, you return to your body, with all you marked remaining clearly visible. It's both a more powerful information gathering tool than Dark Vision was, and a less intrusive one. It also synergizes wonderfully with Displace, allowing you to drop your marker while you fly around the environment, meaning you can scout an area and set up a Displace location far ahead of time if you'd like. If the mainline series takes anything from this game forwards, I desperately hope it's Foresight.
Finally, Semblance allows one to steal the appearance of a target and use it for short time to walk through areas undetected and solve puzzles. It's a very cool power in concept and has some genuinely useful applications, but it certainly feels the least flexible of Billie's kit. There are a few social situations in which you can participate if you have the correct stolen face, but this power is desperately crying for a densely populated, Hitman-style level to really shine in. As it stands, a welcome power, but one that could maybe use more situations designed to let you be creative with it in future games.
As far as non-magical weapons go, Billie's crossbow equivalent is the voltaic gun, a wrist-mounted launcher that pleasantly reminds one of the rebar crossbow from Half-Life 2. The voltaic gun is extraordinarily strong, especially with the abundance of ammo you'll receive if you buy the upgrade that lets you fire improvised bullets, like scalpels and fountain pens. Launching a pen at a guard is great fun that reinforces the scrappy, underdog energy/power fantasy tightrope this series excels at. The new grenade types are welcome, if not particularly exciting. Hook Mines are certainly a standout addition, a mechanically exciting replacement for stun mines that are delightfully physics-driven and can lead to grimly violent Looney Tunes-esque situations.
Finally in regards to mechanical differences, Death of the Outsider removes the iconic chaos system and revamps mana. Honestly, I enjoyed not having to consider chaos at all during my time with this game. Being able to use my whole kit, even the lethal parts, and not having to worry about long-term ramifications on the plot was refreshing. Likewise, the mana rework is welcome, and instead grants you three "pips" on a mana bar that you can spend on powers. These all regenerate automatically, meaning that you no longer feel wasteful using powers in quick bursts while traversing. It instead more forcefully limits your power use during scenarios like stealth and combat, meaning you need to carefully consider how you use them in a pinch, lest you find yourself briefly powerless while in a poor position. I hope both of these changes make their way into the next entry, or at least just the mana system.
Levels in this game are as sprawling, well-designed, and detail-rich as is the norm of this series. None reach the outstanding heights of the clockwork mansion in Dishonored 2, but they're a joy to explore and lurk through nonetheless. A special shoutout to the bank heist level for offering a great deal of ways to approach it, with each offering a substantially different experience. That level in particular feels quite like a self-contained little story arc, with you starting at the bottom and slowly becoming stronger and more confident, leading to a fun climax with, if you can find it, a gratifying way to exert mastery over the level by exerting control over clockwork sentinels, security systems, and human enemies with the information and powers you earn in the bank's vault.
I also liked the final level for the halfway point where you backtrack through the level, now with a fully void-infused environment that puts a twist on a location you had already explored fairly well.
Overall, I think this game offers a very worthwhile experience, even with its relatively short runtime. My run sat at about 11 hours in total, although I progressed fairly slowly. If one can grab it on sale like I did, it's a great value for money that you can beat over a weekend. Or play it like I did, with a level every evening after work. If you dig this style of game or you've already enjoyed a previous game in the series, this is a total no-brainer. Give it a shot!
The Dishonored games present themselves as a realm of endless possibilities, allowing the player to guide their own journey through meaningful decisions and creative problem-solving. Though the game's systems go a good way toward reaching that goal - this one is a nice example of how far they can be pushed - the moment-to-moment interaction with the world undermines their influence over the full experience. The real meat of Dishonored is reading logs and finding your way around, and that ultimately clashes with the fact that the only way you're truly allowed to impact your environment is through violence. Despite wanting to experience the world to its fullest, the player is ultimately driven towards playing it as they would any other stealth game, a realm in which Dishonored is incapable of matching up to its contemporaries.
bank + observatory levels are insane S-tier nonsense. funny balance of some systems having no depth and some having incredible depth that could not possibly be warranted by any amount of the headshotting everyone in the game from a distance I did. anyway great game
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, the first Dishonored game 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 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.
In terms of narrative, the first Dishonored game 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 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.
If you liked the other games, you'll enjoy this final send off.
Dishonored Death of the Outsider is the third game in the series, the first two are also available on PS4 with the remaster of the original with DLC Dishonored: The Definitive Edition and of course it's sequel Dishonored 2 . I highly recommend if you haven't played these first, you should. Firstly because while they can be played separately there is an underlying story and characters that run through all three games, secondly you can pick up all three games at this point pretty cheaply and lastly because they are fantastic.
Death of the Outsider is a somewhat shorter spin off title to Dishonored 2 focusing on a different character, Billie Lurk, a former assassin of the group the Whalers who having lived with a lot of regret has been looking for her former boss Daud who has been missing for years. After finding him she takes on a final mission, to find the Outsider, a god who grants people powers through the void, and kill him. Of course like previous Dishonored games things are not that straight forward with several levels, targets and ways of dealing with them more interestingly than simply stabbing. Billie is a great character and it's interesting to be able to delve deeper into her personality and past over the course of the story.
The Dishonored games play sort of like stealth simulators with each mission being fairly open hub levels in design with a target and a variety of ways to get to them, you can run in killing everyone in sword and gun fights using a variety of weapons, ammo and powers before killing your target if you want to rush in quickly. You can also take the more methodical stealth approach, sneaking past enemies, knocking them out, turning off alarms and even dealing with targets without killing them to get what you need. I have always enjoyed the flexibility of the Dishonored level designs and Death of the Outsider supplies this in nice amounts. Each level is a fair size full of hidden little story elements, easter eggs, loot and lore for those that like to uncover everything.
Billie's powers are slightly limited compared with playing as Emily or Corvo with the shorter nature of the game she only gets three and no real upgrades though she can equip found and purchased bone charms to augment her abilities and skills. The three powers she does get though are extremely strong allowing you to either stealth through or massacre everyone through your choosing. I had a good amount of fun with them. It feels like with two of them they sort of went, why not?
The game is shorter than previous titles with only five chapters in total though it still took me seven hours to beat on my first playthrough as I like to try and see everything I can. One of the levels is actually a repurposed area from Dishonored 2 showing the changes since the previous events which was kind of interesting if less original. I like the levels a lot though even if they aren't up to the amazing design of the second game. That all said it has a nice option to replay the game using a selection of powers from previous games to mix things up slightly if you fancy a second playthrough which I did.
From a graphics and audio standpoint the visuals are great with Dishonored's slightly caricature characters still standing at the forefront and every level looks excellent and is packed with little details and secrets to find. The music is of the same Victorian type fiddle music played in previous games coming in here and there and fits the style and mood of the game perfectly. Lastly the voice acting is just great all round, especially Rosario Dawson (Men in Black II, Daredevil, Unstoppable) who nails her performance as Billie Lurk.
To conclude essentially if you like the previous Dishonored games then you should get this. It feels like a nice send off to the series, it looks and plays brilliantly and at this price is amazing value. You've probably spent more on a pint and a sandwich that didn't last as long.
Recommended.
+ Looks and sounds great.
+ Fun hub levels with plenty to explore and find.
+ Powers are great, even with only a few.
+ Amazing value for money.
Dishonored Death of the Outsider is the third game in the series, the first two are also available on PS4 with the remaster of the original with DLC Dishonored: The Definitive Edition and of course it's sequel Dishonored 2 . I highly recommend if you haven't played these first, you should. Firstly because while they can be played separately there is an underlying story and characters that run through all three games, secondly you can pick up all three games at this point pretty cheaply and lastly because they are fantastic.
Death of the Outsider is a somewhat shorter spin off title to Dishonored 2 focusing on a different character, Billie Lurk, a former assassin of the group the Whalers who having lived with a lot of regret has been looking for her former boss Daud who has been missing for years. After finding him she takes on a final mission, to find the Outsider, a god who grants people powers through the void, and kill him. Of course like previous Dishonored games things are not that straight forward with several levels, targets and ways of dealing with them more interestingly than simply stabbing. Billie is a great character and it's interesting to be able to delve deeper into her personality and past over the course of the story.
The Dishonored games play sort of like stealth simulators with each mission being fairly open hub levels in design with a target and a variety of ways to get to them, you can run in killing everyone in sword and gun fights using a variety of weapons, ammo and powers before killing your target if you want to rush in quickly. You can also take the more methodical stealth approach, sneaking past enemies, knocking them out, turning off alarms and even dealing with targets without killing them to get what you need. I have always enjoyed the flexibility of the Dishonored level designs and Death of the Outsider supplies this in nice amounts. Each level is a fair size full of hidden little story elements, easter eggs, loot and lore for those that like to uncover everything.
Billie's powers are slightly limited compared with playing as Emily or Corvo with the shorter nature of the game she only gets three and no real upgrades though she can equip found and purchased bone charms to augment her abilities and skills. The three powers she does get though are extremely strong allowing you to either stealth through or massacre everyone through your choosing. I had a good amount of fun with them. It feels like with two of them they sort of went, why not?
The game is shorter than previous titles with only five chapters in total though it still took me seven hours to beat on my first playthrough as I like to try and see everything I can. One of the levels is actually a repurposed area from Dishonored 2 showing the changes since the previous events which was kind of interesting if less original. I like the levels a lot though even if they aren't up to the amazing design of the second game. That all said it has a nice option to replay the game using a selection of powers from previous games to mix things up slightly if you fancy a second playthrough which I did.
From a graphics and audio standpoint the visuals are great with Dishonored's slightly caricature characters still standing at the forefront and every level looks excellent and is packed with little details and secrets to find. The music is of the same Victorian type fiddle music played in previous games coming in here and there and fits the style and mood of the game perfectly. Lastly the voice acting is just great all round, especially Rosario Dawson (Men in Black II, Daredevil, Unstoppable) who nails her performance as Billie Lurk.
To conclude essentially if you like the previous Dishonored games then you should get this. It feels like a nice send off to the series, it looks and plays brilliantly and at this price is amazing value. You've probably spent more on a pint and a sandwich that didn't last as long.
Recommended.
+ Looks and sounds great.
+ Fun hub levels with plenty to explore and find.
+ Powers are great, even with only a few.
+ Amazing value for money.
God damn, another fuckin banger.
What death of the outsider lacks in non-lethal routes or traditional "targets", it makes up for with easily the best gameplay in the series. The new hook mines and void strike abilities allow you to hilariously throw your targets across the screen, and Billie's "Displace" is easily my favorite traversal ability in the franchise. Having the power to place a marker, do something, and then immediately teleport back to the placed marker offers so many new possibilities for efficient and brutal stealth sequences. I mean come on, you can place it inside another person and fucking explode through them when you displace... how much more do I need to say about that.
The visuals are superb just as they were in Dishonored 2, though I'd give this game the slight edge just because it's clear Arkane were able to iron out some of the kinks with the Void engine. Less flickering edges, better performance, and really fantastic lighting.
As always, the levels are extremely well designed with tons of pathways and small details. The new addition of multiple "Contract" side missions also add some really worthwhile detours that explore every region of the map. Missions 2 and 3 (Follow the Ink and The Bank Job) are packed with soooo many side stories and extras. It's pretty crazy that it's possible for players to completely miss all of the Spector Club, which just speaks to how densely packed missions 2 and 3 are.
And the story, while a bit more lore heavy like the previous games, was actually really solid and I love how well it expanded upon the outsider as a whole - which by the way - shoutout to Robin Lord Taylor because he doesn't get nearly enough love as the outsider and I honestly prefer him. He's just got that grit and waver in his voice that I think fits this version of The Outsider extremely well.
If it wasn't clear by this and all my other reviews, I love this franchise and I would definitely want to see more. But if this is truly the end for Dishonored, then what a fuckin way to go out.
9/10
What death of the outsider lacks in non-lethal routes or traditional "targets", it makes up for with easily the best gameplay in the series. The new hook mines and void strike abilities allow you to hilariously throw your targets across the screen, and Billie's "Displace" is easily my favorite traversal ability in the franchise. Having the power to place a marker, do something, and then immediately teleport back to the placed marker offers so many new possibilities for efficient and brutal stealth sequences. I mean come on, you can place it inside another person and fucking explode through them when you displace... how much more do I need to say about that.
The visuals are superb just as they were in Dishonored 2, though I'd give this game the slight edge just because it's clear Arkane were able to iron out some of the kinks with the Void engine. Less flickering edges, better performance, and really fantastic lighting.
As always, the levels are extremely well designed with tons of pathways and small details. The new addition of multiple "Contract" side missions also add some really worthwhile detours that explore every region of the map. Missions 2 and 3 (Follow the Ink and The Bank Job) are packed with soooo many side stories and extras. It's pretty crazy that it's possible for players to completely miss all of the Spector Club, which just speaks to how densely packed missions 2 and 3 are.
And the story, while a bit more lore heavy like the previous games, was actually really solid and I love how well it expanded upon the outsider as a whole - which by the way - shoutout to Robin Lord Taylor because he doesn't get nearly enough love as the outsider and I honestly prefer him. He's just got that grit and waver in his voice that I think fits this version of The Outsider extremely well.
If it wasn't clear by this and all my other reviews, I love this franchise and I would definitely want to see more. But if this is truly the end for Dishonored, then what a fuckin way to go out.
9/10
interesting concept that holds a lot of potential, however the execution of the new powers is poor, the loredump and character development regressed, and it has some areas which instantly kill you, as if it were an invisible wall, which is not acceptable for Dishonored standards
i could replay Dishonred games all day long. i won't, but i could
To be honest, I don't really have much to say about Death of the Outsider other than that it's just alright, but it's definitely my least favorite out of the three Dishonored games. There were a lot of pros and cons to this game.
First, playing as Billie Lurk was a cool surprise. We only knew her in the first Dishonored's DLC so it was interesting to play as Daud's former protege. It was also nice seeing Daud return even though it was pretty brief. Billie's new powers from the Outsider were honestly pretty cool. She has her own teleportation power with a unique twist like all the other characters, an ability that allows you to disconnect from Billie's view and scout the area to mark for enemies or items, and a power that allows you to steal enemy's faces to bypass restricted areas. There was also the addition of auto-regenerating mana which made gameplay a lot faster. Also, Billie's new sword was great even though we only get it half way through. However, even though these new powers were cool, something important was taken away and that's runes. You no longer search for runes to buy or upgrade your powers, that's literally all you get. Even though those powers are cool, you get no other ones. Instead, a lot of the customization revolves around bone charms. Bone charms can be useful, but the issues is that most of them are randomized and are simply just perks. There's not enough variety with the gameplay to warrant me replaying this.
However, there is a NG+ that allows you to use Corvo and Emily's powers from Dishonored 2, but honestly I'd rather just play Dishonored 2 if that's the case. The level design in Death of the Outsider is, of course, fantastic as expected by Arkane. Each of them feel very well handcrafted. Each level also gives you contracts for multiple new objectives that will give you a ton of money for upgrading gear and buying equipment.
I'm also confused as to why they got rid of the chaos system. It didn't bother me too much since I could go around killing everyone without any consequence, but it was still a baffling choice since it's kind of part of Dishonored's identity.
Now the story for Death of the Outsider is alright. Looking back at it, I honestly think Dishonored 2's story is better than I gave it credit for and Death of the Outsider's story is alright, but it could have been better if it were longer. It's only 5 missions and it's way too short. Even The Knife of Dunwall and Brigmore Witches was longer and those were DLC. Death of the Outsider should have been DLC and not a standalone game being sold for 40 dollars. I got this on sale and while I do recommend this game if you're a Dishonored fan, get it on sale. Overall, decent game, but you're not missing much.
5/10
First, playing as Billie Lurk was a cool surprise. We only knew her in the first Dishonored's DLC so it was interesting to play as Daud's former protege. It was also nice seeing Daud return even though it was pretty brief. Billie's new powers from the Outsider were honestly pretty cool. She has her own teleportation power with a unique twist like all the other characters, an ability that allows you to disconnect from Billie's view and scout the area to mark for enemies or items, and a power that allows you to steal enemy's faces to bypass restricted areas. There was also the addition of auto-regenerating mana which made gameplay a lot faster. Also, Billie's new sword was great even though we only get it half way through. However, even though these new powers were cool, something important was taken away and that's runes. You no longer search for runes to buy or upgrade your powers, that's literally all you get. Even though those powers are cool, you get no other ones. Instead, a lot of the customization revolves around bone charms. Bone charms can be useful, but the issues is that most of them are randomized and are simply just perks. There's not enough variety with the gameplay to warrant me replaying this.
However, there is a NG+ that allows you to use Corvo and Emily's powers from Dishonored 2, but honestly I'd rather just play Dishonored 2 if that's the case. The level design in Death of the Outsider is, of course, fantastic as expected by Arkane. Each of them feel very well handcrafted. Each level also gives you contracts for multiple new objectives that will give you a ton of money for upgrading gear and buying equipment.
I'm also confused as to why they got rid of the chaos system. It didn't bother me too much since I could go around killing everyone without any consequence, but it was still a baffling choice since it's kind of part of Dishonored's identity.
Now the story for Death of the Outsider is alright. Looking back at it, I honestly think Dishonored 2's story is better than I gave it credit for and Death of the Outsider's story is alright, but it could have been better if it were longer. It's only 5 missions and it's way too short. Even The Knife of Dunwall and Brigmore Witches was longer and those were DLC. Death of the Outsider should have been DLC and not a standalone game being sold for 40 dollars. I got this on sale and while I do recommend this game if you're a Dishonored fan, get it on sale. Overall, decent game, but you're not missing much.
5/10
Playtime: 10 Hours
Score: 7/10
The last entry in the Dishonored series that I have finally played and finished! If we truly never get a Dishonored 3 or a reboot, then I will be happy with this being the last entry.
Death of the Outsider picks up after the ending of Dishonored 2 as we play as Billie Lurk voiced by Rosario Dawson. What I like about the Dishonored series is how the stories are connected and told. What I mean by that is in Dishonored 1 and 2, its Corvo and Emily's story, where as in the DLCs (Knife of Dunwall + Brigmore Witches + Death of the Outsider) its Daud and Billie's story, as this is pretty much a sequel to the first games DLCs.
Gameplay wise this plays a lot like Dishonored 2 with a few changes. For starters you start the game with your 3 main powers and unlock a couple of extra abilities through story progression. You don't pick up runes and upgrade your powers. You do however still collect bone charms to give you passive abilities. They also added a new feature called Contracts which gives you extra little side missions you can do for extra money. These often involve stealing something, killing someone in a specific way or capturing and moving a body somewhere. I thought this fun addition and it added a more stuff to do. Overall I enjoy Dishonored's gameplay and level design so there's not much else to say.
Some of the negatives are mainly I didn't get as invested in this games story compared to the others however it did end on a strong note. The level design is also a bit weaker compared to the other titles and DLC. None of the levels really stand out and started to feel bland towards the end. I also didn't like Billie's limited power set and wished there was more powers on offer.
Overall, this was a decent game and I do recommend it to fans of Dishonored as it does wrap up the series story pretty well.
Score: 7/10
The last entry in the Dishonored series that I have finally played and finished! If we truly never get a Dishonored 3 or a reboot, then I will be happy with this being the last entry.
Death of the Outsider picks up after the ending of Dishonored 2 as we play as Billie Lurk voiced by Rosario Dawson. What I like about the Dishonored series is how the stories are connected and told. What I mean by that is in Dishonored 1 and 2, its Corvo and Emily's story, where as in the DLCs (Knife of Dunwall + Brigmore Witches + Death of the Outsider) its Daud and Billie's story, as this is pretty much a sequel to the first games DLCs.
Gameplay wise this plays a lot like Dishonored 2 with a few changes. For starters you start the game with your 3 main powers and unlock a couple of extra abilities through story progression. You don't pick up runes and upgrade your powers. You do however still collect bone charms to give you passive abilities. They also added a new feature called Contracts which gives you extra little side missions you can do for extra money. These often involve stealing something, killing someone in a specific way or capturing and moving a body somewhere. I thought this fun addition and it added a more stuff to do. Overall I enjoy Dishonored's gameplay and level design so there's not much else to say.
Some of the negatives are mainly I didn't get as invested in this games story compared to the others however it did end on a strong note. The level design is also a bit weaker compared to the other titles and DLC. None of the levels really stand out and started to feel bland towards the end. I also didn't like Billie's limited power set and wished there was more powers on offer.
Overall, this was a decent game and I do recommend it to fans of Dishonored as it does wrap up the series story pretty well.
A gritty end to the Dishonored franchise, Death of the Outsider places us in the shoes of recurring series character Billie Lurk. Once an assassin that ran with Daud and later a bitter broken woman who tried to make amends for her life by helping Emily reclaim her throne, now Billie finds herself summoned by the Outsider with a final quest: to kill him.
Much like other entries, Death of the Outsider is a stealth game, but it's probably more of a stealth game than the others if that makes sense. Its higher difficulty pushes players to be silent and deadly, and its powers support that. Unfortunately, sometimes that works against this game, and leads to frustrating stretches of game that can be ruined by taking a misstep, and enemies towards the end are especially annoying for this. I'm also left disappointed by the removal of the Chaos system entirely, here justified because Billie's not important enough to the wider Dishonored cosmos, but I fail to see how given her involvement with everything else. The ending is worth the ride, and some of the missions along the way are joyously creative, but it was definitely the least enjoyable Dishonored game.
Much like other entries, Death of the Outsider is a stealth game, but it's probably more of a stealth game than the others if that makes sense. Its higher difficulty pushes players to be silent and deadly, and its powers support that. Unfortunately, sometimes that works against this game, and leads to frustrating stretches of game that can be ruined by taking a misstep, and enemies towards the end are especially annoying for this. I'm also left disappointed by the removal of the Chaos system entirely, here justified because Billie's not important enough to the wider Dishonored cosmos, but I fail to see how given her involvement with everything else. The ending is worth the ride, and some of the missions along the way are joyously creative, but it was definitely the least enjoyable Dishonored game.
It's not my favorite Dishonored, but if it is the last Dishonored game, then it is a satisfying end to the franchise.
oferece exatamente o que eu esperava: uma experiência condensada juntando boa parte do que faz os outros jogos da série bons, sem inovar muita coisa. a missão do banco é massa (mesmo que não chegue no nível das melhores do 2) e a história pra mim é uma das melhores da série, provavelmente pq eu gosto muito do Daud e do Outsider
This review contains spoilers
Death of the Franchise
After playing and very much enjoying the first two Dishonored games, I decided to take on the third and final game in the series. I had read negative things about the game, so I went in hoping to be a contrarian and enjoy it. I found that the game had something of an identity crisis. I very much enjoyed the gameplay, but I felt that the short length and poor storyline held the game back in significant ways.
Billie Lurks
The mechanics of this game are basically the same as the first two Dishonored games. Billie has fewer powers than Corvo does, and her version of Blink (displace) is frustratingly nerfed. On the plus side, the game does add a few new weapons to your utility belt, such as a non-lethal grenade, an "Electric Burst," and the super-cool hook mines. These tools were very helpful in my completion of a mostly non-lethal run. Either I got significantly better, or this game is easier than Dishonored 2.
The level design of Death of the Outsider (henceforth DOTO) is the most-criticized part, but the criticisms are somewhat undeserved. I didn't feel that the levels were as "linear" as the internet people claimed they were; in fact, I felt that most of the levels were an improvement over Dishonored 2 in that they didn't tend to tease you with options you couldn't actually use effectively (e.g. Walls of Light that no one would actually chase you through). The final level, however, was frustrating in the way that it would stuff a bunch of enemies in a small space, making stealth abnormally difficult compared to the other levels in the game. Half of one level is just the previous level, but at night, and another level is a reskinned version of a level from Dishonored 2 that doesn't add any additional challenge or mechanics. Thus, I would say the level design is hit-and-miss.
The game's length is also a problem. It has only five levels (one of which is a tutorial and one of which is a partial rehash of a previous level). Although it has sidequests that you can perform during the missions, overall it is so short that I wouldn't recommend paying full price for it, or for that matter paying for it at all (I played it on Gamepass).
The Dreadful Wale of a Tale
As far as gameplay goes, I would give it a 4/5, docking a point for the short length of the game. In terms of the storyline, however, I would give it a 2/5 at best, and a 1/5 if I'm feeling irritable. The world of Dishonored is incredibly cool, and unlike anything I've seen in a AAA-quality game before. This backdrop makes the failure of the story all the more noticeable. The three problems with the story are that it has boring characters, it relies heavily on exposition, and it lacks development, both in terms of plot and characters.
Billie Lurk is part of the entertainment industry's storied tradition of Diverse Characters With Bland Personalities. In this case, Lurk checks almost all the boxes: she is a disabled black lesbian who grew up poor and had to resort to thievery to survive. In spite of this interesting background, she has almost nothing to say during the story; her motivations, emotions, and actions are all surface level. Daud, the mysterious assassin from the first game, is reduced to a sick old man who tells you to assassinate the Outsider because reasons, and then dies offscreen after two missions. The Outsider goes from being a mysterious eldritch presence to a whiney teenager who reveals so much about his sob story background that by the end of the game you're more than ready to put him out of his misery.
To make things worse, the game is full of empty exposition (the curse of the Dishonored franchise). Despite Billie having almost nothing to say, she talks constantly during the game, which completely destroys the "distant badass" aura that she had in Dishonored 2. On the meta-level, almost everything in the plot is communicated to you via exposition rather than through the game showing it to you (whether by in-game events or cutscenes). The entire plot of the game is Daud's plan to kill the Outsider--but we never see the Outsider do anything that would really make us want to kill him. If anything, he seems like a good guy, because in the first two games he helps Corvo beat the bad guys. He occasionally shows up in this game, but instead of actually doing anything bad, he just monologues to Billie and then disappears. Similarly, the Eyeless are supposed to be some kind of great threat to Karnaca, but we never see them do anything bad (other than keep Daud in prison). Billie rambles about how she hates rich people, but we never see rich people do anything bad to her in the game. The only truly despicable person I saw in the game was the lady who was feeding people to bloodflies--and she had nothing to do with the main story.
Finally, the game is so short that it doesn't have time to develop anything--the characters, the plot, or the world. The Eyeless are an interesting faction; we encounter them once and then don't really run into them for the rest of the game until we get to the end. We never get a sense for how they fit in to the city of Karnaca, unlike, for example, the Overseers in the first two games. There are no twists or new developments in the plot--we simply decide to kill the Outsider, collect the four MacGuffins, and then it's off to kill the boss. And the characters do not develop at all. We never learn anything surprising about Billie Lurk or have her face any kind of moral dilemma; despite the fact that she won't shut up, she never reveals anything about herself that we couldn't figure out. Daud dies before he can experience any kind of character arc. And although we do see a change in the Outsider in this third game (as opposed to the first two), his new backstory is so lame that I don't even consider it canon.
Overall, this game is solidly in the category of "Rent or buy on sale." The gameplay will satisfy Dishonored fans, but the short length and weak story keep me from being able to wholeheartedly recommend it.
After playing and very much enjoying the first two Dishonored games, I decided to take on the third and final game in the series. I had read negative things about the game, so I went in hoping to be a contrarian and enjoy it. I found that the game had something of an identity crisis. I very much enjoyed the gameplay, but I felt that the short length and poor storyline held the game back in significant ways.
Billie Lurks
The mechanics of this game are basically the same as the first two Dishonored games. Billie has fewer powers than Corvo does, and her version of Blink (displace) is frustratingly nerfed. On the plus side, the game does add a few new weapons to your utility belt, such as a non-lethal grenade, an "Electric Burst," and the super-cool hook mines. These tools were very helpful in my completion of a mostly non-lethal run. Either I got significantly better, or this game is easier than Dishonored 2.
The level design of Death of the Outsider (henceforth DOTO) is the most-criticized part, but the criticisms are somewhat undeserved. I didn't feel that the levels were as "linear" as the internet people claimed they were; in fact, I felt that most of the levels were an improvement over Dishonored 2 in that they didn't tend to tease you with options you couldn't actually use effectively (e.g. Walls of Light that no one would actually chase you through). The final level, however, was frustrating in the way that it would stuff a bunch of enemies in a small space, making stealth abnormally difficult compared to the other levels in the game. Half of one level is just the previous level, but at night, and another level is a reskinned version of a level from Dishonored 2 that doesn't add any additional challenge or mechanics. Thus, I would say the level design is hit-and-miss.
The game's length is also a problem. It has only five levels (one of which is a tutorial and one of which is a partial rehash of a previous level). Although it has sidequests that you can perform during the missions, overall it is so short that I wouldn't recommend paying full price for it, or for that matter paying for it at all (I played it on Gamepass).
The Dreadful Wale of a Tale
As far as gameplay goes, I would give it a 4/5, docking a point for the short length of the game. In terms of the storyline, however, I would give it a 2/5 at best, and a 1/5 if I'm feeling irritable. The world of Dishonored is incredibly cool, and unlike anything I've seen in a AAA-quality game before. This backdrop makes the failure of the story all the more noticeable. The three problems with the story are that it has boring characters, it relies heavily on exposition, and it lacks development, both in terms of plot and characters.
Billie Lurk is part of the entertainment industry's storied tradition of Diverse Characters With Bland Personalities. In this case, Lurk checks almost all the boxes: she is a disabled black lesbian who grew up poor and had to resort to thievery to survive. In spite of this interesting background, she has almost nothing to say during the story; her motivations, emotions, and actions are all surface level. Daud, the mysterious assassin from the first game, is reduced to a sick old man who tells you to assassinate the Outsider because reasons, and then dies offscreen after two missions. The Outsider goes from being a mysterious eldritch presence to a whiney teenager who reveals so much about his sob story background that by the end of the game you're more than ready to put him out of his misery.
To make things worse, the game is full of empty exposition (the curse of the Dishonored franchise). Despite Billie having almost nothing to say, she talks constantly during the game, which completely destroys the "distant badass" aura that she had in Dishonored 2. On the meta-level, almost everything in the plot is communicated to you via exposition rather than through the game showing it to you (whether by in-game events or cutscenes). The entire plot of the game is Daud's plan to kill the Outsider--but we never see the Outsider do anything that would really make us want to kill him. If anything, he seems like a good guy, because in the first two games he helps Corvo beat the bad guys. He occasionally shows up in this game, but instead of actually doing anything bad, he just monologues to Billie and then disappears. Similarly, the Eyeless are supposed to be some kind of great threat to Karnaca, but we never see them do anything bad (other than keep Daud in prison). Billie rambles about how she hates rich people, but we never see rich people do anything bad to her in the game. The only truly despicable person I saw in the game was the lady who was feeding people to bloodflies--and she had nothing to do with the main story.
Finally, the game is so short that it doesn't have time to develop anything--the characters, the plot, or the world. The Eyeless are an interesting faction; we encounter them once and then don't really run into them for the rest of the game until we get to the end. We never get a sense for how they fit in to the city of Karnaca, unlike, for example, the Overseers in the first two games. There are no twists or new developments in the plot--we simply decide to kill the Outsider, collect the four MacGuffins, and then it's off to kill the boss. And the characters do not develop at all. We never learn anything surprising about Billie Lurk or have her face any kind of moral dilemma; despite the fact that she won't shut up, she never reveals anything about herself that we couldn't figure out. Daud dies before he can experience any kind of character arc. And although we do see a change in the Outsider in this third game (as opposed to the first two), his new backstory is so lame that I don't even consider it canon.
Overall, this game is solidly in the category of "Rent or buy on sale." The gameplay will satisfy Dishonored fans, but the short length and weak story keep me from being able to wholeheartedly recommend it.
Watered down version of the original Dishonored 2. Does this means it’s bad? No, not at all.
Looking at it for what it is, is just more dishonored 2 just with different (slightly worse) abilities and more maps to play through. It doesn’t bring any special or crazy to the table.
The story itself is nothing to write home about. If you like the character of Billie Lurk then maybe you’ll enjoy playing as her. Although the karma system doesn’t really play into effect for what ending you get. It’s only one choice at the every end of the game that determines the outcome of the story, both of which are nothing special and technically leads to the same outcome lore wise.
Looking at it for what it is, is just more dishonored 2 just with different (slightly worse) abilities and more maps to play through. It doesn’t bring any special or crazy to the table.
The story itself is nothing to write home about. If you like the character of Billie Lurk then maybe you’ll enjoy playing as her. Although the karma system doesn’t really play into effect for what ending you get. It’s only one choice at the every end of the game that determines the outcome of the story, both of which are nothing special and technically leads to the same outcome lore wise.
Death of the Outsider is a commendable expansion that delivers an enjoyable stealth-action experience with a well-crafted narrative. However, its decision to be a standalone title rather than a DLC raises questions about its value as a separate purchase. The game offers fresh abilities, a captivating storyline, and some memorable moments, but its brevity, lack of substantial innovation, and missed opportunities in utilizing the setting leave players wanting more. For die-hard Dishonored fans, Death of the Outsider will likely scratch the itch for more stealthy adventures, but for others, it might have been better served as a DLC to enrich the main Dishonored experience.
after spending years languishing in my backlog i picked it back up and after finishing the entire thing in two sittings. i am delighted to report that it is Good. a more minimalist take on dishonored 2's gameplay, but with a new set of great levels to play around in, along with memorable main and side objectives (i particularly enjoyed robbing the black market on each level). a lot grislier than 2 is, with chaos no longer being a factor in play, but not as dark as dishonored 1 was. the level quality does begin to flag a bit as time goes on, but i can excuse that, especially since it doesnt impact the pacing. good game, maybe not worth €30? but worth picking up on sale along with dishonored 2
The combat being as fun as it is makes me really excited for Deathloop