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